Inter-Franciscan meeting in Rome
- Published in Formation
The annual meeting of the Franciscan Friars of Rome, organized by the conference of the vicars general of the First Order and the TOR, was held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the Capuchin International College. “Journeying together” was the title of the event which, for the second year in a row, all the Franciscan friars of the First Order and TOR experienced in fraternity. There were about 300 participants.
Video – introduction of the meeting
The meeting began at 9:30 with a video prepared for the occasion on the centenary of the Pardon of Assisi and on current and recent common experiences in those places where the friars are present together. Then, after the greeting from Br. Štefan Kožuh, our General Vicar, there was a moment of prayer leading up to the renewal of religious profession. Following this, Br. Julio Bunader, General Vicar of the OFM, introduced Bishop Rubén Tierrablanca, OFM, Vicar Apostolic of Istanbul, who spoke on the principal theme of the meeting, “intercultural reconciliation.”
After a break, the participants were called back to the auditorium by the sound of song from a musical ensemble of friars calling themselves ‘Fa Minore.’ They then broke up into groups for sharing with the objective of creating a brief occasion of awareness and of study on the topic treated by Bishop Tierrablanca and also took up some points for reflection that had been handed out to each group by the facilitator. The friars found the meeting very positive and it concluded with a lunch shared in fraternity.