Meeting of the International Council for Formation and Studies

From the 14th to 18th July 2026, the meeting of the International Council for Formation and Studies, composed of the Secretaries for Formation and Studies of the OFM Conferences, was held at the General Curia in Rome. 

During the meeting, the individual Secretaries had the opportunity to share the experiences of their respective Conferences, both in the context of ongoing formation and initial formation. The reception of the Letters to the Formators, which the General Secretariat for Formation and Studies has sent to all Entities starting from January 2025, was also discussed. 

The friars of the OFM Fraternitas Foundation presented the projects the Foundation promotes to support formation in the Order. 

During the meeting with the Minister General, he reflected on formation in the following of Christ today, proposing the question that should guide every formation journey: "What kind of brother does the Lord ask for our Order today?" 

The central part of the meeting was dedicated to the work on the Instrumentum laboris relating to Formation and Studies for the next General Chapter, with particular attention to the preparation of the revision of the Ratio Formationis Franciscanae.