December 8th 2006

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

 

Circ.48/02-08

 

To the National YOUFRA Councils

To the National SFO Councils

To the YOUFRA and SFO International Councillors

                              

 

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

                                    Peace and all Good!

 

       The Presidency of the CIOFS International Council summons all the YOUFRA and SFO fraternities to the 1st Youfra International Assembly, to be held from 28th June to 5th July 2007 near Barcelona (Spain).

                                                                                                  

This first Assembly is in answer to:

ü                    

ü    The celebration of the 8th Centenary of the birth of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, a distinguished member of the Franciscan Family, and young Patron Saint of the SFO and Youfra, who strongly followed Christ according to the example of St. Francis.

ü    The celebration of the Franciscan charisma in preparation to the 8th Centenary of the approval of the First Rule.

ü    The interest that young people showed during the various International meetings, in particular the one held in Vossenack (Germany) in 2005, which coincided with the WYD,  held with the aim to unify formation and organization criteria and to define the journey of YOUFRA.

 

       We are still working on the program and its contents, but we would like to underline the importance of this event, which must have representatives from the various countries to be a success. We hope to count on speakers and participants of international fame within the Franciscan Family and Catholic Church so that the importance of the Assembly will be highlighted.

 

       We therefore encourage you to search for the necessary resources that will allow your Fraternity to participate in this Assembly on the basis of the following criteria:

                     

PARTICIPATION CRITERIA

 

-          Each National Youfra Fraternity will have three participants. Two of them must belong to Youfra: the President (or National Coordinator), and the International delegate. In the event that one of the two cannot participate, the National Council will appoint a substitute. The third participant will be the National Assistant or the National Fraternal Animator, chosen by the National SFO and YOUFRA Fraternities.

                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

-          The SFO Fraternities where Youfra is not present, who feel the need and duty to communicate their experience of Franciscan life to young people can also participate with two representatives: one member of the SFO National Council or a delegate; and a National Spiritual Assistant.

-          To have a clear idea of the organization and the cost of the event, the fraternities who intend to participate in the Assembly should communicate their adhesion before  February 20, 2007 to the following e-mail address: gifra@ciofs.org

-          Requests to obtain visas sent after May 15 will not be admitted.

 

 

ECONOMIC ASPECTS:

 

-          For the fees, the same system used in the General Chapter will apply: participants will pay the same amount which will include the trip to Barcelona, accommodation, logistics and materials.  

-          The SFO National Fraternity will pay for the fee of the first Youfra participant. Youfra will pay for the fee of the second and the fee of the third participant (assistant or animator) will be paid by his respective Order.

-          Two types of fees will be established to help those countries with less resources; countries will be divided into two groups according to the list used by the Vatican in the last WYD (Attachment A). SFO Fraternities with no Youfra will be included in group A.

-          The maximum fees established to date are:

o        Group A : 1.000 euros

o        Group B: 700 euros

             (this is a first calculation; we will try to reduce the cost, in no case will it increase) 

-          We are also sending you a second list (Attachment B) with the reference price for flights obtained from the web pages of Rumbo (www.rumbo.es) and E-Dreams (www.edreams.com). Since we will not be able to support higher costs than those indicated in the table, bookings should be made as soon as possible.

 

 

       The organization of such an event involves great endeavours on the part of all the persons in charge, so  we ask all the brothers and sisters of each fraternity to collaborate as much as possible  to facilitate their work. Please send all messages regarding this International  Youfra Assembly to the following e-mail address: gifra@ciofs.org.

 

       We look forward to your reply and send you our kind regards,

 

 

 

 

Encarnación del Pozo

 SFO General Minister

 

Xavi Ramos

Youfra Presidency CIOFS Councillor