| Friar Antonio Ricco named General Visitor |
 ROME - At the last Tempo Forte meeting of the General Minister with his General Definitory, Friar Antonio Riccio, guardian of our Convento San Francesco, and a member of the Sannito-Irpina Province of "Our Lady of Graces" in Italy, was named General Visitor to the Abruzzo Province of "St. Bernadine of Siena" in Italy. The Abruzzo Province was the home Province of our founder, Friar Panfiolo da Magliano. |
| General Chapter set to begin |
 ASSISI - The General Chapter of our Order is set to begin and will take place at the Domus Pacis in Assisi from May 24 through June 22.
Among the degates to the General Chapter are our Provincial Minister Robert Campagna and Friar Gabriel Aceto, who was elected by the Provincial Ministers of the English Speaking Conference to serve as the lay delegate for the Conference.
Additionally from our Province, Friar Edwin Paniagua will be at the General Chapter as part of the translation staff; and Friar Tom Washburn will be at the General Chapter doing communication work on behalf of the ESC.
Watch for the regular bulletins from the Chapter beginning May 25. |
| PHOTO ESSAY: 8th Centenary Celebration |
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CASTEL GANDOLFO, ITALY - On April 18, Pope Benedict XVI received more than 2,000 Franciscan men and women at his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Franciscan Rule of Life by Pope Innocent III.
From our Convento San Francesco, the following friars were present for this historic event: Friars Antonio Riccio, Francis Walter, Christopher Gaffrey, Giacomo La Selva, Joaquin Mejia, Alvin Te, Conrad Fernandes, Sergio Vareiro, Francisco Soriano and Joseph Powell.
Over the past 800 years, the first dozen friars received together with Saint Francis by Pope Innocent III have turned into thousands. Thats what Pope Benedict XVI told those gathered following a meeting of the Chapter of Mats. The Pope noted that the Franciscan family has from the very start been obedient to the Pope and authentically spiritual while many other movements have opposed the Magisterum. The Pope asked Franciscans to become the "living Word," to continue their spiritual renewal and to help the Church's pastors bring more and more faithful into the fold.
Below are some photos from the event. Several of them were taken by Friar Alvin Te.
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| Friar Luis Cabrera nominated Bishop |
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ROME - The Holy Father has nominated as Metropolitan Archbishop of Cuenca, Ecuador, Friar Luis Cabrera Herrera, ofm, until now a Definitor General of the Order.
Reverend Cabrera was born in Azogues, October 11, 1955. He studied in the Minor Seminary of Azogues and Quito. He did his philosophy and theology at the Catholic University of Ecuador and obtained a Doctorate in Philosophy at the Antonianum in Rome. Temporary Profession: September 24, 1976; Solemn Profession: September 4, 1982; Priestly Ordination: September 8, 1983.
In the Order he has held the following positions: Defintor General, Minister Provincial, President of the "Bolivariana" Conference, Vice Master and Master of Novices, Provincial animator of the care of vocations, Provincial Secretary for Formation and Studies, Director of the Franciscan Faculty of philosophy and theology at Cardinal Echeverria, definitor provincial, President of the Franciscan Family and Director of the Franciscan Study Center in Quito.
Outside of the Order he was: Member of the Consultors and of the Presbyteral Council of Riobamba; Vice-president of the Episcopal Religious Conference of Ecuador, Animator of the Basic Christian Communities in Riobamba, Parochial assistant, Coordinator of the programs for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue for the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador, Vice dean of the Academic union of Religious Sciences at the Catholic University of Cuenca, Teacher of philosophy at Cardinal Echeverria, and teacher of Ecumenism at the Faculty of Philosophy and Theology at the Catholic University of Quito and at the Theological Institute of the Episcopal Conference of Ecuador.
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| General Minister welcomes Pope to Nazareth |
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NAZARETH, ISRAEL - During his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Pope Benedict XVI was welcomed to Nazareth by General Minister José Rodriguez Carballo. Below is the text of the General Minister's welcome:
Welcome by the General Minister to the Holy Father at the Basilica of Nazareth:
Very Blessed Father,
In the name of the Order of Friars Minor, I would like to welcome you to this holy place, the house of Jesus, Joseph and Mary, which for centuries we have had the honour of looking after in the name of the Church.
It is a great joy for us to welcome you here, where the mystery of our salvation started; where Mary, a Virgin made Church, as our father St. Francis calls her, said yes to the Father of compassion, when the Angel announced to her that she was to become the mother of the Lord Jesus. This is truly the "flower" of Galilee, because it is here that real life bloomed. Here, under the loving eyes of Joseph and Mary, Our Lord "advanced in wisdom and age and favour before God and man". (Luke 2,52). Here in Nazareth, for the first time, the word of salvation blossomed and the year of grace of the Lord was proclaimed to all humanity (cf. Luke 4,19).
Very Blessed Father, on your pilgrimage you have chosen to halt a while in this grotto, which since the beginning, has been covered with honour and veneration by Christian piety. The traces of this millenary cult surround us, the archaeological excavations carried out here clearly show us how over the centuries those who have preceded us spared no efforts to embellish one of the places dearest to Christianity. Stones have thus been added to stones, as evidence of the continuous devotion of the people of God to the Mother of the Saviour. Thus, in the presence of the successor of Peter, today we see the sign of our being living stones of this holy tradition.
With you, we also wish to pay tribute to Mary Immaculate, the Mother of God, who, becoming a humble maidservant, became the dwelling of the living God. With you, Holy Father, we want to renew our yes to the project of the Omnipotent and sing our Magnificat, for the great works that He continues to accomplish in the midst of His people. With you, we wish to address Mary, the Mother of believers, so that she always looks on to her children, pilgrims in this land, with love and presents their pleas before the throne of the Almighty. With you, Holy Father, we want to pray for peace, unity and reconciliation in the Middle East and in the whole world, the main objective of your apostolic journey to the land of Jesus, which is rightly called the 5th Gospel.
We thank you, Very Blessed Father, for the great gift that you have offered us with your presence in our midst today. We feel confirmed and encouraged by you to continue on our path and in our mission, so that, following the example of Mary, we can always carry Jesus Christ "in our hearts and souls by love with a pure and sincere conscience, and give him birth by doing good. This, too, should be an example to others" (St. Francis, Letter to the Faithful II, 53).
Imploring your apostolic blessing, we once again say: thank you, Very Blessed Father, for your visit, and welcome to the house of Joseph's virgin bride, to the house of the Mother and, therefore, to the house of us all!
Fr. José Rodrígez Carballo, ofm
General Minister
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| Communication of the General Definitory - Tempo Forte |
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ROME - This, the last Tempo Forte before the General Chapter, was held from the 27th of April to the 6th of May. On the first day, the Definitory, together with the Friars of the fraternity of St. Mary Mediatrix, participated in the funeral services for Br. Luca De Rosa, Postulator General, who died on the 25th of April 2009. The Mass was celebrated in the church of Santa Chiara, Naples, and the burial took place in Afragola (NA), the native town of Br. Luca. The Definitory officially congratulated Br. Luis Cabrera, the new Archbishop of Cuenca (Ecuador), till now Definitor General, and presently back in Ecuador, during Vespers of the 1st of May, celebrated in the chapel of the Minister General. The fraternity of the General Curia gathered around the table of the Lord to remember Br. Luca and family members of two Friars who died recently: the father of Br. Gabriele (Vice-Bursar General) and the brother of Br. Amaral (Definitor General).
