On the 24th May, the General Government met with UCLAF in Veracruz, Mexico. The day began with the celebration of the Mass in the cathedral of Veracruz, presided over by the Vicar General of the OFM, Br. Ignacio Ceja Jiménez. "The feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis is an excellent opportunity to deepen the implications, for our life and our mission, of the event we are celebrating in these days: the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the Franciscan 'twelve apostles'. These brothers of ours, by taking on the task of evangelizing the inhabitants of these lands, have not only laid the foundations of the Church in Mexico, but have started one of the most distinguished evangelizing enterprises in the history of the Church and of our Order," said Br. Ignacio in his homily.
The meeting continued at the Clavijero Theatre with a magisterial lecture by Sr. Liliana Franco Echeverry on the theme "The Challenges of Religious Life for Latin America Starting from the Synod of Synodality." She began by talking about the "five keys to the spirit of synodality" that are indispensable: the art of listening, the contemplative gaze and reality, emanating anti-evangelical forms, existential and geographical itinerancy and finally missionary outreach in inter-congregationality and interculturality.
Sr. Liliana invited us to see the mission in terms of synodality: "The great mission is to help build the 'We', and this requires conversion." He invited the Franciscans to show in themselves: Francis, Clare, and the “smell” of the Gospel in life.
She went on to say that there is an urgent need for a pastoral conversion in a missionary key to make the ecclesial "we" possible, transcending singularities to live in the gift of plurality.
The meeting continued with a message from Br. Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General, who recalled that the twelve apostles had a totally new encounter: they were able to carry out their evangelizing mission thanks to their solid cultural preparation and the reading of the signs of the times.
He asked the friars for a renewal of Franciscan missionary activity starting from a personal relationship with God, a true fraternal life, a sobriety of life without straying from the humblest and letting oneself be carried away by the Spirit: "I am very sure that the Spirit urgently asks of us something else: that we should have the courage to let ourselves be pushed beyond our securities, also pastoral, to imagine and begin to live a 'new' Franciscan life in ways and means, supported by adequate preparation for the mission," said Br. Massimo.
The Minister also invited the friars to walk in a synodal Church alongside the laity, moving from collaboration to co-responsibility with them in the mission.
He also invited them to seek new forms of life and evangelization, to resume the Order's missions in the Amazon, Cuba, Haiti, presences in indigenous peoples and presences in the peripheries of metropolises.
He concluded by congratulating the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the arrival of the first friars in Mexico.
In the afternoon there was a lecture entitled "An evangelizing utopia for the New World. The missionary project of the first 12 Franciscans".
Br. Guillermo Rodriguez Rico, OFM introduced the speaker Br. Francisco Morales Valerio, OFM, his journey within the Order and his studies on the evangelization of the Franciscans in America. Fr. Francisco spoke of the ideal of an Indian church, of a new Christianity. For him, the Franciscans were a key in the evangelization of the sixteenth century, as they knew Mesoamerican culture directly and were immersed in it. He presented as a key point the intercultural dialogue carried out by the friars, the effort to get to know the other, in a difficult reality of the encounter of two totally different cultures. For this reason, when the missionaries arrived in Mexico, they made an effort to learn the language and culture and then brought the Gospel message into the language of the indigenous people.
The meeting ended in the evening with the presentation of the play "You will know them by their works".
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