The Visit of the General Minister to the Custody of San Benedetto of Amazonia in Brazil

From 18 to 26 February 2018, the General Minister, Br. Michael Anthony Perry, visited the Custody of Amazonia in Brazil accompanied by Br. Valmir Ramos, the area's General Definitor. Arriving on the 18th in Manaus, he was received by the brothers of St. Bonaventure Friary, which houses the Friar students of philosophy who attend the Salesian University in Manaus. From Manaus Br. Michael went to Boa Vista, where the Brazilian conference maintains an interprovincial missionary fraternity from 1992. There he celebrated with the brothers by thanking God for his 25 years of mission in the extreme north of Brazil. There, general Minister could see the situation of the Church in the state of Roraima, which is quite difficult because of the distances, the lack of diocesan clergy, the unbridled growth of the city of Boa Vista, and the arrival of the Venezuelan migrants who, in 2017, were circa 70,000. In Santarém, where the seat of the custody is located, Br. Michael met the majority of the Friars and the Council of the custody. He also celebrated the Eucharist with the Franciscan Family of that great area of Amazonia. The program of the visit to the Mission St. Francis in the River Cururu, the oldest continuous mission of the friars, was suspended due to incessant torrential rain. The visit to the custody ended in Belém, with the community that cares for a very lively and socially active parish.