From 24 to 27 November 2025, the yearly meetings of the Austrian Religious Conference ÖOK took place at the Kardinal König Haus in Vienna under the motto “Still on the way – Food for thought on the Holy Year”.
Our Secretary General, Sr. Marjolein Bruinen, participated on behalf of UCESM.
The meetings kicked off with the General Assembly and Order Day Young on Monday 24 November 2025. The members of the Austrian Conference elected their new board. The new president is Prioress Sr. Franziska Madl of the Dominican Sisters of Vienna-Hacking, who most recently held the office of vice-president. Provost Anton Höslinger from Klosterneuburg Abbey was elected vice-president.
On Tuesday, 25 November, around 400 members of religious orders, employees of religious orders and interested parties gathered for the big Austrian Religious Orders Day, entitled: Pilgrimage and hope as sources of strength for faith. Martin Dürnberger, professor of fundamental and contemporary theological issues and director of the Salzburg University Weeks, spoke about how faith communities can provide guidance in a time of global unrest. We heard more about the nature of Christian hope in the lecture by pastoral theologian Veronika Prüller-Jagenteufel. For her, it is not a matter of vague optimism, especially since hope based on faith is rather a “relationship” and “existential trust.” Doubt and uncertainty have a place in this, as it is through them that faith can unfold and hope can arise in the first place.
Benedictine Abbot Primate Jeremias Schröder emphasised the future viability of religious life, calling for a clear distinction between realistic analysis and Easter hope. Religious communities are often under pressure, but resignation is not an option: “Religious life is still possible – fragile, but sustained by hope,” he said. Hope should not be confused with optimism; it is nourished by the entire Easter process “from Good Friday through the emptiness of Holy Saturday to the Resurrection as an unattainable new beginning”.
On Wednesday, the traditional symposiums on education, culture and mission took place.
Sr. Marjolein took part in the mission day. The motto was: “Paths of Faith – Seeking Common Responses to Changing Realities.” The focus was on the presentation of the study “What Does Austria Believe?” as well as reports from members of religious orders from different cultures, who gave insights into their arrival and work in a new country.
On Thursday, the 2025 “Ordenstagungen” concluded with Health Day.
On that day, Sr. Marjolein returned home full of joy at what she had heard and because of the many warm encounters she had had.