The Mystic: “Mystical Phenomena and Holiness”

The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has organized a conference for religious men and women, as well as lay people, with the inspiring theme “The Mystic: Mystical Phenomena and Holiness”. The event is taking place in the Aula Magna Benedict XVI at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, from November 10 to 12, 2025, and will conclude on November 13 with participation in the General Audience with Pope Leo XIV.

Representing our Congregation are Sisters Agnieszka and Helmy, who are responsible for the Causes of the Congregation.

Throughout the presentations, experts have emphasized that authentic mysticism always leads to a new life, marked by the presence of God and transformation in Christ. While not every Christian is called to be a mystic, all are called to holiness.

Mysticism is presented as a path of union with God, and holiness as a goal accessible to all believers. It is not a passive experience, but an active commitment with the Spirit, which transforms the believer into a “vessel capable of bearing such a lofty and sublime work”. The mystic is one who remains receptive to the interior movement of the Spirit.

In this sense, mysticism is essentially an imitation of Christ, a following of His example of generosity and self-giving. All the saints, without exception, are mystics in the deepest sense of the term. Beatification is possible only when it has been proven that the servant of God has lived the virtues in a perfect and heroic manner.

There can be no true mysticism without both contemplation and action. This is particularly essential in the life of consecrated persons, whose object of contemplation is God Himself: the mystery of the Trinity and of His love for humanity.

Our Foundress, Mother Antonia París, expressed this truth clearly when she affirmed: “The most necessary point of our Institute is to unite Action and Contemplation” (cf. Const. 4). To attain full perfection and sanctification, contemplation is indispensable, for it is the “soul of the active life,” as St. Vincent de Paul said. There exists a profound relationship between prayer and action, between mysticism and industriousness, between prayer and charity.

In this same spirit, Pope Francis reminded us that the mystical experience of every consecrated person must inspire an overflowing charity that manifests itself in concrete acts on behalf of those living on the existential peripheries of the world.

May all of us continue to live our vocation with a solid interior foundation, nourished by active contemplation, that leads us to a deep and ongoing spiritual transformation in Christ.