The History of the Church is marked by men and women who freely assumed the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, currently called consecrated life. The Vatican Council II, recognizing the need for renewal in order to better communicate with the modern world, establishes directives for all states of life recognized by the Church. For consecrated persons, such directives are outlined mainly in chapter VI of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, in the decree Perfectae Caritatis, dedicated to religious, 33 to 35 of the decree Christus Dominus and 18 and 40 of the decree Ad gentes. The council fathers sought to highlight in these documents the essence of religious life, but, due to the misinterpretation and reception of the guidelines, some religious communities found themselves disoriented as to the particular identity and functionality of the consecrated life for the Church . The post-conciliar documents from Paul VI to John Paul II sought to combat the hermeneutics of rupture, focusing on the historical, existential and practical aspects, mainly through the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata. Benedict XVI, adopting the hermeneutic of continuity, the line of the council fathers and their predecessors, treats with the theme of consecrated life in several homilies, messages and speeches. Through analysis of some his pronouncements, the research intends to signal the points of continuity and relevant themes for the consecrated, detaching their contribution to understanding and deepening of the identity of the especially consecrated life.