Every day many brothers from all over the Capuchin world try to contact the General Minister, the Definitors or the various Offices of our General Curia. They send in requests and reports on their activities or else simply wish to share some of the joys and sorrows of their everyday lives. The job of the General Secretariat is to facilitate these contacts and make them more and more effective. It is made up of different brothers who work together to assist the General Minister and his definitory in carrying out their duties.
Composition
At the present time the General Secretariat is in the hands of
Br. Clayton Fernandes (Prov. of Goa), General Secretary, assisted by
Br. Oscar Enrique Fernández-Prada Lavado, (PR Peru), 1st vice-secretary, and by
Br. Damian Philip Pereira (Tamil Nadu Province, India), 2nd vice-secretary. The presence and work of 7 language secretaries is also invaluable:
Br. Charles Sammons – for English
Br. Bruno Kesangana – for French
Br. Massimo Rosina – for Italian
Br. Helmut Rakowski - for German
Br. Marek Przeczewski - for Polish
Br. Francisco Lopes De Sousa Neto – for Portuguese
Br. Oscar Fernández Prada – for Spanish
The language secretaries assist in the government of the Order by facilitating contacts in the relevant languages: preparing letters and documents, translating and ensuring immediate contacts through the use of modern communications. An essential part of their service is also to welcome vistors to the Curia from different parts of the world.
Br. Ermanno Ponzalli has the special role of translator into Italian from most other Western languages, plus other specific tasks.
Personal Secretary, Registry and the Current Archives
The personal secretary of the General Minister is Br. Carlo Calloni. Br. Erivan Araújo de Souza (Province of Bahia & Sergipe, Brasil) is in charge of the Registry and the Current Archives.
The Office of the Registry and of statistics are autonomous offices but for all practical purposes are part of the General Secretariat.
The same applies to the section of the General Archives kept at the Curia, which contains the documents of the last 18 years (two six-year terms plus the current term). These are called the “current archives”.
Meetings of the General Definitory
The meetings take place every two or three months. Each lasts from one to three weeks. (The dates, fixed for the entire six year term, are sent to the Ministers of the Order for their information.
Contact
If you would like to contact the General Secretariat for any reason, please use any of the following numbers/addresses:
tel.: ++39-06-660 521
fax: +39-06-48 28 267
Do come and see us, either personally or via the wonders of modern technology – we are always at your service.
