A group that Toronto Archbishop Francis Leo calls “a true gift to the entire Family of God” will gather coast-to-coast in Canada Feb. 2-4 to mark the World Day for Consecrated Life.

VATICAN CITY -- When one is totally in love with the Lord, then poverty, chastity and obedience are not sacrifices, but vehicles of freedom, Pope Francis told consecrated men and women.

VATICAN – An Austrian priest under canonical investigation stepped down as an official at the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in an effort "to limit the damage already done to the congregation and to his community," the doctrinal office said.

VATICAN – The Vatican released an instruction with new norms for contemplative orders of nuns, encouraging cooperation among their monasteries and outlining procedures for communities left with only a few members.

Men and women contemplating a vocation to the priesthood, consecrated life or marriage should not be afraid because God wants only for them to experience the joy that comes from serving others, Pope Francis said.

MANILA, Philippines - Sr. Margaret Maung doesn't wear a nun's habit, but a traditional "longyi" and a simple blouse.

Experience has taught the provincial superior of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions in Myanmar to embrace the country's cultural dress even while representing her faith.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis urged Franciscan friars to hold true to their charism of fraternity, humility and poverty and not lose the respect they have earned over the centuries for living up to those ideals.

Vowed life is a mystery, but only in the Catholic sense. There’s no mystery in the vows themselves. Poverty, chastity and obedience are pretty straightforward — no money, no sex, no turning your back on the demands of the community.

TORONTO - Sr. Rose Pacatte is first and foremost a storyteller. In her 47 years as a Daughter of St. Paul, she has great stories about answering her call to consecrated life, the joy she shares with her fellow sisters and the opportunities her congregation has given her.

It is often said that a religious sister never truly retires, and Sr. Mary Ann Maxwell is living proof.

The Canadian member of the Sisters of Charity of Immaculate Conception spent her first 37 years as a nun working as both a teacher and principalin the Catholic school system, from which she had just graduated. 

Sr. Susan Kidd said the need for consecrated life in the world hasn’t changed, but she admits there was a time when the religious were more visible and it was easier to connect with a sister.

St. Albert, Alta. - It was in the fall of 1859 that the Grey Nuns arrived in Alberta, welcomed by Fr. Albert Lacombe at Lac Ste. Anne with ringing church bells and dancing First Nations people.

OTTAWA - As Catholics mark the Year of Consecrated Life, the president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops looks to a future of hope for Canadian religious.

OTTAWA - As Pope Francis inaugurated the Year of Consecrated Life Nov. 30, Canada’s Apostolic Nuncio exhorted Canadian religious to build a culture of vocations.