Gathered in Assisi, in this year in which the Franciscan Family celebrates the VIII Centenary of the Easter of St. Francis of Assisi, we, Friars Minor with less than ten years of solemn profession (Under Ten), coming from the five continents of the world, wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, the Vicar General, Br. Ignacio Ceja, the Brothers of the General Definitory, and the Seraphic Province of St. Francis for their hospitality. We would like to thank our Ministers Provincial and Custodes, for the opportunity they have given us to live this beautiful experience of universal fraternity in the VI Under Ten Chapter of Mats, with the motto: “You are all brothers”.
The Most High, omnipotent, and good Lord summoned us to this land that saw the birth of St. Francis and St. Clare. We have come as delegates of our Entities, bringing with us the stories, the joys, the wounds, the questions, and the hopes of the other Under Ten brothers, to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Order today.
During these days, we prayed with the Word, shared the Eucharist, recounted our vocational stories, discussed the challenges of our time, and visited the places where St. Francis discovered the Gospel as a way of life. Doing so, we have returned to the Franciscan sources of our vocation and our mission, renewing the desire to follow Christ in the way of St Francis.
In sharing our vocation stories, we have recognized that God continues to call through the witness of authentic brothers and sisters, joyful and close to the people: a credible Franciscan life constitutes the first vocation ministry, capable not only of attracting new vocations, but of accompanying and sustaining them with fidelity.
In our common discernment, we discovered that the first conversion to which the Lord calls us today is to a renewal of our personal and community relationship with him in the evangelical quality of our fraternal life. Rather than multiplying works or responding to new challenges, we are called to return to the Gospel lived in fraternity, making our communities places where prayer, listening, mutual care, co-responsibility, and service truly express that we are brothers and sisters.
On this same journey, we have recognized that authority among us is only truly evangelical when it is lived as service: a closeness that cares for the dignity of each brother or sister, listens before making decisions, promotes co-responsibility and animates a culture of respect and accompaniment, beginning with the service of the Guardian, called to be a sign of communion and fraternity.
We are aware of the tensions we experience in our fraternities – activism, individualism, superficiality in communication, unhealed wounds, clericalism, or generational distances – but we have also discovered that if we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit, fraternity recovers its evangelizing force.
We want our fraternities to be a home, and not just a structure: places where each brother can confidently express his weariness, crises, and wounds without fear of judgment and to allow himself to be accompanied – also with professional help when necessary. A fraternity where the brother can allow himself to be healed in order to be able, in turn, to accompany others.
We have also reflected on the peripheries of our time: the poor, the migrants, the victims of violence, the common home, those who seek meaning in the midst of digital culture, and those who live without hope. We feel the desire to renew our missionary vocation to evangelize and to be evangelized, so as to be present where humanity suffers and where the Gospel needs to be proclaimed with credible words, a coherent life, and a language capable of reaching people’s hearts.
The Spirit has helped us to discover that digital culture, artificial intelligence, and the care of creation are scenarios in which we are called to live and proclaim the Gospel. We want to be present in these spaces with a humble, fraternal, and contemplative Franciscan presence, which always proclaims Christ before ourselves. A presence that utilizes technology as an instrument at the service of the person and the mission, used responsibly and soberly, which also promotes the care of our Common Home as an expression of our fraternity and solidarity with all creation.
In an increasingly connected world, we wish to be brothers capable of foresting encounter, authentic and personal relationships, hope and communion, a people convinced that the witness of an evangelical life remains the most credible proclamation of the Gospel.
To sustain this journey, we feel the need for an initial and ongoing formation that integrates the elements of prayer, fraternity, mission, and human maturity. A formation that educates for the service of authority, discernment, and co-responsibility, and that prepares for a mature evangelical presence in digital culture.
We believe that the Spirit continues to stir up creativity, missionary passion and hope in our Order. As we approach the General Chapter of 2027, we wish to offer, in a spirit of co-responsibility, the fruits of the discernment lived during this VI Chapter of Mats. Thus, we present the following proposals, born of prayer, listening to the Word, fraternal dialogue, and the shared search for God’s will, as a humble contribution to the renewal of our life and mission.
Proposal to the Entities:
Proposal to the Conferences:
Proposal to the 2027 General Chapter:
At the conclusion of this VI Chapter of the Mats, we return to our fraternities with a renewed desire to live the Gospel, convinced that the Franciscan vocation continues to be beautiful, meaningful, and necessary. With Mary, Queen of Angels and under the protection of our Father St. Francis and St. Clare, we return to our homes and friaries carrying the same certainty in our hearts: “You are all brothers”.
Peace and all Good!
The Under Ten brothers
together with the Minister General and the General Definitory
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