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The March Tempo Forte took place from the 10th to 21st at the General Curia "St. Mary Mediatrix", in Rome; two other working sessions were held on the 21st February and 6th March, again at the General Curia.
The General Definitory gathered in celebration around Br. Victor L. QUEMATCHA, (former) Definitor General, appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Bafatá in Guinea Bissau; in the first ordinary session of the work, he experienced a time of personal narration; transmitted to the Holy Father, through the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, the proposal of candidates for the office of Custos of the Holy Land; it has launched the consultation for the election of a General Definitor for Africa; with Br. Darko TEPERT, completed the drafting of the Letter on Formation addressed to the Secretaries for Formation and Studies of the Entities of the Order and defined some details for the International Meeting of Lay Friars; with Br. Joel ESPLANA SULSE and Br. Saulo DUARTE, dealt with the updates on economic matters; with Br. Iurii SEMKO and Br. Joe CONDREN, has verified the progress of the Office of the Protection of minors and vulnerable adults; he experienced the canonical erection of CONAMO; with Br. Dennis TAYO, examined some Entities of Asia; with Br. Francisco GOMEZ VARGAS, revised the Ratio evangelizationis of the Order; with Br. Sergiusz BAŁDYGA and Br. Juan I. ALDANA M., defined some issues relating to the Chapter of Mats and the PCO; in the last session, he verified the work done.
The General Definitory has appointed:
- Br. Raymundo CASTILLO CABALLERO, Visitor General of the Province of Sts Francis and James, in Mexico;
- Br. Nestor Inacio SCHWERZ, Visitor General of the Province of St. Francis Solano, in Argentina;
- Br. Giampaolo POSSENTI, Visitor General of the Seraphic Province of St. Francis of Assisi", in Italy;
- Br. Szabolcs ORBAN, Visitor General of the Province of Magna Domina Hungarorum, in Hungary;
- Br. Alberto PISAPIA, Visitor General of the Province of St. Francis stigmatized, in Italy;
- Br. Cristobal DIAZ, Visitor General of the Province of the Holy Gospel, in Mexico;
- Br. Hugh McSHERRY, Br. Tom NAIRN, Br. Jerome WOLBERT, Br. Larry DUNHAM, Br. Edgardo DIAZ, Assistant Visitors of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the USA;
- Br. Jimmy ZAMMIT, General Definitor, President of the Elective Provincial Chapter of the Province of the Holy Spirit, in Canada (Montréal);
- Br. Jimmy ZAMMIT, Definitor General, Delegate for the Fraternity of the Fathers Penitentiaries of St. John Lateran";
- Br. Reu GALOY, President of the Order's Commission for the Fraternal Economy;
elected:
- The Definitor General for Africa;
- The Custos and the Councillors of the erection the Dependent Custody of.St. Jerome, in Croatia;
approved the shortlist of candidates for Minister Provincial/Custos of:
- Prov. St James Compostela, in Spain;
- Prov. Blessed. John Duns Scotus, in France and Belgium;
- Prov. St. Michael the Archangel, in Italy;
- Prov. The Most Holy Name of Jesus, in Italy;
- Prov. The mmaculate Conception B.V.M, in the USA;
- Prov. The Holy Martyrs of Gorcum, in the Netherlands;
- Prov. The Holy Protomartyrs of Morocco, in Portugal;
- Prov. The Holy Spirit, in Canada;
- Cust. St. Francis, in Asia;
- Cust. Holy Protomartyrs of Morocco, in Morocco;
decreed the canonical erection of:
- St. Francis Province in Madagascar and Mauritius, for which he elected the First Minister and Provincial Definitory;
has analyzed, of the following Entities, the Report:
- of the General Visitor: Prov. St. Paul the Apostle, in Colombia; Dependent Custody of the. Immaculate Conception B.V.M, in Venezuela; General Secretariat for Franciscan Mission, in Waterford; Guardian of Sancta. Maria Draperis, in Turkey;
- Post Chapter: of the Autonomous Custody of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Brazil;
- of the General Delegate: Prov. St. Casimir, in Lithuania; Prov. St. Philip of Jesús, in Mexico;
of the following Entities, ratified the Acts of the elections that took place:
- In Chapter and Chapter Congress: Prov. St. Casimir, in Lithuania; Prov. St. Paul the Apostle, in Colombia; Prov. The Most Holy Trinity, in Chile;
- Out of Chapter, by: Guardians: Prov. Sts. Peter and Paul, in Mexico, 3; Autonomous Custody St. Benedict of the Amazon, in Brazil, 2; Prov. Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the USA, 1;
approved, subject to conditions, the SSPP/Transitional Regulations of:
- Prov. Immaculate Conception B.V.M., in Brazil;
- Prov. Holy Trinity, in Chile;
- Prov. Sts. Cyril and Methodius and erected the Dependent Custody of St. Jerome, in Croatia;
- Erected the Autonomous Custody of the Good Shepherd, in Zimbabwe;
- Fraternity of the St. Isidore at the College of Rome;
co-opted into the General Curia:
- Br. Gil A. NORIEGA MUÑIZ, of the Prov. Sts. Francis and James in Mexico;
- Br. Clément-Steven BOUMEKPOR, of the Prov. Incarnate Word, in West Africa;
has dealt with the following cases of separation from the Order:
- Indult of dispensation from temporary vows: 3;
- Transfer to another Institute: 1;
- Indult of exlaustration: 5;
- Extension of the excuse pardon: 1;
- Indult of secularization ad experimentum: 2;
- Indult of secularization pure et simpliciter: 6;
- Indult of dispensation from solemn vows: 8;
- Dispensation from the charges of the clerical state: 2;
examined, amongst practices already in progress and new:
- Dismissal from the Order: 5;
He dealt with other practices of various kinds:
- Suppression of Houses: 45;
- Disposal of the Order's assets: 3;
- Granting and/or renewal of obedience and/or scholarships: 14;
- Anticipation/postponement Provincial Chapter: 2;
- Readmission without repeating the novitiate: 2;
- Other.
The next Tempo Forte is scheduled from the 5th to 20th May: from 12th to 20th May the General Definitory will meet with the New Provincial Ministers and Custodes; all the Entities of the Order are reminded to send the petitions to be submitted to the General Definitory within one week from the beginning of the work of the Tempo Forte (by Friday 25th April).
To the praise of Christ and the “Poverello: of Assisi. Amen!
Rome, 9th April 2025
Br. Antonio M. IACONA, OFM
Secretary-general
