English 
In her Christmas letter, our General Manager invites everyone to renew faith and cultivate hope, especially today, in our world shrouded in the darkness of war, violence, lack of human rights, precariousness, forced immigration… Christian hope, born with the coming of Jesus, invites us to look to the future with confidence and to support those in difficulty, bringing light and comfort into the lives of those who need it most. May the Jubilee of Hope be a time of profound spiritual renewal and concrete commitment to our neighbour. Sr. Martha Appa and Sr. Meggie Gamu walked through the holy door together with the Holy Father during the opening celebration of the Jubilee, on Christmas night.
Thy Kingdom Come!
Holy Christmas 2024
Dear Sisters,
The Midnight Mass with the rite of opening of the Holy Door, one of the most evocative of the Christian tradition, introduces us to the Jubilee Year: the “Jubilee of Hope”. In these difficult times, we all feel, desperately, the need to hope. We live in tension towards a future of salvation; we hope that it will come true, cultivating patience and the perseverance of waiting.
Those who live the tragedy of war hope that it will end; those who are sad hope that life will rediscover the meaning of beauty and goodness; those who are deprived of freedom hope to be able to enjoy their rights again. Those who are in precarious and difficult situations due to the lack of a home or a job hope; migrants who leave their land in search of a better life hope; the sick and the elderly people hope that someone will alleviate their suffering through a visit. Young people in particular need hope, as they often see their dreams shattered. As Pope Francis has reminded us several times, “We must not disappoint them, for the future depends on their enthusiasm” If this is true for all the young people of the world, my thoughts also go to our young people. They too hope. It is up to us to listen and interpret their hopes!
Christian hope embraces all the hopes of the world, but it is also much more: it is of another nature because it comes from God, from above, from Love. Hope is born on Christmas day and enters the world, “For while gentle silence enveloped all things and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all powerful Word, O Lord, came from your royal throne” (Wis 18:14), and shines in the Heart of Jesus pierced on the cross. Hope is a person: Jesus, the fulfilment of all the expectations of the human heart: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:1). It is the light of the Son made Man, Jesus, who enters history, lays down omnipotence on the threshold and comes to us in humility: “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (Jn 1:14). Here is the place where Jesus is born: humanity. We too go as pilgrims of hope to this humanity.
The Jubilee, originally proposed as an occasion in which to re-establish the correct relationship with God, between people and with creation, involved the remission of debts, the restitution of alienated lands and the repose of the earth.
In order that our Jubilee may have a concrete and meaningful impact on our lives and those of our brothers and sisters, I invite all, the general council, the provincial and delegation leaders, all the communities and houses of formation, to decide courageous steps and significant interventions, so that every language, people and nation may find in the Child Jesus the true light that illuminates every man, so that the voices of the poor may be heard and also through us the hope may reach all those who seek it.
On Christmas night, together with Pope Francis, representatives from different countries will cross the Holy Door. With them, two of Papuan sisters, Sr. Martha Appa and Sr. Meggie Gamu, students in Rome, representing Oceania, will be there. We have given them the mandate to cross the Holy Door, bringing all of us, Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate.
The Jubilee 2025 will also be a beautiful occasion to celebrate the centenary of Giuseppina Rodolfi’s pilgrimage to Rome, in the occasion of the Holy Year, a crucial moment in her vocational choice.
May these Jubilees be moments of lively and personal encounter with the Lord Jesus and of renewal our choices of life.
To all of you and your loved ones, my most sincere wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Sr. Antonella Tovaglieri
Congregation Leader
