Fraternal Visit of the Minister General to the Province of Santiago de Compostela

From 24 to 27 September, the Minister General, Br Massimo Fusarelli, accompanied by the Definitor General Br Cesare Vaiani, made a fraternal visit to the Province of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. During the plenary meeting and his visits to the fraternities, he had the opportunity to meet almost all the friars of the Province.

At the heart of his message was gratitude for the history, life and mission of a Province whose roots reach back to the time of St Francis. Many of its friars gave their lives in the Holy Land, Morocco and Venezuela. Particularly moving was the meeting with the friars in the infirmary, several of whom had devoted their lives to the missions.

Drawing on this memory, Br Massimo reflected on the present situation of the Province, marked by a decline in numbers. The call is to view this situation in the light of faith, aware that it is precisely from our poverty that a future can emerge. The ongoing journey involving the three Provinces of Spain and the Province of Portugal seeks to respond to this call.

The Minister and the Definitor also met the Poor Clares of Santiago, the Conceptionist Nuns of the Federation, several OFS fraternities, parishioners and volunteers involved in social outreach. These were moments of listening and sharing, marked by the joy of a common mission.

The Eucharist celebrated with the friars and the Franciscan Family in the historic friary of Herbón, the celebration with the Conceptionist Nuns, and the one with the community and the Franciscan Family in Pontevedra brought together and entrusted to the Lord the journey of these days. They were days that open us to hope in the new future that the Spirit is calling for and unfolding in this moment of our history.