From October 22 to 24, the Commission for Parishes and Sanctuaries, convened by the Minister General and his Definitory, met in the General Curia, charged with initiating, together with the General Secretary for Missions and Evangelization, a process of updating the document, “Sent to Evangelize in Minority and Fraternity in the Parish”.
Reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of parish evangelization in today’s world, discerning and planning the steps to be taken to update the document were some of the objectives of the first meeting in the presence of the Commission.
After a fraternal welcome from Br. Francisco Gómez Vargas, Secretary for Missions and Evangelization of the Order, the participants were motivated by the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, who recalled important Franciscan ecclesiological elements of the life and mission of the parish reality.
Father Sergio Massironi, theologian of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development of the Holy See, illustrated the work around the words evangelization, fraternity, minority, parish, and sanctuary.
During the meeting, the sense of ecclesial belonging that is constitutive of the Franciscan identity was emphasized, which is an essential requirement for the presence of the brothers in the parishes. Ecclesial belonging is internal to the charism, because the Franciscans are pilgrims and walk with the people of God, they are in the parishes without owning them.
The etymology of the word “parish”, whose means refers to proximity, closeness, becoming close, is stimulating for the constant process of conversion in the Franciscan way of being in the parish, at the service of the Kingdom of God. Advancing in synodality, evangelizing in fraternity and minority, working in authentic collaboration with the laity, overcoming individualism, clericalism and sacramentalism are privileged ways of approaching (paroikía) in the parish mission entrusted to the Franciscan Order since the 14th century.
After 15 years of existence of the document on the presence of Friars Minor in the parishes, the time has come to update it, thinking of new prospectives and intuitions so that Franciscan evangelization in parish institutions continues to bear fruits of peace and goodwill.
The following brothers participated in the meeting:
Br. Francisco Gómez Vargas, OFM, Secretary General for the Missions and Evangelization;
Br. Pedro Botia Nogueiras, OFM, Province of the Immaculate Conception, Spain;
Br. Lawrence Janezic, OFM, Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, USA;
Br. Krzysztof Paszkiewicz, OFM, Province of St. Mary of the Angels, Poland;
Br. Boaventura da Silva, OFM, Custody of St. Francis of Assisi, Guinea Bissau;
Br. Dagoberto Marín Pacheco, OFM, Province of the Holy Faith, Colombia;
Br. João Fernandes Reinert, OFM, Province of the Immaculate Conception, Brazil;
Br. Reu Jose Galoy, OFM, Province of St. Peter Baptist, Philippines.
Document “Sent to Evangelize in Minority and Fraternity in the Parish”: Italiano – English - Espanõl
