From 18 to 24 February 2026, the Minister General, Br Massimo Fusarelli, and the Definitor General for Asia-Oceania, Br John Wong, visited the Foundation of St Francis of Assisi in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The visit took place at a significant moment: nearly 80 years have passed since the arrival, at the beginning of 1947, of Australian and Italian missionaries in Aitape, in the western Sepik area. This anniversary invites gratitude and renewed commitment to the Franciscan presence and mission in this land.
Papua New Guinea is a tropical country of extraordinary natural beauty and rich in resources, yet marked by great poverty and widespread underdevelopment. The population is approximately 11 million: over 25% are baptised Catholics and around 95% identify as Christian. The three fraternities of the Foundation are all located in lowland areas near the sea: in Aitape, in the capital Port Moresby, and in Banaule on the island of New Britain.
Today the Foundation includes 18 local friars, together with one Australian missionary, one Italian and two Vietnamese. The friars truly live and serve according to Franciscan values of humility, poverty and simplicity, in close proximity to the people.
The Minister General and the Definitor General received traditional welcomes in Port Moresby and in Aitape, a sign of the deep esteem for the Franciscan presence by the people of this land. The journey from Port Moresby to Aitape required, each way, a one-and-a-half-hour flight and a four-and-a-half-hour road journey in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, crossing more than fifty rivers, many of them without bridges. This demanding geography make the generosity of the mission even more evident.
During the visit, Br Massimo and Br John met with the friars of the different communities, the Poor Clare sisters, the MFIC sisters, members of the OFS, and some local priests and religious, including the Bishop of Aitape, Bishop Siby Mathew HGN. It was a time of listening, prayer and fraternal sharing.
The Foundation is currently living through a time of restructuring, led by the President of the Foundation, Br Paul Smith, with the accompaniment of the General Animator for the Missions and Delegate General for Papua New Guinea, Br Dennis Tayo. After a pause of six years, vocations have resumed, ad many young people are showing interest in Franciscan life. At present there are six postulants and eight aspirants.
The OFM friars maintain a very close fraternal and collaborative relationship with the Capuchin friars. They share a common two-year postulancy programme, based at the Capuchin postulancy house in Madang, where OFM and Capuchin postulants and formators live together. Furthermore, during the construction of the Capuchin friary in Port Moresby, several Capuchin friars lived for months in the Foundation’s initial formation fraternity. This spirit of communion is a concrete sign of Franciscan fraternity.
In his meeting with the friars of the Foundation, the Minister General stressed that he had come “from the other side of the world” not to bring answers from above, but to walk together, to listen and to pray. He expressed appreciation for the discernment process undertaken by the Foundation, which was able to recognise honestly what is good — simple fraternity, closeness to the poor, missionary spirit, growing vocations — and to name the difficulties with courage. “Guard fraternity as your most precious treasure,” he said, recalling that Saint Francis built the Order not with great structures, but with men capable of loving and serving one another.
Meeting with the Foundation Council and the Guardians, the Minister General encouraged a leadership lived as fraternal service, founded on clear communication and personal accompaniment of the friars, especially the younger ones. He insisted on the importance of respecting and living the decisions of Chapters and Councils, communicating them clearly and reviewing their implementation over time.
There remains a great need for new missionaries capable of integrating into other cultures in a fraternal and collaborative way, especially those with experience in formation and administrative ministries. This is essential in order to support the growth of the Order in Papua New Guinea and to give this presence an increasingly international face.
At the conclusion of the visit, Br Massimo assured the friars of the affection of the entire Franciscan family throughout the world: “You are small in number, but great in your calling. May the Lord bless you and may Saint Francis walk with you.”
