On the 7th and 8th November, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the beatification of John Duns Scotus, a conference was held in Rome, organized by the Pontifical University Antonianum, on the figure of “Doctor Sottile”, an illustrious mind of the past who still arouses interest and devotion in the Franciscan world and beyond.
On Tuesday 7th November, moderated by Br. Aleksander Horowski OFM Cap, after the greetings of Br. Josip Percan OFM, President of the Scotist Commission, and Br. Witold Salamon OFM, Member of the Commission, Professor Luca Parisoli, of the Department of Humanities of the University of Calabria, presented the figure of Umile da Bisignano (1582 – 1637), canonized in 2002 and very devoted to Scotus: “A lay friar between an unspeakable culture and a dry path to Heaven” was the title of his speech.
Afterwards, Br. Zdzisław Kijas OFM Conv, Postulator General of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, described the process of the Beatification of Duns Scotus and the prospects for his canonization.
The day ended in St. Anthony’s Basilica with the Eucharistic celebration presided over by H. E. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.
On Wednesday the 8th November, the liturgical memorial of the Scottish Blessed, the Rector of the PUA, Br. Agustín Hernández Vidales OFM, addressed his greetings to those present, speaking about the history of the Scotist Commission, the Letter of the Minister General Br. Massimo Fusarelli, published on the 20th March, 2023 and dedicated precisely to the 30th anniversary of the confirmation of the cult ab immemorial paid to Duns Scotus.
Afterwards, with the moderation of Br. Raffaele Di Muro OFM Conv, Dean of the “St. Bonaventure” Theological Faculty of the Seraphicum in Rome, the Ministers General Br. Carlos Alberto Trovarelli OFM Conv and Br. Roberto Genuin OFM Cap addressed their greetings to the participants by means of a video.
The floor then passed to Msgr. Francesco Iannone, Director of the Inter-diocesan Institute of Religious Sciences “Giovanni Duns Scoto” of Nola – Acerra. Msgr. Iannone recounted the devotion that the city of Nola and its inhabitants have always paid to the Franciscan theologian.
Br. Ernesto Dezza OFM, professor of the PUA, focused his talk on the "Beatitude according to Duns Scotus", making a philosophical and theological excursus on the meaning of "beatitude": whether it consists in itself in an operation; whether it perfects the essence more immediately than the power of the blessed one himself; if it consists of several operations at the same time. For Scotus, the professor recalled, beatitude is a gift of the Divine Will and, as such, perpetual in the blessed because it is revealed to him by God Himself.
Br. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM Minister General, closed the conference by emphasizing the importance of the teachings of Duns Scotus in interpreting the contemporary reality in which we live in the light of the Franciscan charism: “May celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Church's recognition of his holiness of life, help us to rediscover and cultivate his thought, in search of a principle, of a foundation that guides us at this time, to be faithful, in the living course of reality and history, to the evangelical charism that we have received and that from St. Francis onwards which lives in the world and in the Church in different ways.”
