From the 1st -5th December, the friars of the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Trinity of Chile met at Casa Alvernia (San Francisco de Mostazal) to celebrate their Plenary Council. This Council was established by the Chapter agreements of the Provincial Chapter in January of this year in order to make decisions on the redimensioning of the life and mission of the Franciscan friars in Chile.
From the city of Seoul (South Korea) the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, sent a message to the 43 brothers gathered in Plenary Council. In his message, Br. Massimo invited the friars to have "the courage to choose life over structures." Indeed, in the light of the Gospel text of Mark 4:35-41, he pointed out to them that "the Province is called to 'pass over to the other shore'. They cannot stay on this shore, in the current structures, in the presences that no longer give life, in the works that only tire them out." Regarding the process of resizing, he invited the friars to live the process with three necessary attitudes: "realism, lucidity and audacity"; and with "prayerful discernment".
The Plenary Council was developed with a methodology proposed by the Provincial Team for Ongoing Formation, led by Br. Jaime Campos, OFM, and Br. Lino Miranda, OFM, Provincial Minister. The objective of this methodology was for the friars, through reflection and prayerful discernment in commissions, to define the identity and options of the Province, in response to the elaboration of the Provincial Life Project.
Thus, after five days of intense fraternal work, the Plenary Council defined the identity of the Franciscan Province of the Most Holy Trinity of Chile:
"The Franciscans in Chile are a fraternity of Friars Minor who live and witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, poor, humble and crucified, in the style of St. Francis of Assisi. We are itinerant, prayerful and evangelizing, in communion with the Church and in the mission shared with the laity. This identity is expressed mainly in urban and rural parish service, in popular religiosity, in solidarity action and service among the poor and vulnerable, with special attention to the world of youth, as well as in our presence in the educational and cultural spheres, promoting peace and care for creation."
In addition, the preferential provincial options for the life and mission of the Franciscan friars in Chile were established:
Br. Ronald Villalobos A., OFM
