Dearest Sisters and young women in formation,
Today we commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the birth into heaven of our dearly beloved Maestra Thecla. On this occasion, we offer our heartfelt thanks for the precious legacy of Pauline life she has entrusted to us.
Maestra Thecla lived the Pauline vocation faithfully as a journey of progressive conformity to Christ, rooted in the Word of God and the Eucharist. She continually invited us to give thanks to the Lord for the Pauline vocation—the vocation to bring Christ, Way, Truth, and Life to souls—“a vocation that even the angels would envy,” she said, calling each of us to live it faithfully and in a manner worthy of the call we have received.
“The Lord has given us a beautiful vocation; therefore, let us live in a way worthy of our vocation, fulfilling our duties well: the duties of piety, study, and apostolate; our duties in the observance of the vows: obedience, poverty, and chastity” (CSAS 2).
As time has passed, her words have lost none of their brightness; for us today, they remain a living exhortation, filled with love. The duties she spoke of are not burdens imposed from outside but responsibilities that arise naturally within a relationship of love. It is precisely through such responsibility that this relationship can deepen and grow stronger.
For this reason, we feel called to commit ourselves to living the four Pauline wheels in harmony—prayer, study, apostolate, and poverty—so that Christ may be the center of our lives. We do so following the example of the Apostle Paul, who pursued such a profound union with Christ that he could say: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (cf. Gal 2:20). Only when we live in a deep relationship with Christ does our proclamation of the Gospel become credible and authentic.
Maestra Thecla was a woman of faith, attentive to the signs of the times. She felt a duty to “do something” for the many souls awaiting the “light of the Gospel.”
“We must have a great mind and a great heart, thinking of the whole world, of so many souls who are waiting for the light of the Gospel and who may be lost… We must feel responsible for those souls who do not yet know the Lord and who await the light of the Gospel, even though they are people of good will” (CSAS 12).
Faithful to her teaching, we renew our commitment so that the Gospel may shine ever more brightly for the souls of our time—an era marked by extraordinary technological advances that profoundly affect every aspect of life. In this context, we are especially aware that the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence (AI), while opening new possibilities, also raises significant ethical questions and new responsibilities.
In the face of these signs of the times, we are invited to welcome the Church’s call to “Safeguard Human Voices and Faces” (theme of the 60th World Communications Day, 2026) with renewed attention and, with the strength of the Gospel, to commit ourselves to “revealing what is human, caring for the person, and responding to dehumanization with the pedagogy of Jesus” (Final Document of the 12th General Chapter, p. 11). In this way, AI may foster the inclusion of the most vulnerable and those most in need of support, thereby contributing to the common good, the search for truth, and integral human development.
With this intention in our hearts, we entrust ourselves to Maestra Thecla’s intercession and pray that we may live as true Daughters of St. Paul, capable of responding to the challenges of our time while remaining firmly anchored in Christ.
In this spirit, remembering all those who suffer because of war, we unite our hearts in prayer for peace throughout the world.
In communion of hope,
Sr. Mari Lucia KIM
Superior General
