Description

FR DANIEL CHUKWUEMEKA UGWU, MDM

Topic:  Intergenerational Gap IN RELIGIOUS CONGREGATIONS AND SOCIETY OF APOSTOLIC LIFE: A REFLECTION on Carlo Acutis

Introduction

I met an elderly nun complaining about how the young in their institute pay much attention to their phones instead of community television. I have encountered an elderly priest expressing his fear of allowing responsibilities to younger priests. In all these, both younger nuns and younger priests are wondering why the elderly ones have to complain. These betray the fact that religious congregations and society of apostolic life often face this tension of intergenerational gaps. These gaps are distinctive differences in values, communication styles, priorities, and cultural fluency between older and younger members of the community. These gaps can be both challenges and opportunities depending on the way one approaches them.

There are a lot of age-segregated programs in the Church such as Sunday school for children, Youth Group and Ministries for seniors. On one side, these age-segregated programs can foster generational isolation and limit shared growth which allows each generation to see itself as separate rather than an integral part of a larger faith community”. On the other hand, intentional intergenerational rendezvous can foster belonging, resource sharing, spiritual growth, and community resilience.

As this article excavates the dynamic nature of these intergenerational gaps as problems or blessings, it will illustrate with the figure of Carlo Acutis, a beatified Gen-Z who is to be canonised on the 7th of September, 2025 a figure who embodies the potential of youthful holiness in religious life.

The Challenges of Intergenerational Gaps

On a religious congregation and society of apostolic life are lots of intergenerational challenges such as

a. Separation: - Faith transmission weakens; once generations function separately, congregational strength definitely droops or drops. Churches have increasingly adapted to contemporary culture that have become generation-segregated where the transmission of faith among them finds it very difficult to thrive.

b. Oppression: - Younger members of a religious congregation and society of apostolic life can feel underrated, always expected to be observers without real influence and this hampers adaptive continuity. In a real sense, younger people frequently are made to only operate on the terms dictated by their elders. This can lead to the hindrance of the empowerment of each succeeding generation.

c. Conservatism: - The elders may often tend to take traditionalism for stability, yet resist evolution, especially on cultural or doctrinal issues like inclusion. Older adults often respond negatively to progressive change, though some led it in their own time.

d. Lacunae in Formation System: - In institutes of consecrated life, formation may focus more on theological content while ignoring adaptation to recent culture in which the young know better. A lack of dialogue between spiritual and human dimensions, and insufficient formator preparation, exacerbates the gap.

e. Fading: - Many institutes face declining membership threatening sustainability and the lived expression of charism for future generations.

The Benefits of Intergenerational Engagement

Despite the challenges shed above, intergenerational mingling, when embraced intentionally, brings profound blessings such as

a. Inclusion/Cohesion: - Cross-generational involvement cultivates sense of belonging for all ages. It invokes inclusion and spiritual support: when every member of a community feels wanted, welcomed, invited, and included, the most mending experiences are exposed and all feels belonged.

b. Networking: - Bridging generations together extends the concept of “family” and brings practical and emotional mutual support across ages.

c. Complementarity: - Youth bring innovation and energy; elders bring wisdom and stability. Together they create synergy which leads to the creation of an integrated surplus of resources and renews the face of the community.

d. Maturity: - Negotiating generational conflicts fosters virtues like humility and mutual submission, vitality for physical and spiritual maturity and can breed godliness.

e. Maturation: - Young people thrive when embedded in multi-generational faith environments rather than age-exclusive groups because it provides opportunities that are key to healthy life-long faith development.

f. Interconnectedness: - If older adults value relationships with younger ones even where structured opportunities are low, the community becomes richer both in physical and spiritual value.

The Intergenerational Gap in Institutes of Consecrated Life

In institutes of consecrated life, the gap takes specific shape in form of insufficient preparation of formators, and imbalance between spiritual and contextual formation, can leave younger members disoriented. There is a call to refresh charisms in light of contemporary realities, especially around events like the Jubilee 2025. The work encourages embracing change creatively, leveraging intercultural and inter-congregational formation to navigate decline positively.

As a result, intergenerational dialogue and renewal are not optional - they are essential for preserving and renewing religious vitality and charism.

Carlo Acutis A Gen-Z Model Bridging the Gap

Blessed Carlo Acutis (1991–2006) - beatified in 2020 and widely expected to be canonized in September 2025 - exemplifies Gen-Z sanctity grounded in our era. He harnessed digital spaces for spiritual mission and offers hope as a relatable young hero for today’s youth. Below are some of the qualities of life he lived

a. A Model of Digital Discipleship: - As a teenager, he created a website cataloguing Eucharistic miracles, uniting faith and new media, showing how young people can serve the Church innovatively.

b. Digital Holiness: - Living in a digital and secular age, he is within reach psychologically and culturally. He deeply had love for the Holy Eucharist and interest in the Internet and this brought forth a unique combination of age-long tradition and innovation.

c. Mentoring: - His story invites both youth and elders to encounter one another. In his life, young people find a role-model they can relate to and older generations see how holiness can interlink with contemporary culture. This mutual recognition can help bridge generational partition in institute of consecrated life.

Conclusion

The intergenerational gap in congregations and society of apostolic life creates real problems such as segregation, disempowerment, resistance to change, and formation mismatches. But the potential blessing such as belonging, resource richness, mutual growth, and faithful continuity is even greater when intentionally embraced.

A figure like Carlo Acutis draws our attention on how youthful sanctity, integrated with modern tools, can bridge generational gaps. He becomes both a product of and a solution to the very gap we examine. Therefore, let the aging members of institute nurture the younger ones rightly with an open mind in order to allow them use the positive change their generation brought as a genuine way of being sensitive to the signs of time. Furthermore, let the younger members pay attention to the wisdom of the elderly members in order to avoid drifting from the uniqueness of their institute.

Suggestions for Building Bridges

This write up make some practical suggestions to helping religious communities in their formation to forestall this gap.

a. Fostering intergenerational Programs such as Shared liturgy, formation, retreats, or service projects that invite all ages to collaborate is recommended.

b. Pairing younger members of a religious congregation or institute of consecrated life with elderly members for mentorship helps in balancing innovation and wisdom.

c. Training formators to integrate spiritual, cultural, and human formation to meet young generations where they are should be given a prime place.

d. Like Carlo did, embrace digital witness promote digital engagement to connect with and evangelise younger cultures without losing identity.