The Minister General with the Definitorium, in the name of all the Friars Minor, on 10 February 1998 wrote a letter to President Clinton and to Prime Minister Blair, pleading with them not to resort to violent means in the enforcement of the United Nations resolutions calling for the elimination of arms of mass destruction in Iraq.
Having called to mind the deaths of more than a million Iraqis during the last seven years of embargo, Br. Giacomo invites recourse to the treasury of intelligence, resources, experience and diplomatic skills within the international community that can be mobilized to resolve this crisis peacefully. The letter concludes with an exhortation to "redouble diplomatic efforts, to be patient, more resourceful and to continue to use dialogue as the preferential means of achieving the hoped for mutually acceptable and dignified solution to this ongoing crisis."

In 1898 the first six missionaries set out for Mozambique from the Portuguese Province, "reconstituted" in 1896 after the suppression of the religious Orders in Portugal in 1834. The Portuguese Province wanted to celebrate this centenary with an academic festival at the Catholic University of Lisbon on 16 January, in the presence of the Minister General Br. Giacomo Bini, the General Definitor Br. José Rodríguez Carballo, and numerous representatives of the Portuguese and Mozambiquan Franciscan Family. "In Mozambique we did not choose a place", said the Minister Provincial Br. Mário Silva, "but we went wherever there was a need, and so gradually we built up our presence in the dioceses of Beira, Chimoio, Inhambane, Xai-Xai and Maputo". From the ranks of our missionaries the Church has chosen as Bishops Brs. Rafael Maria da Assunção, Teófilo de Andrade and Ernesto da Costa. In 1934 the friars founded the first seminary of the country. The first Mozambiquan priest was a Franciscan, Alexandre José Maria dos Santos, ordained in 1953, who was to be the first autochthonous Bishop and then Archbishop of Maputo (1975) and Cardinal (1988). In 1968 the mission became the "Custody of Saint Clare". Today the Mozambiquan friars are 13 solemnly professed, 19 in temporary profession, 3 novices and 5 postulants. In January Br. Peter Williams, the re-elected General Definitor for Africa and the Middle East, animated a week-long session on Franciscan spirituality for the twelve O.F.M. friars who are studying theology at the major seminary in Maputo. The course was held at the novitiate house in Jangamo, Inhambene Province. The former Custos of Mozambique and ex-Definitor General, Br. Adriano Langa, was ordained Auxiliary Bishop of Maputo on 22 February in the presence of the Minister General, Br. Giacomo Bini, and the General Definitors Brs. Kapistran Martzall and Gerald Moore.

The General Definitorium is looking for friars for the Ministry of Penitentiary atthe Lateran Basilica during the Holy year 2000.
A condition is a knowledge of Italian as well. The commitment could be for a whole year or a briefer period. Those interested please contact their General Definitor.

30 March - 5 April In Rome for the tempo forte of the General Definitorium.
6 April In Rome for the Conference of the Franciscan Family.
7 April In Rome, for the meeting of the four Ministers General of the First Order and T.O.R.
13-15 April In Madrid for the Assembly of the Iberian Conference OFM.
15-19 April In Lima (Peru) meeting with the leaders of the two Provinces and two Custodies; celebration of the 50 years of the Custody of Piura.
19-30 April In Guatemala to take part in the UCLAF; fraternal visit to the Central American Province.
30 April - 9 May Fraternal visit to the Custody of the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Haiti and Cuba).

* Msgr. Francis G. Kramer OFM, Missionary Bishop emeritus of Lu An (China), died on 24 January. He was born on 3 June 1903.
* The Assembly of the Friars Minor of Europe (UFME) will take place in Warsaw from 12 to 18 October 1998. One whole day will be dedicated to the meeting with the Minister General and the whole Definitorium. The Anglican Franciscans will be invited. Topic: "The reality of the young friars of today -what kind of O.F.M. for 2000".
* The Friars Minor of the Marches have decided to resume publication of the review Picenum Seraphicum, interrupted now for almost a decade. The review, which will bear the sub-title Rivista di studi storici e francescani, aims at contributing to the historical significance of the Franciscan presence in that region.
* The next International Marian-Mariological Congress will be celebrated in Rome on the occasion of the Holy Year 2000. The subject of the Congress will be a treatment of the relationship of Mary to the three Divine Persons.
* In substitution for Br. Nahun Villalobos, the General Definitorium has appointed as member of the Executive Committee of the International Franciscan Mission Council Br. Juan Apumayta Bautista of the Province of the Twelve Apostles, Peru.
* Br. David Flood, member of the Province of St. Joseph (Canada) and noted scholar in medieval history, has become a part of the Fraternity of St. Bonaventure University, New York. For some years Br. David has been collaborating in the critical edition of the works of Peter Olivi.
* Br. Robert Stewart of the Southern African Province has been re-elected president of the Conference of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.
* The Conference of Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar held its meeting in Nairobi from 19 to 21 January with the participation of the General Definitor, Br. Peter Williams. The assembly drew up a balance-sheet of the great challenges in the countries in which the Friars Minor are present, like the problem of refugees, of corruption, of hunger, of AIDS.
* 120 young people took part in the Franciscan March 1997 organized by the Franciscan Family in Egypt. Three days on Mount Sinai and a further five days of mission in the parishes of the diocese of Sohag. The topic was: "Ambassadors of Christ in the foot-steps of Francis".
* The Italian Bishops' Conference has named Br. Gualberto Gismondi (Genoa Province) to be a member of the national group for the cultural project for the year 2000. The particular field assigned to him is the relationship between the scientific genre and other forms of knowledge (ethical and theological), a matter dealt with by him in many publications.
* Argentina is preparing for its first National Congress of the Franciscan Family to be held at San Antonio de Arredondo, Cordoba, from 9 to 12 October 1998.

