From the 25th to the 29th September, 2023, br. Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General, and br. Cesar Kulkamp, General Definitor of the area, visited the Province of St. Francis Solano, in Northern Argentina.
This visit took place within the meeting of all the friars of the Province (from the 22nd to the 26th), including moments of celebration, sharing and ongoing formation.
They were, in fact, days of fraternal dialogue with the Minister, reflecting on the horizons and challenges of religious life and the life of the Friars Minor in Argentina and Latin America, with the urgent need for a change in structures and mentalities immersed in a world that changes.
On 25th September the Eucharist was celebrated with the Franciscan Family (nuns, OFS, lay people, young people, pupils and teachers of the schools managed by the Friars Minor); subsequently, sharing dinner together, we experienced moments of celebration with the accompaniment of music and dances typical of the Argentina.
On the 26th September br. Massimo and br. Cesar visited the original Ava – Guaraní Community at the Mission St. Francis of Pichanal, where they were welcomed by the people with great joy; it was a day of celebration, inculturation and gratitude to God.
Br. Massimo, in his words at the end of the welcome ceremony, recalled that "every time we dare to come out of ourselves, when we give our lives with generosity, life flows, the Gospel and the charism become present and incarnate in the reality of people and culture".
At the end of the meeting of the friars of the Province with their visitors, br. Massimo and br. Cesar had the opportunity to meet the Minister Provincial, br. Daniel Fleitas, and the Definitory, and then gave a final farewell to all the friars.
Br. Daniel, after thanking the Minister and the Definitor for the fraternal visit and the brothers who provided the various services during the meeting, encouraged everyone to continue the journey starting from 4 key points:
Br. Massimo shared with the emotion and gratitude of the fraternal welcome received and the openness of the friars of the Province, and the emotion for the aboriginal communities of Northern Argentina where he witnessed the strength and at the same time the pain of the people, the beauty of the culture and of the simple and profound faith of the people. Subsequently, he invited the friars to always maintain the tension between the fraternal and the personal, being careful of extremes: excessive individuality or, on the contrary, the risk of conforming to the will of others.
The challenge is to maintain tension so that each individual can express himself and yet contribute to a common project. Life lies precisely in this tension, according to the Minister General, who concluded by underlining the importance of always being careful to discern how to proclaim Jesus Christ to-day, in the reality where life and a Gospel are forever incarnate.
