Capuchin Family Day

On July 3, 1528, Pope Clement VII's bull “Religionis Zelus” confirmed the reform of the Capuchin Friars Minor within the Church. It is for this reason that every July 3 we celebrate “Capuchin Family Day” as a remembrance and thanksgiving for the gift of our charism to the Church and the world. This year, in Rome, at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Via Vittorio Veneto, representatives of the various components of the Capuchin Family gathered.

The gathering was an opportunity to share and reflect on our mission and charism in today's world, expressed in various ways according to the spirit of each Institute. Among those present were a group of brothers from the General Curia, and sisters representing some of their curias: the Capuchin Sisters of Mother Rubatto, the Capuchin Missionary Sisters, the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters and the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Incarnate Word.

This year's reflection was developed from the centenary of the Stigmata of St. Francis, recognizing that the mystery of the cross that marked Francis' life challenges our way of living eight centuries later.

In the first part of the morning there was an opportunity to look at the humanity of St. Francis in his reception of the stigmata, paying attention to the Gospel and the symbolism of the “wounds” within our charism. In the second part of the morning, the reflection highlighted the theological dimension of the event of the stigmata, where the cross is not the final word laden with pain, but is an opening toward Easter, to the resurrection of the Lord. The crucifix is “the door” to know the Father and, in this way, to be able to go out to meet our brothers and sisters with a look of mercy.

The gathering concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist and prayer at the tomb of St. Felix of Cantalice, the first proclaimed saint of the Capuchin Order, where the participants asked for his intercession to continue to be faithful to the Gospel and the essential values of our charism.

Finally, participants fraternally shared in a lunch and there was an opportunity to visit the "Capuchin Museum," adjacent to the church.

 

FLICKR: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjByNtL