Meeting of the General Ministers

ROME The Conference of the Franciscan Family (CFF) met at our General Curia for one of its two annual meetings during Holy Week on Monday, March 17th. The meeting was devoted entirely to the journey that Franciscans International (FI) completed during these months. Present at the meeting were: Fr. Marco Tasca, OFMConv Minister General and President at this time, Fr. Jos� R. Carballo, OFM Minister General, Fr. Mauro J�hri, OFMCap Minister General, Fr. Michael Higgins, TOR Minister General, Benedict Lino, Delegate of the OFS Minister General and Fr. James Puglisi, SA, Delegate of the President CIF-TOR. Other attendants at the meeting were: Fr. Markus Heinze, OFM and Attilio Galimberti OFS, who are part of the Board of Directors, composed by the delegates of the CFF for FI. It was also an occasion to point out the situation after the last internal changes within the organization. In particular, the choice of the new Executive Manager, in the person of Sr. Denise Boyle, FMDM, the opening of a new Office for Asia in Bangkok, the revision of the Statutes of FI, were all matters of brotherly encounter and a motive for hope for the future journey of Franciscans International.

In the afternoon of the same day, the meeting of the General Ministers of the First Order of Franciscans and the TORs was held in order to set the program for the International Chapter of the Mats of the Franciscan Friars of the First Order and of the TORs. This will be conducted in Assisi and in Rome from April 15 to April 18, 2009. With this great and solemn initiative, the General Ministers intend to conclude the celebration of the VIII Centenary of the birth of the Franciscan charism, with the approval of the Church of the Rule written by Saint Francis. The initiative gave birth and made possible the Union of the Conference of the Provincial Ministers of the Franciscan Families of Italy (UCFFI), which comprises the whole organization. This event is to be a moment for all the friars of the world to reflect on the "grace of their origins" and to renew their own fidelity to their choice of life according to the form of the Holy Gospel. For this motive, Fr. Aldo Broccato, OFMCap and Fr. Paul Fiasconaro, OFMConv, President and Secretary of the UCFFI, intervened at the meeting of the Ministers, to establish with them the salient points of the time of this Chapter. The meeting of the Ministers, therefore, continued with an exchange of experiences. It concluded after having fixed the date for the next meeting on October 3rd, 2008 in Assisi.

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