OFS – YouFra
General Assistant for the Secular Franciscan Order / YouFra
The spiritual and pastoral care of the OFS, in virtue of its belonging to the same spiritual family, is entrusted by the Church to the Franciscan First Order and the TOR, to whom the Secular Fraternity has been united for centuries . Religious and Secular Franciscans in fact, in various ways and forms but in lifegiving union with each other, aim to make present the charism of their common Seraphic Father in the life and mission of the Church and of society .Therefore, as a concrete sign of communion and co-responsibility, religious superiors must assure spiritual assistance to all the fraternities of the OFS (Statutes 1).
- General Assistant: Br. Ivan Matić ofm (Ss. Cyrilli et Methodii/Croatiae – CROATIA)
Tel. +39-0668491314 – eMail: secfran@ofm.org.
Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) – OFS official website
From the beginning, the Secular Franciscan Order has had its own proper place in the Franciscan Family. It is formed by the organic union of all the Catholic fraternities whose members, moved by the Holy Spirit, commit themselves through profession to live the Gospel in the manner of St. Francis, in their secular state, following the Rule approved by the Church. (CC.GG. 1, 3) The OFS is open to the faithful of every state of life. The following may belong to it: the laity (men and women); the secular clergy (deacons, priests, bishops). (CC.GG. 2, 2)
Franciscan Youth (YouFra) – YouFra official website
The Youfra is an experience of fraternity, a community of young believers, sons and daughters of the same Father, who share their faith, based on (fraternal) love. Their fraternity is inserted in the ecclesial community in which it lives and acts. The Youfra walks in the light of the message of St. Francis of Assisi; they discover gradually and assume this project of life and its values. It belongs to the Franciscan family as an integral part of the OFS and considers the Rule of the OFS its inspirational document.
Koinonia
Koinonia 2001 – 2009
Archives OFS 1998-2000
Archives OFS 2001-2009
Archives YouFra 2001-2009
The Manual for Assistance to the OFS and to the YouFra
The Manual for Assistance to the OFS and to the Franciscan Youth (YouFra), prepared by the Conference of General Assistants, issued as a response to the repeated requests of the spiritual Assistants and of some provincial Ministers to have a Manual as an aid for the Assistants who are dedicated to this fraternal service. (more…)
Holy Land – Visit and Formation Meetings
At the invitation of the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, Ivan Matic, OFM, Assistant General of the OFS-YouFra, paid a visit to the Holy Land where he met many brothers and sisters who are members of the OFS and Franciscan Youth in the cities of Nazareth, Jericho, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and Jaffa.
The organizer and program coordinator of the meetings was Br. Marcelo Cichinelli, OFM, Moderator for Ongoing Formation in Custody. Together with Br Toni Choucri, a student who follows the OFS fraternity, they accompanied Ivan during the whole time of his visit. (more…)
Slovenia – OFS National Elective Chapter
The National Elective Chapter was celebrated from November 22-25, 2012, at the Capuchin friars’ house of spiritual exercises in Kančevci, Slovenia. This Chapter was chaired by Ewald Kreuzer from Austria (Councilor of the CIOFS Presidency). Present as Delegate of the CAS was Br. Robert Bahčič, OFM, from Rome. The event was attended by 62 chapter members with their Spiritual Assistants, Br. Martin Gasparic, OFMConv, Br. Filip Rupnik, OFM, Br. Primož Kovač, OFM, Br. Vlado Kolenko, OFM, YouFra, and Br. Tomaž Pinter, OFM, the last two being YouFra National Assistants. (more…)
Croatia – 800 Years Since the Arrival of St. Francis in the Croatian land
This year we celebrate 800 years since the arrival of St. Francis to Croatian soil. In fact, Thomas of Celano wrote about this, saying that “In the sixth year of his conversion, out of (more…)
Rwanda – Elective National Chapter of the OFS
In the convent of the Friars Minor at Kivumu (Rwanda) from the 25th to the 31st of July 2012 the fraternal, pastoral visit and the celebration of the Elective National Chapter of the emerging (more…)
France – First European Congress of OFS-YouFra
The first European Congress of the Secular Franciscan Order and Franciscan Youth of Europe was held in Lisieux (France) from July 9-15, 2012. Although the European YouFra has had its own (more…)
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of YouFra
From June 29 – 1 July 2012, at the shrine of St. Anthony of Padua in Humac (Ljubuški), the Franciscan Youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina with their Spiritual Assistants, gathered to celebrate the 20th (more…)
Easter 2013
Formation & Missions
