About 170 You.Fra from 23 countries, with their spiritual assistants,
met from the 12th to 15th August 2005 in the Franciscan College of Vossenack, near Cologne, to reflect on the topic: We have come to adore
Him… as St. Francis did and to prepare themselves for the XX WYD,
celebrated from the 16th to 21st August in Cologne.
The
International Meeting of the You.Fra was organised by
the CIOFS Presidency with a great contribution from the SFO National Council of
Germany. Present in the name of the CIOFS Presidency were Lucy Almirañez, Xavi Ramos and Br.
Ivan Matić,
Assistant General.
The
meeting began with a solemn celebration of the Eucharist and the imaginative
and joyful presentation of all the participants on the 12th August. On the
second day, the 13th August, the National Minister of the German SFO, Michaela
Luther, illustrated, after a short greeting of welcome, the present situation
of the SFO in Germany. The meeting was followed by a presentation of the
reality of the You.Fra throughout the world by Xavi Ramos, Councillor to the CIOFS Presidency. In the
afternoon, Xavi, Lucy and Br. Ivan made comment on
the document: You.Fra: The path of the Franciscan vocation. The 14th August was entirely dedicated to
the central topic of the congress: We have come to adore Him… as St. Francis did. The subject for reflection during the
morning was proposed by Br. Ben Brevoort, OFMCap, ex Assistant General; in the afternoon, in
contrast, the reflection was by the community gathered in assembly.
On the 15th
August, the young Franciscans went on a pilgrimage to the Marian sanctuary of Moresnet in
The You.Fra had another important appointment during the WYD: The Festival of
Franciscan Youth. This
festival took place in the afternoon of the 17th August in the Franciscan
Convent of Düsseldorf with the participation of more than one thousand
people and it concluded in the evening with a musical based on the life of St.
Francis, presented by the young students and their teachers from the Franciscan
College of Vossenack.
While the You.Fra is already preparing for the next World Youth Day,
to be celebrated in Sydney, Australia, in 2008, it is obligatory to address a
fraternal and warm vote of thanks to the Franciscan Province of Cologne and, in
a particular way, to the Fraternities of Vossenack
and Düsseldorf for the welcome and support received during the days of the
meetings; to the National Council of the SFO and to Br. Georg Scholles, National Assistant to the SFO; to Br. Stephan Ottenbreit and his collaborators in Missionszentrale
for their financial help, thanks to which some of the young Franciscans were
able to participate in the XX WYD and in the meetings of the You.Fra.