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To mark the end of the recently concluded Year of Consecrated Life, the Vatican hosted an international symposium, “Consecrated Life in Communion,” which culminated in a February 1  audience with His Holiness Pope Francis. Among those in attendance — and privileged to meet the Holy Father personally — was an alumna of the College and a consecrated virgin, Rev. Miss Therese Ivers, JCL, OCV (’03).

Rev. Miss Therese Ivers was one of about 600 members of the Ordo Virginum from around the world who participated in the Symposium. Sacred virgins are consecrated to Christ, but unlike religious sisters, they do not live in community. Instead they devote their lives to the service of Christ and His church in some other way. Rev Miss Ivers, for example, is a canon lawyer living in Rome. An experienced judge and advocate, she specializes in the theology of consecrated life and law. She holds a diploma from the Congregation of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in the Theology and Law of Consecrated Life.

“I did not know I’d meet the Pope, but knee injuries had me in a wheelchair, which put me in the front section for the audience,” she recalls. “My companion for the Symposium was a consecrated virgin who recently retired as a firefighter. I am glad she was able to meet the Pope with me after all the pushing she did over cobblestones.”

When asked what she said to Pope Francis, Rev. Miss Ivers replies, “I simply said, ‘Holy Father.’ He asked me to pray for him, and I asked for his prayers. That was it and he blessed me.”