Secular Franciscan General Chapter Opens with Call to the Holy Spirit
With a theme of exploring Secular Franciscan profession, identity and sense of belonging, the 12th General Chapter of the Secular Franciscan Order opened Saturday, Nov. 15, with the celebration of the Eucharist and a call to the Holy Spirit to "descend among us."
"Without the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing," main celebrant Samy Irudaya, OFM Cap, told 100 attendees representing some 57 countries.
"A General Chapter is always a time of grace for us - a grace in meeting the brothers and sisters from all over the world; a grace in our mutal listening, which helps us to grow in real fraternity, an in all of us listening to the Spirit, who spurs us on and accompanies us towards the future."
It's a grace, Father Samy added, that asks, "Lord what do you want me to do?" It's a grace "in finding ourselves together in our response to the challenges which come to us from society, from the Church, and from the world."
Gathering in Budapest to mark the close of the 8th centennial of its patron, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the chapter will feature, among other things:
-- an election of leaders to guide the order through the next six years.
- major discussion of what profession as a Secular Franciscan means and on the sense of belonging to the order.
- the general minister's state-of-the-order report.
- a focus on the importance of formation in the Secular Franciscan vocation.
- the tackling of Franciscan Youth as an organized structure within the Franciscan family.
- the welcoming of representatives from four emerging national fraternities - Malaysia, Mozambique, Albania and Belarus.
- the celebration of the feast of St. Elizabeth at Esztergam Cathedral with Cardinal Laszlo Paskai.
Immediately following the opening mass, General Minister Encarnacion del Pozo greeted attendees "in the words of St. Francis - 'may the Lord give you peace'."
She reminded the capitulators, or delegates, and other leaders that as "we meet" over the next seven days, "all of us are responsible for animating and guiding the international fraternity."
Bila Nemeth, national minister of the Secular Franciscan Order in Hungary, welcomed the Franciscans and guests; and General Secretary Anna Maria Crescenti read greetings from the Vatican and the general minister of the Order of Friars Minor.
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