Charles Esther
Sister Therese Mills, MGL, traveled all the way from Australia to participate in the Jubilee of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities held in Rome on June 8, 2025.
The Jubilee brought together tens of thousands of pilgrims from around the world, creating a powerful experience of faith and unity.
Sister Therese is a leader of the Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters, a charismatic Catholic group founded in Australia in 1987.
She described her pilgrimage during the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope as a time of deep refreshment and spiritual renewal.
Walking through the Jubilee Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on the opening day was an “amazing” experience for Sister Therese.
She shared how she opened her hands in prayer, asking the Lord to renew her heart and faith.
What touched her most was the unity in diversity, as pilgrims prayed and spoke in many different languages together.
During her visit to the Blessed Sacrament chapel inside the papal basilica, Sister Therese had what she called a “God moment.”
She said she sat before Jesus and was overwhelmed by His love, moved to tears in the presence of the universal Church.
The weekend jubilee drew around 70,000 pilgrims who had the chance to visit various churches in Rome.
Attendees also enjoyed music and entertainment events organized by many ecclesial groups.
Among the many Catholic associations present were the Neocatechumenal Way, Catholic Action, Communion and Liberation, the Catholic Shalom Community, the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Focolare Movement, and CHARIS International.
During his homily at the Vigil Mass, Pope Leo spoke of these diverse Church communities as “the fruits of the Second Vatican Council.”
He emphasized that they are “grounded in the one Lord Jesus Christ” and share “a single mission.”
Sister Therese attended both of Pope Leo’s Pentecost Masses, the Vigil on Saturday night and the Mass on Sunday morning.
She expressed her love for being part of the universal Church and the unity experienced when praying for the Holy Spirit.
Before the official jubilee, Sister Therese made a pilgrimage to holy sites in Rome connected to patron saints important to her Australian community.
These included St. Francis of Assisi, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Siena.
The Missionaries of God’s Love Sisters began in 1988 in the Archdiocese of Canberra-Goulburn.
Since then, they have ministered in Australian cities such as Adelaide, Darwin, Melbourne, and Sydney.
Their outreach missions also extend beyond Australia to countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Fiji and Papua New Guinea.
