Thank you for reprinting the Holy Father’s address to consecrated virgins!

I am an aspiring consecrated virgin in my early twenties. God willing, I will be solemnly consecrated to a life of virginity some time next year. I have also just completed a B.A. in Philosophy, and plan to begin an M.A. Theology program next semester with the eventual goal of serving the Church as a theologian.

I first felt called to give my life entirely to Christ when I was twelve, so through middle and high school I assumed I would enter religious life as a young adult. I spent several years visiting various religious communities—and I did find some really wonderful ones where I think I could have been quite happy—but I could never dismiss the sense that God was calling me to something else.

I first found out about consecrated virginity in the world by reading Canon Law. When I had the chance to read the Rite of Consecration, I felt that I had found a vocation which perfectly reflected my own experience of a call to a spousal relationship with Christ. I was further attracted by the example of the consecrated virgins of the first centuries of Christianity, as well as by the spiritual bond a consecrated virgin has with her local Church.

Besides life-long celibacy, the only formal obligation of a consecrated virgin is to pray for the need of her diocese, and in particular for the good of her bishop and the diocesan clergy. Right now, there is very little official Church legislation pertaining to the concrete details of a consecrated virgin’s daily life. Still, I may be typical in that I pray the full Divine Office (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, one of the daytime hours, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer), attend daily Mass, make time for silent prayer, frequent the Sacrament of Penance, and make a point to fast and do penance.

While consecrated virgins are expected to live simply, they do not take vows of poverty and must support themselves financially. Because of this, they are not obligated to take on any specific ministry. However, in my case I did chose to pursue an academic career specifically because I thought it would afford me a chance to help build up the Church in a more direct manner—my personal feeling was that I would need a spiritually-oriented exterior occupation to nourish my primary mode of service, which is prayer.