Our martyr Br. Vjeko Curic was buried in the parish church of Kivumu, which had been built by him. The Christians of the city themselves had asked the Bishop of Kabgayi that Br. Vjeko should be buried in their church for a perpetual memorial of his sacrifice. The Mass was celebrated in the open, because the church could not contain the thousands of persons who wanted to pay their last respects to their Brother and Pastor, who had served them uninterruptedly for the last 15 years. Returning to Rome after the funeral, the Minister General, Br. Giacomo Bini, wrote a letter to Msgr. Anastase Mutabazi, Bishop of Kabgayi: "We Franciscans of the Order of Friars Minor, in the name of Christ on the cross, and together with Vjeko, who always fought against every form of violence and vendetta, pardon our Brothers assassin, those who organized the crime and those who carried it out, while still asking justice to pursue its path and arrive at the truth. We ask it with insistence, because only in the light of justice will it be possible to construct a future of peace". The Minister emphasized that "peace is the fruit of love, of pardon and of that mutual understanding which is able to turn ethnic and racial differences into a rich resource for constructing a new world and a new land".

The Secular Franciscan Order is fairly new in Thailand, but a big step forward was taken with the dedication of the Chapel "St. Mary of the Angels of the Portiuncula" in the mountains of Chiang Rai province. This took place on the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the patroness of the SFO. The chapel was built and donated by a member of the SFO to assist in the catechetical studies of the Akka hill tribe living in the area, and to help spread the life style and charism of Saint Francis of Assisi. It is an appropriate place to do this and the people have begun to call the area "Little Assisi" because of the many trees and mountains surrounding the "Portiuncula". You can also see "Lady Poverty" among the people living in the small villages nearby. It reminds you very much of the regions in which Saint Francis himself must have travelled and lived. The Dedication Mass was concelebrated by three priests: Fr. Michael Thongchai Suwanjai, the local parish priest; Fr. Peter Piroj Suwan, a member of the Lahu hill tribe; and Fr. Giovanni Zimbaldi, PIME, who works with the Lahus in the Chiang Rai area. Parts of the Mass and some of the songs were in both Thai and Akka. The beauty and simplicity of the celebration was truly Franciscan and was particularly marked during the offertory when the Akka women, dressed in their traditional garb, brought the gifts to the altar.

The Vice-Province of Saint Francis in Africa and Madagascar has recently taken another step in meeting the call of the Order to give all friars, independently of their option, a common initial Franciscan formation. From October 1997 to August 1998 ten friars who have completed at least three years in temporary profession are living in two fraternities attached to the Franciscan parish of Rushoka, Uganda, and being accompanied through a programme which places emphasis on prayer and spiritual direction, living a simple fraternal life inserted in the local rural community, involvement in pastoral ministry, and study and reflection on various Franciscan themes. The Vice-Province hopes that the young friars can then continue to assimilate and witness to Franciscan values in solidarity with the local people, especially the poor. In addition, as their relationships with each other grow, the hope is that they will come to appreciate better the "mixed" character of the Order and themselves become examples of intercultural and international fraternity to their own people of Africa and Madagascar. The Vice-Province invites other entities currently experimenting with such programmes of formation for friars in temporary profession to share their experiences.

