The Tempo forte of November 2016 lasted almost two weeks, the second of which (14th – 18th November) was spent in conjunction with 20 Visitators General. In the first week of the meeting, after sharing some information about their various activities in the weeks since the end of the September Tempo forte, the Minister and Definitory devoted their attention to the ordinary matters of business.
Once again, one of the largest items on the agenda was the consideration of a series of reports presented by Visitators and Delegates General. These included:
- The report of Br. Dymitr Żeglin, on his visit to the Province of St Francis of Assisi, in Poland;
- The report of Br. Enzo Maggioni, on his visit to the Province of St. Michael the Archangel, in Italy;
- The report of Br. Jesus Aguirre, on his visit to the Province of St Benedict, the African, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
- The report of Br. Baltazar Obico, on his visit to the Custody of St Anthony, in the Philippines;
- The report of Br. Guido Zegarra, on his visit to the Province of St Francis of Quito, in Ecuador;
- The report of Br. Fabio Berti, on his visit to the Province of the Immaculate Conception, in Italy;
- The report of Br. Andrew Brophy, on his visit to the Province of the Holy Spirit, in Australia and New Zealand;
- The report of Br. Massimo Fusarelli, on his service as Visitator and Delegate to the new Province of St Anthony, in Italy;
- The report of Br. Juan Manuel Muñoz Curial, on his service as Delegate General for the Province of the Holy Gospel, in Mexico;
- The report of Br. Michael Woo, on his service as Visitator of an Entity dependent on the Minister General.
In the course of their sessions, the General Definitory ratified the election of some new Ministers and Custodes. These included:
- Br. Phillip Miscamble, Minister Provincial of the Province of the Holy Spirit in Australia and New Zealand.
- Br. Adrianus Sunarko, Minister Provincial of the Province of St Michael the Archangel, in Indonesia.
- Br. Daniel Alejandro Fleitas Zeni, Minister Provincial of the Province of St Francis Solanus, in Argentina.
Following the departure from the Curia of Br. Akmed Echeverry Carbonell, the General Definitory elected as Vicar of the Fraternity of the General Curia Br. Siniša Balajić. The Definitory also elected as Vicar of the International College of St Anthony in Rome, Br Ernesto Dezza, and as members of the Discretorium, Br. Nazariusz Popielarski, Br. Jorge Horta, Br. Nikolaus Schöch, Br. Marco Guida, Br. Witosław Sztyk.
The Definitory elected a number of Visitators General who will visit the Provinces and other Entities in the coming year:
- Br Emmanuel Musara, of the Custody of the Good Shepherd, in Zimbabwe, dependent on the Province of Ireland, as Visitator of the Province of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, in South Africa.
- Br Romualdo Kośla, of the Province of the Immaculate Conception of the BVM, in Poland, as Visitator of the Pontifical University, Antonianum.
At the request of the Custos and Council of the Custody of St. Anthony, in the Philippines, the General Definitory elected Br. Eduardo Armento, of the Province of San Pedro Bautista in the Philippines, as Delegate General to accompany the process towards the possibility of establishing a new Province.
Altogether a total of 70 files (plichi) were examined during this Tempo Forte, dealing mostly with ordinary administrative matters.
Having received the opinion of the Juridical Office, the Minister and Definitory approved some modifications made to the Particular Statutes of the following Entities:
- The Province of St Elizabeth, in Germany;
- The Province of St Thomas the Apostle, in India;
Other particular statutes examined during this Tempo forte were not approved as further modifications will have to be made by the government of the Entities involved.
The Minister and Definitory received an update on the financial situation of the General Curia from the General Treasurer, who also presented several proposals for the better operation of the Treasurer’s Office for the future.
Attention was given also to the particular situation of certain Entities that find themselves in difficulties at this time, and to the question of how best to accompany those Entities that are dependent on the Minister General. Some forward planning was done in relation to the Plenary Council of the Order to be held in Nairobi in June 2018.
On 12th November, the Minister and many of the Definitory joined over 250 other friars of the four Orders (OFM, OFMConv, OFMCap, and TOR) living and working in Rome at a fraternal meeting in the International College of St. Lawrence of Brindisi.
24th November 2016
Aidan McGrath ofm
Secretary General