From November the 9th to 17th, 2024 at the Seraphicum College of the Conventual Friars Minor, in Rome, the International Council of the Secular Franciscan Order (CIOFS) celebrated, with the participation of 66 capitulars and 16 observers, the Mid-Term Chapter of the OFS, whose theme was "You are love".
Each day the celebration of Mass emphasized a specific aspect of it. On the first day, in the celebration presided over by the General Spiritual Assistant Br. Stefan Acatrinei, OFM Conv, the focus was on the “joy of encounter”.
On the second day, the General Spiritual Assistant Br. Carlos Ginés Campos Julve, TOR led the reflection on the theme "we come with our brothers and sisters".
On the third day, the Minister General of the Capuchin Friars, Fr. Roberto Genuin, OFM Cap, presided over the theme of "the memory of our deceased brothers and sisters".
On the fourth day, Br. Fernando Ventura, OFM Cap, dealt with the theme of the family, whilst on the fifth day the celebration was held in the Shrine of La Verna and the general spiritual assistant, Br. Pedro Zitha, OFM, who presided over it, dealt with the theme "The 800 years of the Stigmata. Centenary 2024".
On the sixth day it was the turn of the Minister General of the TOR, Br. Amando Trujillo Cano, who spoke about the "Care of our common home", while on the seventh day the Minister General of the Friars Conventual, Br. Carlo Trovarelli, spoke about the 750th Centenary of St. Bonaventure. On the eighth day, "commitment" was discussed, a theme also addressed by the OFM Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, who in his homily at the celebration he presided over also addressed three words offered by the liturgy of the day: Truth, Love and Prayer.
The Chapter ended on the feast day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, of which the TOR Minister General, Fr. Amando Trujillo Cano, spoke.
During the working sessions, the Chapter members approved the Chapter Regulations and the work programme.
The Chapter members also approved, with a specific vote, the final draft of the International Statutes of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) that had previously been sent to the national fraternities.
The Chapter members also had the joy of reflecting on the Instrumentum Laboris "You are love" (see the responses received from the national fraternities of the OFS to this theme).
On the penultimate day, the capitulars voted and approved the budget for the next three years. Representatives of some fraternities, such as those of Argentina, Brazil, Croatia and Portugal, shared the projects that have developed their national fraternities. The capitulars then had the opportunity to listen to the members of the "Table for Peace, Disarmament and Nuclear Conversion" of the OFS of Lazio, who shared their knowledge and concerns regarding the vastness of the atomic arsenal present in the world. They pointed out that, unfortunately, the Christian world is also in possession of these weapons of mass destruction, which in their opinion should be transformed into an instrument of peace and progress. The first tools to be used are prayer, which changes the hearts of men and women, and commitment to building peace, for the good of all humanity.
The last session of the Chapter was dedicated to the evaluation and decisions on the questions that will guide the life of the International Fraternity in the next three years and that will have to be implemented by the Presidency of CIOFS.
Read the homily of the Minister General
Read the programme of work and the responses to the Instrumentum laboris
With the contribution of Br. Pedro Zitha, OFM
