The book "Celebrating 800 Years of Franciscans in the British Isles" has been published by Franciscan Publishing. It is a collection of essays edited by Brenda Abbott which, as well as commemorating the Franciscan presence in Britain and Ireland, pays tribute to a Friar of these lands, Br Eric Doyle, OFM, on the fortieth anniversary of his death (25 August 1984).
The chapters that make up the volume offer a glimpse of different aspects of these eight centuries, beginning with the first mission desired by St Francis in 1224 and led by Blessed Agnello of Pisa. "We learn of the spread of the Franciscan message throughout the islands, of the great successes and celebrations of the mission, as well as of the difficulties and adversities endured by men and women of faith in their efforts to follow the Gospel of Christ", reads the preface.
A look not only at the past, but also at the present, at how the Franciscan charism has manifested itself in new and creative ways, also to reach out to young people in a secularised world like today's, but in need of peace, reconciliation and stability. Values that the Gospel and the message of the Poverello of Assisi and of so many brothers and saints of the British Isles can still give today, after 800 years.
Eric Doyle, one of the greatest Franciscan scholars of the twentieth century in England, whose influence continues to spread throughout the world, not only because of his immense culture and his great gift of transmitting his knowledge and wisdom, but also because of the way in which the Franciscan charism permeated his life and his vision, founded on the following of Christ and an inspiration to those who knew him.
Br Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, Minister General, recalls that the 800th anniversary of the Franciscan presence in the British Isles is part of the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the last period of St Francis' life, “marked by a crisis in his relationship with the Order, a time of personal temptation and the last two years which prepared him for death”.
“It is certainly no coincidence that the first Franciscan mission to England took place in 1224, precisely at that unique time in the life of the Poverello and before the Stigmata. It was born, as it were, from his wounded heart, strong in his love for the Gospel and for humanity.
Francis had already sent his brothers to various parts of Europe to live and proclaim the Gospel in a poor and humble way. England, at the time under the reign of Henry III, was a territory ripe for evangelisation and spiritual reform. For this reason, the arrival of the first friars in Dover on 10 September 1224 was an event of great importance in the religious and cultural history of the country”, the Minister General continues, hoping that the publication will be an opportunity to revisit these events and “also in the light of a master of the value of Brother Eric Doyle, to rediscover their message and inspiration for our times. It is truly different and new, and yet it awaits a new breath of life and hope.”
CCelebrating 800 Years of Franciscans in the British Isles.
Essays in Honour of Eric Doyle OFM (13 July 1938–25 August 1984), on the fortieth anniversary of his death.
Edited by Brenda Abbott
Franciscan Publishing, 2024