Meeting of the Minister and the General Definitory with the new Provincial Ministers and Custodes

From the 11th to 19th May, at the General Curia of the Order of Friars Minor, the Minister General and the General Definitory met with the new Provincial Ministers and Custodes for a time of formation and dialogue, aimed at accompanying the service of authority in the Entities and strengthening the life and mission of the Order. The meeting opened with a welcome and a presentation of General Curia's structure. Subsequently, the participants shared, in small groups and in plenary, the joys, hopes, challenges and expectations of the Entities. 

In his speech on the theme "The charism illuminates the service of authority in a change of era", the Minister General reminded the Ministers and Custodes that the charism is a gift of the Spirit intended for the service of the community and the mission, and not a heritage to be preserved in a private way. He emphasised that "the charism is not an idea to be kept in a display case, but a living force that directs our service," capable of offering concrete criteria for reading reality and making decisions. In continuity with the recent Magisterium, he insisted that authority is called to safeguard and revive this gift, promoting responsible freedom in our brothers and sisters. 

In this perspective, he highlighted listening as the first responsibility of those who are at the service of authority: a real and profound listening, capable of recognising the voice of the Spirit in fraternal life. He invited the Ministers not to be reduced to administrators, but to be "animators of the charism", attentive to personal accompaniment and community discernment. As an examination, he asked a question that ran through the entire meeting: "Who listens to me, who am I in the service of authority, and whom am I obeying at this time?", so that the service of governance remains anchored to mission and charism. 

In the following days, the themes of legislation and provincial government, the Definitory as a council and canonical procedures to accompany brothers in difficulty were addressed; Dialogues were held in the language groups and an assembly session with presentation of the work and questions. 

The formation itinerary also dealt with the economy in the life of the mission and the Entity, the accompaniment of victims and accused brothers and sisters and the Protection of minors and vulnerable adults, as well as the introduction of policies and codes of conduct in the Entities. These contents were intertwined with moments of sharing in groups, dialogues with the speakers and synthesis assemblies. 

As part of the meeting, visits were made, for language groups, to the offices of the General Curia, amongst which the Office for the Secular Franciscan Order and Franciscan Youth, the Office for Franciscan Nuns and Institutes (Pro Monialibus) and the General Postulation for the Causes of Beatification and Canonization were carried out; as well as the General Secretariat for the Missions and Evangelization,  the Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation and the Historical Archive, with exchange times on the service rendered to the life of the Order. The programme also included visits to the Delegation of the Holy Land, the Pontifical University Antonianum, and CISA. In addition, a pilgrimage to Assisi, with a visit to the Franciscan sanctuaries. 

In the final phase, themes related to the service of the Minister were addressed: listening to the brothers and personal solitude, the management of situations of fraternal conflict and preparations for the General Chapter. 

Over the course of the days, there were also spaces for personal meetings with the Minister General and moments of prayer - Lauds, Vespers, and the Mass- in the official languages of the Order; videos of the different Entities were shown, and moments of recreation and fraternity were shared. 

Read the Minister General’s speech: Italiano - English - Español
View photos on Flickr

The meeting was attended by the Ministers and Custodes: 
Br. George Mutombo Misange - Prov. "St. Benedict the African", in the Rep. Dem. Congo 
Br. Federico Gandolfi - Fond. “St. Francis of Assisi” in Sudan e Sud Sudan 
Br. Ivica Jagodić - Prov. "Sts.. Cyril and Methodius", in Croatia 
Br. Filipo Mearhem - Prov. "Holy Family", in Egypt 
Br. Francesco Ielpo - Cust. Holy Land in Jerusalem 
Br. Siniša Balajić - Prov. Dalmatian "Holy Redemer", in Croatia 
Br. Nicola Maria Violante - Prov. "St. Michael the Archangel", in Italy 
Br. Marco Vianelli - Prov. Seraphic "St. Francis of Assisi", in Italy 
Br. Massimo Tunno - Prov. "Assumption of B.V.M.", in Italy 
Br. Antonio Scabio - Prov. "St. Anthony of the Friars Minor", in Italy 
Br. Jean Baptiste Murhega Tabaro - Prov. "St Anthony of Padova", in the Rep. Dem. Cong. 
Br. Ivair de Carvalho - Cust. Dip. "Immaculate Mother of God", in Angola 
Br. Nicolás Aguilar - Prov. “St. Francis Solano”, in Argentina 
Br. Emilio Luís Andrada - Pr 24-26 ov. "Assumption of the B.V.M. of the Rio de la Plata", in Argentina 
Br. Raúl Bruno Vargas - Prov. Missionaria “St. Anthony”, in Bolivia 
Br. David Fernando Tello Labajos - Prov. "St. Francis Solano", Peru 
Br. Angel Montoya Montoya - Prov. “St Francis of Quito”, in Ecuador 
Br. José João Quintã Pereira - Prov. "The Holy Protomartyrs of Morocco", in Portugal 
Br. Felipe de Jesús Santiago Ortega - Prov. "St. Juniper Serra", in Mexico 
Br. Olávio José Dotto - Prov. "St. Francis of Assisi", in Brazil 
Br. Evódio João - Prov. "St. Clare of Assisi", in Mozambique 
Br. Moses Kim - Prov. "The Holy Martyrs of Korea", in South Korea 
Br. Agustinus Lorensius Nggame - Prov. "St. Michael the Archangel", in Indonesia 
Br. Pierre Ducharme - Prov. “Holy Spirit”, in Canada 
Br. Patrick Boyle - Prov. "Immaculate Conception B.V.M.", in the USA 
Br. Christian Gostečnik - Prov. “Holy Cross”, in Slovenia 
Br. Fanuel Magwidi - Cust. aut. "Good Shepherd", in Zimbabwe 
Br. Nicodème Kolani - Prov. "Incarnate Word", in West Africa 
Br. Stephen Dominic Bliss - Prov. “Holy Spirit” in Australia 
Br. Jean Pierre Rasolonjanahary - Prov. "Immaculate Conception B.V.M.", in Madagascar and Mauritius
Br. Matthias Kule - Prov. "St. Francis", in East Africa 
Br. Antonio José Reyes López - Cust. of the Immaculate Conception in Venezuela 
Br. Ramon Farrugia - Prov. St. Paul the Apostle, in Malta