The Minister General visits the Province of the Holy Spirit in Canada

From 18 to 25 September 2022, Br Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General, accompanied by Br Jimmy Zammit, Definitor General, visited the Province of the Holy Spirit in Canada, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. The Minister was welcomed by Br Pierre Charland, Minister Provincial, with the friars of the Canadian Province, in the Provincial Curia. "I wanted to meet the friars, all our friars, and I am welcoming and meeting new and inspiring models for living the charism of St Francis in this complex country and time. Our friars are here looking for new ways to be a witness and a sign of humanity and to be light," says the Minister General on his visit to Canada. Since his arrival, the Minister has had the opportunity to meet all the friars of the Province - elders and young people in formation -, the Poor Clares and the friars' co-workers in Montreal, Ville Saint-Laurent, Trois Rivières, Lachute, Montreal, Edmonton, Alberta, Cochrane, British Columbia, and Richmond. Br Pierre Charland shared the experience the Province is having these days with the presence of the Minister General: "In each of the fraternities, the Minister General took the time to meet the friars, and presided at the Eucharist in Montreal, Trois-Rivières, Edmonton and Richmond. The friars were very touched by this personalised attention to their places of worship, fraternal life, and ministry. Br Massimo conversed with each of them, so our friars could share their experiences as a province with him. This visit will help to increase the sense of belonging to the Order and encourage the friars to continue to be witnesses of the Gospel, as lesser brothers, throughout the vast land of Canada". The Franciscan Province of the Holy Spirit (Province Saint-Esprit) was born on 22 October 2018, the result of the merger of two Canadian Provinces (that of Saint Joseph and that of Christ the King). The friars of the Province are committed to reconciliation with the native Canadian communities after the discovery in May last year of mass graves in the garden of Kamloops Indian Residential School, British Columbia, which left Canadians shocked.