The Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Rui Valério, presided on Saturday, September 7, over the celebration of religious profession of several Sisters of the Alliance of Holy Mary at the Sanctuary of Fatima. The ceremony took place in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity and included the profession of perpetual vows by Brittany Allison Culver, Ana Filipe Guarda Felício, and Madalena Isabel Pereira Pimentel da Silva, as well as the temporary vows of Maria Filomena Brito, Mafalda Martinho, Rute Santos, Carolina Teotónio, and Rebeca Oliveira Pereira.
The event also marked the jubilee of 25 years of consecration of another religious member of the congregation. In his homily, D. Rui Valério stated that the consecrated women's surrender to God points toward the "definitive homeland of existence," emphasizing that their "self-emptying denounces the illusion of transforming into something absolute that which is transient."
The Patriarch of Lisbon declared that the total consecration of the religious women "transcends mere human project," configuring itself as a "true anticipation" of divine fullness and a "prophetic sign" for humanity. He rejected that poverty, chastity, and obedience represent "denials of the person," defending that the evangelical counsels constitute "the choice of a form of existence in which everything is oriented toward God."
D. Rui Valério challenged the consecrated women to be "the prototype of new humanity" through community life, calling on them to take on the destiny of the people around them "in the deserts of humanity's life." He also addressed words to the religious woman celebrating the 25-year jubilee, praising her faithfulness throughout the "different seasons of a vocation."
