Among the participants were, María Lía Zervino, member of the Dicastery for Bishops and Florence Mangin, French Ambassador to the Holy See.

Between the Jubilee of Families and the Jubilee of Associations, the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) organised the event "Women, signs of hope and life" on 6 June at Palazzo San Calisto. The meeting aimed to highlight the diverse realities experienced by women.  As WUCWO President General Mónica Santamarina explained, the purpose of the meeting was to express that “as women of faith and hope, builders of peace and bearers of life, we want to imagine a better future together”.

The event could be followed both in person and online, with simultaneous translation in four languages (Spanish, English, French and Italian) and was divided into three blocks of interviews. the first block was led by Fr. Mario Stefano Antonelli, Rector of the Pontifical Lombard Seminary, and the second and third blocks were moderated by Valentina Alazraki, dean of the Vatican-accredited journalists. The topics discussed were: women's leadership in the Church and in the world; reconciling women, work and family; and women as builders of peace and carriers of hope. 

🔹 Women's leadership in the Church and in the world

This block included interventions such as that of María Lía Zervino, member of the Dicastery for Bishops and former WUCWO President, who said:

"Power, in the Church, should always be service. I am sure that today, in this space, there are many women with the desire to serve the Church, walking alongside men with our abilities, intelligence, resilience, persistence, not only tenderness”.

In turn, the French Ambassador to the Holy See, H.E. Florence Mangin, shared her experience as a leader:

"The loneliness of responsible women does not exist, or hardly ever. Many women in positions of responsibility want to develop an inclusive and united way of governing. Women come together to share and  live collectively; this sharing is a source of joy”.

🔹 Reconciling women, work and family

This second block opened the floor to the testimony of Stefania Brancaccio, Secretary General of UCID (Unione Cristiana Imprenditori Dirigenti) and that of a young couple who shared how they manage to balance their professional careers with their family vocation, as well as the challenges and help needed to achieve it.

Brancaccio, as an entrepreneur, said: "We are not, as mothers, multitasking machines, nor do we have to have the perfect body; we have to fight to maintain our own personality. I fought so that when a woman returned to work [after maternity leave], she would find understanding". She also explained her clear intention to continue working, in the business sector, to balance work and family care for employees, starting with her own.

🔹 Women as builders of peace and carriers of hope

In the third block, also led by Alazraki, Stephanie MacGillivray (Caritas Internationalis) and Ana Martiarena (WUCWO World Women's Observatory) spoke, highlighting the role of women in contexts of vulnerability and their capacity to build bridges and heal wounds. Martiarena devoted some space to explaining some of the results gathered by the World Women's Observatory (WWO), such as, for example, that more than 80% of the more than 10,000 African women who responded to the survey in 36 countries say that they suffer domestic violence, of different types. "It is within vulnerable contexts that this strength emerges " said Martiarena.

An event held within the context of the Jubilee

Furthermore, Mónica Santamarina underlined the spirit of this event in tune with the Jubilee Year and recalled the appeal of Pope Francis in his Jubilee letter: "We must fan the flame of hope […], and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.".

The event continued with a Eucharist in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere, presided over by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who focused his homily on the true meaning of the theological virtue of hope, and ended with a cocktail party in Palazzo San Callisto.

With this event, WUCWO renews its commitment to make women visible as active protagonists of the present and builders of a more supportive world, rooted in faith and animated by hope.