15th EAC-CIP Concludes with Renewed Call to Be Lesser Brothers in Asia

Da Lat / Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam - August 29, 2026. The 15th East Asian Conference of the Order of Friars Minor – Continuing Inter-Franciscan Program (EAC-CIP) concluded on Saturday, August 29, with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Br. Lino Gregorio V. Redoblado, OFM, President of the East Asian Conference (EAC).

In his homily, Br. Lino called the participants to remain faithful to their identity as lesser brothers, emphasizing that Franciscan life and mission in Asia must be marked by humility, fraternity, availability, and service. In the midst of the continent’s rich diversity of peoples, cultures, religions, and social realities, he encouraged the friars to witness to the Gospel by remaining close to the people, especially those on the margins.

The closing celebration brought to completion a month-long journey of formation, fraternity, prayer, cultural encounter, and discernment. The program gathered friars from the Philippines, Vietnam, and Myanmar who are preparing for Solemn Profession in the Order of Friars Minor.

The final stage of the program was a week-long Franciscan Hermitage Retreat at the Novitiate House in Du Sinh, Da Lat City. Through silence, personal and communal prayer, reflection, the Eucharist, and fraternal encounters, the participants were invited to return to the foundations of their Franciscan vocation and to discern more deeply the meaning of giving themselves definitively to God and the fraternity through Solemn Profession.

The participants expressed their heartfelt gratitude to the Franciscan brothers in Vietnam for their generous hospitality, accompaniment, and fraternal welcome throughout the program. The 15th EAC-CIP was particularly significant as it marked the first time the program was hosted in Vietnam, offering the brothers a privileged experience of intercultural fraternity and strengthening the bonds among Franciscan Entities in East Asia.

Throughout the month, the participants shared in prayer, formation, community life, cultural immersion, dialogue, and experiences of the local Church and Franciscan presence in Vietnam. These encounters highlighted the international character of the Franciscan fraternity and the shared mission of the brothers to proclaim the Gospel within the diverse contexts of Asia.

As the participants returned to their respective communities, the conclusion of the EAC-CIP was not simply an ending but a sending forth. They carried with them a renewed commitment to live the Gospel after the manner of St. Francis of Assisi: to be lesser brothers among the people, builders of fraternity and peace, and servants of the Church and the peoples of Asia.

The 15th EAC-CIP thus closed with gratitude for the journey shared and with hope for the journey ahead - a call to transform the experiences of prayer, fraternity, and encounter received in Vietnam into a faithful and joyful Franciscan witness wherever the brothers are sent.