New Ministers Meeting 2014

Brs. Tomasz Zak, Štefan Kožuh and Jonathan Williams listen to a talk by Br. Mauro Jöhri

Seventeen provincial ministers and custodes from around the world gathered in Frascati from June 22 to 28 for the annual New Ministers Meeting of the Order. All of the participants were elected to the office of minister within the last twelve months. Five of the ministers were from Brazil, two from India, and one each from Ireland, Colombia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Malta, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Poland, and Slovenia.

The week-long meeting is an opportunity to provide the brothers with practical information that will help them in their ministry of service. Input is provided by the general council on topics such as "The figure and role of the provincial minister and custos," "Authority and obedience," "Fidelity to the consecrated life," and "The animation of a jurisdiction." The general procurator and assistant general procurator explain some of the more common canonical matters that the ministers may need to deal with, and the directors of various other offices describe the work of the office and how it may be of assistance to the brothers. 

Information does not flow only one way during the week. Through discussions both in small groups and in the general sessions, the participants offer feedback on their own experiences in the offices to which they have been called, which in turn helps the general council in its service to the Order.

Recollection Day with the NAPCC Novices

On April 29-30, 2014, I was pleased to give a recollection day to the twenty-one novices of the North American Pacific Capuchin Conference at the novitiate in Santa Ynez, California. The focus of my presentations was "The Capuchin Order as an international fraternity." In essence, I urged the novices to remember that their brotherhood should extend beyond the borders of their provinces and even of the Conference.

One might be tempted to say that the novices are an easy audience, but while they may be "captive", they are anything but passive. From their questions and remarks, it was evident that they listen closely to what is being said, and think about it critically.

It is always a great privilege and a pleasure to spend time with the novices. Their enthusiasm for the Capuchin life, their strong sense of fraternity, their youthful energy and their joy is infectious. This year was no exception.

Let us continue to pray for these brothers as they discern the Lord's call.

A message from the Order's JPIC Office

Dear Friends,

Pace e bene.

Greetings from the JPIC OFMCap Office in Rome!  This year is the 35th anniversary of the naming of Saint Francis as Patron of Ecology.  Romans VI (the group of JPIC animators for the Franciscan Family) has considered how best to celebrate this event, especially in the context of the worldwide environmental crisis.  We have prepared a series of resources to help our brothers and sisters throughout the world commemorate this celebration.

We are very happy to announce the creation of a website containing these resources.  It is being launched on March 22nd, World Water Day.  The launch date reminds us that our commitment to work for the Integrity of Creation must be concrete and practical.  Resources are available in various languages, and include a reflection on the celebration, the Pope’s declaration naming Francis the patron of ecology, a Eucharistic celebration, an ecumenical prayer, norms for an interreligious celebration, a Mayan Cross Prayer, Prayers of the Faithful and an article on Franciscan Spirituality.

The address for the website is www.francis35.org .  The date for the commemoration of Francis as Patron of Ecology is November 29.  We invite all of you to prepare events/prayers/gatherings to commemorate this anniversary at times which are convenient for you and your partners.  You should of course include the Franciscan Family in your plans, but also be sure to invite the laity with whom you work and minister, diocesan organizations, ecumenical groups, interreligious groups and all people of goodwill.  Help to promote among all people a spirit of care for creation in the spirit of Francis.  You might want to consider the possibility of linking this celebration with that of the Spirit of Assisi, which occurs every year on the 28th of October.

We hope that these materials will be of use to you.  Please share them as widely as possible.  We ask that you send us a short article about any celebration you might hold in your city or region, along with some photos.  May God bless you in your work to care for the Creation that we share as gift with all of God’s creatures!

Br. Benedict Ayodi OFM Cap
Director, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation OFMCap

The Custody of Nigeria

Construction of St Francis of Assisi Church in Enugu, Nigeria

There is one less item on my "bucket list" now that I have had an opportunity to visit our Capuchin Custody of Nigeria. I was invited here to give a series of seminars to the brothers of the Custody. I spoke to the Custody's twenty-five post-novices last Saturday, and will speak to the perpetually professed brothers this week.

Although there was at least one previous attempt to establish a Capuchin mission in Nigeria, we have had a continuous presence there only since the early 1990's. It was established as a Custody of the Province of Tuscany in 1994. It was the only jurisdiction of the Order established during my nine-month assignment as General Secretary of the Order so the Decree of Establishment bears my signature. Since then I have always harbored a desire to see what my hand hath wrought.

The beginnings of the Custody can, in some sense, be traced back to my home province of Mid-America. In the late 1970's, Clement Emodi was a young Nigerian doing university studies in Omaha, Nebraska. He felt a call to religious life so he applied and was accepted into the 1980-81 novitiate class of the Mid-America Province. Rather than make profession in the Mid-America Province, however, he decided to return to Nigeria and ask the bishop to invite Capuchins to his diocese. His persistence paid off, as the Bishop asked the then-General Minister Br. Flavio Roberto Carraro to open a mission in his Diocese of Onitsha. Clement, who now goes by his given name of Akosa, was the first Nigerian to be professed a Capuchin.

The Custody now has almost sixty temporarily- and perpetually-professed brothers. They have expanded their presence to seven fraternities in several different dioceses. The photograph above was taken at one of their newer fraternities. St Francis of Assisi Friary is their second fraternity in Enugu. 

Christmas Eve in the General Curia

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Christmas 2013

“We therefore celebrate Christmas contemplating Mary and Joseph: Mary, the woman full of grace who had the courage to entrust herself totally to God's word; Joseph, the faithful and just man who preferred to believe in the Lord instead of listening to the voices of doubt and human pride. With them, we walk together towards Bethlehem”.
(Pope Francis, Angelus of 23 December 2013)

To all my fellow travelers on the road to Bethlehem, I wish you a blessed Christmas.

The Wraps Are (partially) Off

Rooftop view of the Generalate's courtyard

It is a good sign when the scaffolding starts to come down! This photograph of the General Curia in Via Piemonte was taken at the end of November. Note the new windows and shutters on the top floor. By the time you read this, most of the windows on the first floor (for American readers, that would be the second floor) will also be installed. Except for the fixtures, the bulk of the plumbing and electrical work is done. The tile floors have been laid everywhere except the ground floor and the basement. In other words, the place is beginning to look habitable again.

Currently, most of the work is concentrated on the ground floor and basement, where there is still much work to do. Even there, however, things are beginning to take shape. It is not unusual these days to have around 80 workers on site who, between the main contractors and the subcontractors, might be working for a dozen different companies. As you can imagine, it takes a great amount of coordination just to keep the workers from tripping over themselves. Thankfully, we have a very attentive and competent project manager, not to mention a very serious, exacting manager of safety.

During the course of the work, it was discovered that one of our two connections to the city sewer had collapsed at some time in the past. Repairs can only be started once all the scaffolding has been removed from that area. It is difficult to estimate how much time it will take to repair the line, but the contractor hopes they can begin the work in early 2014.

We are still hopeful that we can begin moving back to Via Piemonte in late June or early July 2014.