Filipino Franciscan Communicators Gather

Quezon City, Philippines — August 8, 2026. — The Franciscan Communication Office of the Province of San Pedro Bautista organized the first “Media for Mission: Franciscan Social Communicators Gathering” at the Portiuncula Hall of the Basilica Minore de San Pedro Bautista. The gathering, facilitated by Br. Nino Rosal, OFM, brought together the Franciscan family to reflect on communication, artificial intelligence, and mission in the digital age.

Participants included friars, brothers in formation, social communicators from different Franciscan parishes, Secular Franciscans, Young Franciscan Advocates, YouFra, and members of the Franciscan Youth Movement, with participants outside Metro Manila joining online. The gathering sought to strengthen Franciscan social communication as an instrument of communion, evangelization, fraternity, and mission.

Br. Angelito Cortez, OFM gave the main presentation, “Magnifica Humanitas: Fraternity in the Digital Age,” highlighting human dignity, authentic relationships, truth, and fraternity amid rapid technological change. He also discussed Incipe Iterum – Begin Again: OFM Guidelines for Presence in Digital Media, emphasizing the call to inhabit digital spaces with an authentically Franciscan and evangelical presence.

Participants also engaged in missionary discernment as part of the preparatory journey toward the OFM General Chapter 2027. Following the three phases of Recognising, Interpreting, and Choosing, they reflected on the challenges and opportunities of AI and digital media, interpreted these through the Franciscan values of minority, itinerancy, and fraternity, and proposed stronger digital formation, ethical use of AI, and creative approaches to evangelization. The official worksheet describes this process as moving from reading the signs of the times, to interpreting them in the light of the charism, and finally to proposing practical guidelines for the General Chapter.

The collective discernment was summarized in three words: humanity • fraternity • mission—affirming that the challenge is not simply how Franciscans use technology, but how they remain authentically human, Franciscan, and missionary in the digital age.

The gathering concluded with a collective synthesis, sharing of commitments, and closing prayer, marking an important step toward strengthening a network of Franciscan communicators committed to truth, encounter, fraternity, and the Gospel.

By Br. Angelito Cortez, OFM