From January 24 to 30, Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, and Definitor General, Br. Konrad Cholewa, visited the Franciscan Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Croatia. In a week full of meetings, Br. Massimo and Br. Konrad were accompanied by the Minister Provincial Br. Milan Krišto, the Visitor General Br. Tomaž Hočevar, and Br. Tomislav Šanko, Custos of the Franciscan Custody of St. Jerome - Zadar, dependent on the Province.
On the first day of their visit, the Minister and the Definitor General went to Varaždin to visit the elderly and sick friars in the provincial infirmary. During this brief meeting, Br. Massimo encouraged the friars to persevere and to pray for the Province and the entire Order. In the evening, Br. Massimo celebrated Holy Mass at the parish of Santa Croce (Holy Cross) in New Zagreb (Siget), where he also met the brothers and sisters of the OFS in that area.
On Monday the 26th, at the central convent of the Province in Zagreb – Kaptol, a meeting was held with all the friars of the Province and the Custody, about 60 of them, to whom Br. Massimo addressed these words: “We are not a professional agency where everyone has a task to perform. We are an evangelical fraternity where we live together the following of Christ. Like the disciples on the lake, we must gather together around the Lord. Like Francis and the first companions, our identity does not come from what we do, but from how we live together the following of Christ.”
After the meeting, Br. Massimo celebrated Holy Mass with the friars of the Province and the Custody, and welcomed friars from other Provinces that minister in Zagreb. Present were also the Ministers of the other Provinces of the Conference of St. Jerome (formerly the South Slavic Conference).
The Minister General also met with all the brothers in initial formation: the temporary professed in Zagreb, the novices in Rijeka – Tersatto, and the postulants in Pula. Furthermore, he met with all the formators and asked for a sincere and open dialog as they discussed the challenges of formation in their Provinces.
During their visits to the Province, Br. Massimo and Br. Konrad met with the archbishops of Zagreb and Rijeka, and in Serbia, the bishop of Subotica. Additionally, they also attended a session of the provincial Definitorium and one of the Custodial Council.
During a brief stop, Br. Massimo also visited friaries in Karlovac, Vukovar, Ilok, and in Serbia (which is part of the Province’s territory) as well as friaries in Bač and Subotica. In Karlovac, Br. Massimo witnessed the severe damaged that had occurred as a result of the 2020 earthquake. Much there is still yet to be rebuilt, and the brothers there live in very difficult conditions. In Vukovar, he visited memorial sites of the War of Independence which took place in the 1990’s, where the Franciscan friary, along with the entire city, was destroyed. In Ilok, Br. Massimo visited the friary and the sanctuary of St. John of Capestrano, who died in that very city.
In Serbia, Br. Massimo visited friars who live among the Orthodox people where there is a weak Catholic presence: the friars, in fact, live there in a silent presence. Br. Massimo celebrated Holy Mass with the small community of Subotica, and then visited the friars of the Province of Bosnia Argentina, who have their own friary in Belgrade.
