With the recitation of the Canticle of the Creatures in six languages, the International Council for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (ICJPIC), held in the city of Assisi from the 1st - 7th of March 2025, was concluded.
Br. Francesco Piloni, Minister Provincial of the Seraphic Province of St. Francis, in his words of welcome to the members of the ICJPIC, recalled that the Franciscan process has three important moments: to know, to interpret and to choose. Three verbs that summarise what was experienced and dealt with by the participants of the ICJPIC, which is composed of the JPIC coordinators of the conferences of the Order and the members of the Animation Committee.
Firstly - to know - the challenges of the Franciscan conferences around the world and the current situation in each of the continents were presented. It showed what has been achieved and what still needs to be done. Blair Matheson TSSF, Executive Director of Franciscans International, also gave an overview of the current situation in the advocacy that Franciscans International, as a Franciscan Non-Governmental Organisation, is carrying out at the United Nations.
Secondly- interpretation - the Canticle of the Creatures was proposed as a key to understanding the current context and the responses to be offered based on the Franciscan mysticism, transparent in justice, peace and care for the common home. The intervention of the Secretaries General of Formation and Studies and of Missions and Evangelisation underlined the need for collaborative work between these levels of animation.
Thirdly - to choose - the general lines of action that will guide and inspire JPIC action in the coming years were approved. These general lines of action are in the final document or Assisi 2025 Declaration, approved by all the participants. In this regard, one of them stated: ‘a challenge [for us] is to develop these lines of action in our conferences. The way forward now is to encourage our brothers and sisters’.
The moments of prayer, the Eucharist and the fraternal atmosphere favoured discernment which also led to the approval of a message of solidarity with the suffering people of Eastern Congo.
Br. Daniel N. Rodriguez Blanco, Director of the General JPIC Office, addressed the friars, saying: ‘We have come to this sanctuary of peace, Assisi, so that Francis may once again fill our hearts with hope’. Each member of the International Council returned to his or her region with a heart full of hope to continue his or her Franciscan mission.
Download the Assisi 2025 Declaration (waiting for the translation)
Read the article about the first days of the meeting
