In this special issue of Fraternitas, we wish to share with you the fruits of two historical events that have brought new light to the Order's journey: the 2025 Mat Chapter and the Order's Plenary Council. In these meetings there were intense days where the diversity of cultures and experiences were transformed into a source of communion and creativity.
From the 2nd-8th 2025 June, gathered around the Portiuncula, were more than 150 participants including friars, religious and lay people of the Franciscan Family, like those first friars who met with Francis in 1221, in an atmosphere of prayer, mutual listening and discernment in synodal style sat on today's “mats” to listen to each other, dialogue and allow themselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
This meeting was a moment of grace, where the different voices and experiences enriched the understanding of how we live the Franciscan charism today. Through the methodology of the “World Café”, the participants were able to deepen three fundamental aspects: the renewal of the charismatic vision, the prophetic style of fraternity in minority, and the evangelizing mission in today's world. In the same way, the pilgrimage to the Franciscan places of Assisi and the common prayer strengthened the sense of belonging and the call to live the Gospel.
Subsequently, the Plenary Council of the Order gathered the fruit of the Mat Chapter and projected it into the future, in preparation for the 2027 General Chapter. The PCO constituted a space for discernment on the current challenges of the Order: the creative transformation of structures, formation, shared mission, justice and integral ecology. These themes will guide the next General Chapter of the Order, with the invitation to advance from mere "conservation" towards real co-responsibility and openness to today's new "areopagus".
This edition collects the voices, testimonies and reflections of those who have lived these days of grace. In the same way we thank all those who, visible or discreet, have made this fraternal meeting possible.
May the Spirit of Pentecost, who has accompanied us on this journey, continue to inspire the Franciscan Order and Family to be faithful to the charism of St. Francis, "signs of hope and prophecy of communion and peace" in our world.
Br. Byron Chamann Anléu, OFM
Director
Let us retrace together the stages of this journey lived by renewing the Charism, living fraternity in minority, responding to the Mission.
Scarica il numero Speciale 360 di “Fraternitas” (27 giugno 2025):
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