In addition to the usual sharing between the Definitors on the different activities carried out and the visits made since the last TF, the Definitory:
· examined 48 different administrative matters and 14 financial requests;
· met with BR. FRANCESCO PATTON, Secretary General of the 2009 General Chapter and tied up the final details of the Chapter (The Rules of Procedure for the celebration of the Chapter, the Agenda, etc.);
· examined the reports of canonical visitations carried out in the Province of Santa Barbara in the United States, and in the Inter-Provincial House of "Cardenal Cisneros" in Madrid, dependent on CONFRES;
· appointed the following Visitators General:
BR. FRANS GERRITSMA a member of the Province of the Holy Martyrs of Gorkom in Holland, to the Province of St. Joseph in Belgium;
BR. RUFIN MARYJKA, A member of the Province of St. Mary of the Angels in Poland, to the Province of the Assumption of the BVM in Poland and BR. WACŁAW MICHALCZYK (also of the Province of St. Mary of the Angels) as Assistant-Visitator to the Friars of the Province of Katowice who reside outside Poland;
BR. CARLO SERRI, A member of the Province of "St. Bernadine of Siena", in Italy, to the Province of the Immaculate Conception, Salernitano-Lucana, in Italy, and BR. VALMIR RAMOS, a member of the Custody of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Brazil, dependent on the Province of Naples, as Assistant-Visitator to the Friars residing in the Missionary Foundation of "Our Lady of Fatima" in Brazil, dependent on the Salernitano-Lucana Province;
BR. LIVIO CRISCI, a member of the Tuscany Province of "St. Francis Stigmatised", in Italy, to the Venetian Province of "St. Anthony of Padua", in Italy;
BR. ANTONIO RICCIO, a member of the Sannito-Irpina Province of "Our Lady of Graces" in Italy, to the Abruzzo Province of "St. Bernadine of Siena" in Italy;
BR. JUAN IGNACIO MURO ARÉCHIGA, a member of the Province of Blessed Junípero Serra in Mexico, presently Definitor General, to the Province of St. Phillip of Jesus in Mexico;
BR. STIPE NOSIĆ, A member of the Province of St. Jerome in Croatia, to the Province of Holy Cross in Slovenia.
· continued the discussion on the situation of the SGM of Waterford (USA);
· made an evaluation of the International Chapter of Mats, held from the 15th to the 18th of April in Assisi and also of the activity of the 25 Commissions which worked during the six-year period; this evaluation was carried out for the purpose of passing on the results of their work to the new Government General;
· was brought up to date on the problems regarding the buildings in Grottaferrata and the works in hand on the other building sites by the Bursar General;
· looked at the situation of our Foundation in Sudan;
· took up again the theme of the Administrative Council for the Jubilee Fund. Given that Br. Pedro Ruano Santateresa (of the Province of St. Gregory the Great, in Spain) has finished his service, BR. VINCENZO BROCANELLI, Minister Provincial of the Province of the Marches, in Italy, was appointed to take his place. The above mentioned Council is now composed of three Ministers Provincial, Br. Michael Copps (Province of the Immaculate Conception, in Great Britain), Br. John O'Connor (Holy Name Province, the USA) and Br. Vincenzo Brocanelli;
· appointed BR. GIOVANGIUSEPPE CALIFANO, a member of the Seraphic Province of St. Francis of Assisi in Italy, till now Vice-Postulator General of the Causes of Saints, to be the new POSTULATOR GENERAL.
The Definitory fixed the 21st to the 22nd of May 2009 as dates for another meeting before going to the General Chapter.
The calendar of the "Tempi Forti" of the new Government General will be communicated after the General Chapter (25th of May - 20th of June 2009) so that subsequent events can be arranged.
Br. Ernest K. Siekierka ofm
Secretary General | |
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| FRATERNITAS: SPECIAL ISSUE |
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ROME: Visit the Order's website for a Special Issue of Fraternitas highlighting the recent Chapter of Mats celebrating the 8th Centenary of the approval of our Rule.
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| Prayer for Vocations |
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O Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the Americas
and Queen of the Order of Friars Minor,
we ask you to inspire humble and chosen souls
for a life in Christ and in the spirit of St. Francis.
With
Motherly care,
foster vocations to our Order and to our Province,
so that seraphic love, labor and sacrifice
will ever flourish in this land dedicated to your protection.
Amen.
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