With the death of Fr. Canisius Bertsch in November 1997 sixty-five years of missionary collaboration between Southern Africa and the Province of Bavaria have come to an end. Fr. Canisius arrived in South Africa in 1935 with the second missionary group from the Bavarian Province. For 62 years he worked untiringly as a missionary and was the last of the missionaries from the Bavarian Province to serve in South Africa. At his funeral three Bishops represented the areas in which he had worked: Msgr. William Slattery O.F.M. (Kokstad), Msgr. Biyasi (Eshowe) and Msgr. Paschal Rowland O.F.M. (Dundee), who together with Fr. Canisius was instrumental in founding the Vice-Province of Southern Africa. Also present was the Abbot of Inkomana (Kwa Zulu Natal), who underlined the cordial relations which have always existed between the Benedictines and the Franciscans in Southern Africa. On 4 January four postulants were admitted to the novitiate and on the following day seven novices made profession.

Br. François-Marie Lufuluabo, the first Congolese friar, died at Nbuji-Mayi on 8 January. Br. François was born in 1926 and initiated a plan for an African Franciscan formation and gave much of his life to the realization of this ideal. The Vice-Province of St. Benoit in ex-Zaire continues to grow. At the end of 1997 seven friars were ordained priest and twelve are preparing for diaconal ordination this year. The Vice-Province, to whom the mission of the Central African Republic has been entrusted by the Order, has now been able to send two of its own friars to join the 7 other friars who form this international mission.

The Vicariate Apostolic of Cuevo, situated in the South-East of Bolivia, was entrusted to the Friars Minor of the Tuscan Province in 1918 after more than 200 years of Franciscan missionary presence in the region. It covers an area of 100,000 km² and has a population of about 110,000 inhabitants. 60% of these are of the Guarani race, natives of the place, and the remaining 40% are mixed-race, white, or small tribal groups of Quechuas, Matacos, Tobas, Ayereos and Tapietes who have moved in from other regions of Bolivia. Besides their indigenous language, they nearly all speak Spanish as well. Msgr. Leonardo Bernacchi O.F.M. is the diocesan Ordinary. There are only two diocesan priests in the Vicariate: the greater part of the 22 parishes is entrusted to the Franciscans. One parish is in the care of the Jesuits. 13 parishes have priests present, 7 are visited periodically by the nearest parish priest, and 2 are managed by Sisters. Ten religious communities of Sisters co-operate: The Franciscan Poor Clares of the Blessed Sacrament (who dedicate themselves to education and catechesis); The Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth (health, education and pastoral ministry); the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (health and pastoral assistance); the Franciscan Sisters of the Incarnate Word (health and catechesis); the Dominican Sisters of the Presentation (health and pastoral ministry). The Vicariate is situated in the territory of the Missionary Province of St. Antony, Bolivia, and the Tuscan Province has an agreement with it which regulates their collaboration and the sending of aid in personnel and materials.

Towards the end of the last century the two Franciscan Provinces of Guatemala and Nicaragua were extinguished as a consequence of the process of exclaustration promoted and achieved by almost all the liberal governments of Latin America. In 1922 the Order was re-planted with the arrival of missionaries from the Cartagena Province, Spain. With the passage of time this presence was strengthened with the birth of new Custodies dependent on various Provinces: Immaculate Conception of New York (1944); St. Antony of Venice (1948); Seraphic of Assisi (1950); St. Bernardine of the Abruzzi, Italy (1951); Ireland (1968). In 1965, by means of an agreement between the five Custodies and the Minister General, Br. Augustine Sépinski, a beginning was made in bringing about a unification which was to result in the creation of the Franciscan Federation of Central America by the Minister General, Br. Constantine Koser, on 8 December 1974. The principal aims in view were the creation of a Vicary or Province and the unification of the formation of the friars of Central America. After a long process and with the encouragement of the General Curia, the erection of the Franciscan Vicary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Central America and Panama was proclaimed on 8 December 1983. As first Vicar was appointed Br. Damiano Muratori. This first stage was marked by all the demands made of any new entity: to develop the juridical structures of the Order, to give a new impulse to the unity and updating of initial formation, to provide the structures for the animation of the Vicary and make it equal to the demands and the geographical and historical conditions of Central America (6 countries). On 6 June 1987 the Minister General, Br. John Vaughn, issued a decree erecting the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the first Minister Provincial being the then Vicar, Br. Damiano Muratori. In the first Provincial Chapter in August 1990 Br. Ignacio Urbina was elected Minister. This stage was marked by the effort to bring about the affective and effective integration of the friars in the various structures and in building upon the achievements of the previous stages. A clear sign of this priority was the promotion and carrying out of the Provincial process of discernment realized over three years. In October 1996 a Provincial Chapter was celebrated and Br. José Victor Auilar was elected Minister. From 20 to 25 April the Central-American Province will be host to the Union of Franciscan Latin-American Conferences (UCLAF) in Guatemala City.

