VANCOUVER—Consecrated priests, sisters, and lay people renewed lifelong vows during a joyful celebration in Holy Name of Jesus Church.

“You are, each and every one of you, and the communities to which you belong, a beautiful gift to the Church,” Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, said in his homily at Mass on the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, Feb. 2.

“You are at the heart of our Church, and for this we, the priests and lay faithful, are all enormously grateful. Thank you for the witness of your consecration, of your single-minded dedication to the Lord Jesus and to His Body.”

More than 40 sisters, 11 priests, 10 consecrated lay women, and one brother held candles as they renewed their commitments to poverty, chastity, and obedience.

Pope Francis has dedicated a year to the theme of consecrated life. It began on the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 30, and will last until Feb. 2, 2016.

The Holy Father’s choice to highlight consecrated life for 14 months came as a surprise to many religious.

“I was not expecting it,” said Sister Mary Jacinta Li, OP, after Mass. “He’s been so forceful when it comes to directing our focus on the poor and marginalized.”

Sister Li, a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia, serves at St. Patrick’s Elementary School in Maple Ridge. She called the World Day for Consecrated Life a privilege and a “special reminder” to those under vows.

“It’s a reminder of God’s love and faithfulness to us and for us to return that gift by really offering every moment of our lives, of our days, to the Lord and asking Him to use the sacrifice of our lives for the good of His people.”

Sister Mary John Paul Floro, OSF, who made her first profession in August, renewed her vows on this day for the first time. “It was good to hear that (Pope Francis) chose the Year for Consecrated Life. It made it extra special for us.”

She shared an anecdote from the Pope’s recent trip to the Philippines to show the particular affection religious have for him. At Mass with many consecrated people at a cathedral in Manila, he stood up to give a homily reflecting on Jesus’s question to Peter: “Do you love Me?”

“When he started his homily, he was struggling with English and he spoke very slowly: ‘Do you love Me?’ He was reading his homily. He paused a little bit and there was a response: ‘Yes!'”

Sister Floro serves alongside other Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows in St. Paul’s Parish in Richmond. She prepares the church for each Mass, takes Communion to hospitals and nursing homes, and teaches PREP, RCIA, and confirmation classes.

Among the habits and cassocks mingled about 20 Serrans in their striking burgundy jackets. The Serra Club, dedicated to stimulating vocations, participated in the Mass to show their appreciation of consecrated people.

“I think the community at large has either not been aware or appreciative of what the sisters and brothers do,” said member Richard Podgurski.

He said Serrans are hopeful Pope Francis’s promotion of the Year for Consecrated Life will attract more young people to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

“In an ideal world, it would be great if each parish had one or two sisters. We don’t have it. It would be great if we had at least one or two sisters in every school, or a priest assigned as a chaplain at every school. We’re a long way from that.”

He said he has seen promising numbers: the archdiocese has 27 seminarians, up from 11 a few years ago.

After Mass, Archbishop Miller also announced he had signed a decree that day making the archdiocese’s new Redemptoris Mater Seminary official.