Ministers Provincial, Custodes, and Delegates from each Federation of the Order met from June 19 to 23, 2023, at the Seraphicum College in Rome for the second round of the “Midway Meeting.” The friars continued to think ahead to the 2025 Ordinary General Chapter asking questions such as: Where are we regarding the transmission and creative incarnation of the Conventual Franciscan charism?
The friars also celebrated the delivery of the relics of the Blessed Martyrs of Pariacoto, Peru, to the Seraphicum. At the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome, Poland’s highest state honor, the Grand Cross of the Medal of Merit, was presented to the families of the Blessed Martyrs. The Friar Martyrs were given this honor because they had been killed “in hatred of the faith.” They were friars who wanted to share in the lives of the people who were entrusted to them, to the very end. (Learn more about the Blessed Martyrs of Pariacoto)
Finally, on June 23, the conclusion of the fraternal “Midway Meeting” coincided with participation in the Seraphicum’s end-of-academic-year Mass. This was an opportunity to be in solidarity with our international students who originate from twenty-seven different countries. Together, they are a representation of the face of our Order, and its hope, together with its “sprouts” of new life and goodness that are plentiful in every Province, Custody and Delegation of our fraternity around the world. (See more about the Seraphicum and the end-of-academic-year Mass)
– excerpt from article by friar Giovanni Voltan OFM Conv.
(For more, visit the Order website: OFMConv.net)