Br. Bernardin Schneider, Director of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Tokyo, tells us that his translation of the two Books of Chronicles with relevant notes is at an advanced stage. There still remain the three sections of the Prophet Isaiah for the translation of the whole Bible into Japanese to be completed. With a view to the publication of the complete translation, some experts are engaged in checking the New Testament from a stylistic and exegetical standpoint.

Br. Mario Rafael Toro Puerta, 52, has been elected Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Paul in Colombia.

These are some of the characteristics of the Franciscan understanding and living of mission:
Before setting out
Francis believes it necessary for the Ministers Provincial and Custodes to test the candidates, a test which naturally presupposes on the part of the one being sent a serious examination of his own motives: mission is not a personal project, but a mandate accepted. Francis asks of his friars that they examine the honesty of their desire, their humility and poverty, and sends them out defenceless and meek like lambs among wolves. Anyone taking upon himself the adventure of setting out to meet those who are far away, must be even more stable in his own kenotic identity, ready to abandon himself and hand himself over to the Lord every day and everywhere. Jesus himself does not impose on his followers a framework of particular norms to regulate their behaviour on the mission: he rather asks for a basic attitude of poverty and liberty: Take nothing with you...
In the carrying out of the mission
The first proclamation of the Gospel will have to be that of fraternal witness. Love, which is at the heart of the Gospel, has to be testified before it is proclaimed. And the privileged place for this witness is the capacity of living together demonstrated by those who confess the same faith and the same hope. Poverty, meekness and gentleness are the characteristic qualities of the missionary according to the Gospel and according to Francis. For the Poverello, after he had experienced in his own flesh the mercy of God especially in his encounter with the most lowly, communication and relationship with others loses every trace of power, possession, appearance, to be transformed into service, welcome, closeness, mercy, gift".

From the discourse of the Minister at Lisbon, 1.16.98, on the occasion of the first centenary of the arrival of the friars in Mozambique

Since 1994 the English and Irish Provin-ces are co-operating in the field of initial formation. From that year there has been in operation a common programme for the postulancy (in Dublin, Ireland) and novitiate (in Chilworth, England). In the Provincial Chapter of 1996 the English Province decided to ask the Irish Province to accept its students at the College of St. Isidore in Rome. So at the moment the friars in formation of the two Provinces are together for the postulancy, novitiate and post-novitiate.

The Holy Father accepted (17.1.98) the resignation from the pastoral government of the Vicariate Apostolic of San José de Amazonas (Peru) presented by Msgr. Lorenzo Rodolfo Guibord Lévesque ofm. The Holy Father appointed (14.2.98) as Vicar Apostolic of San José de Amazonas (Peru) Br. Alberto Campos Hernández ofm of the Province of Jalisco (Mexico), 46, at present a missionary in Uganda, assigning him the titular episcopal see of Vico di Augusto.

Continuing the process of reviewing the offices to provide a better service, the General Definitorium in its session of 10 February 1998, in accordance with art. 134 §2 of the General Statutes, nominated as Co-ordinator of the Translation Office Fr. Rubén Camps of the Valencia Province, since 1993 Spanish translator of Fraternitas.

The one and only O.F.M. Fraternity in Sri Lanka has published its first bulletin, called "Sahodaratwaya", which means "Fraternity". The Fraternity was officially set up on 14 August 1997. Before that there was only a Philippino friar who arrived on 25 May 1995 to prepare the house. The Fraternity is a foundation of the Province of St. Peter Baptist (Philippines). In July 1997 the General Definitorium approved the opening of a house of formation. At this moment there are 4 solemnly professed, 3 novices and 2 postulants.

Il fatto delle Stimmate di San Francesco, Edizioni Porziuncola, Assisi 1997, 90 pagg.
The Acts of the round table discussion held at the Portiuncula on 17 September 1996, with the participation of Prof. Enrico Menestò (Perugia/Spoleto), Prof. Stanislao da Campagnola (Perugia), Prof. Giovanni Miccoli (Trieste), Prof. Paolo Marianeschi (Terni/Perugia), Prof. Elvio Lunghi (Perugia).

The General Definitorium has named the Commission for the Examination of Particular and Special Statutes. Members are Brs. Andrea Boni (President), Pierantonio Norcini (Secretary-General), and three Professors of the PAA: Nicolaus Schöch, Victor Papez and Priamo Etzi.

From 11 to 15 November 1998 the General Visitators who have been appointed this year for those Provinces who will have their Chapter in 1999 will come together in Rome. This assembly is provided for in the "Statutes for Canonical Visitation".