...We observe with joy that the awareness of being one family is growing among Franciscans, religious and lay, united in the common mission of "repairing the Church" entrusted to St. Francis by the Crucified, through the single charism of our common Seraphic Father, which we seek to make present in life and in the mission of the Church.

"Fraternity in mission". This is the guiding theme, more relevant than ever, of your chapter reflection. As Secular Franciscans, we are convinced that this mission can be fully realised only as a Family, thanks to the complementarity of all its components, religious and lay, especially in the current secularised and multi-religious context.

...May Francis and Clare, the 750th anniversary of whose death we are celebrating, assist you in your work and guide you. May their intercession and that of the Virgin of the Angels, our Protector and Advocate, obtain for you the abundance of divine grace to be, in perfect joy, faithful and effective continuers of the work of our Seraphic Father in the third millennium.