Dear Brothers,
This special edition of Fraternitas gathers together the memories of the VI Chapter of Mats Under Ten OFM, celebrated in Assisi in July 2026, in the heart of the eighth centenary of the Easter of St. Francis. The experiences of those days reminded us that the Franciscan vocation remains alive when it returns to the Gospel and finds its concrete form of life in fraternity.
The participating friars brought with them the joys, struggles, questions, and hopes of their Entities. They reflected on prayer, the service of authority, the integral care of the person, mental health, the protection of minors and vulnerable adults, evangelisation, the digital world, artificial intelligence, and care for our common home. Amidst these diverse themes, a common calling emerged: to protect humanity, to serve the Gospel with sobriety, and to build truer, freer, and more evangelical relationships. The Chapter also demonstrated the Order's international, youthful, and diverse face. Different languages, cultures, and sensibilities met not as obstacles, but as gifts.
This edition of Fraternitas, therefore, seeks to be more than a chronicle of events: it seeks to preserve a memory that helps us continue our journey and discernment. Because what happened in Assisi belongs not only to the Under Ten friars: their questions, insights, and hopes question the life and mission of the entire Order.
The participants' final message expressed, with realism and hope, that the renewal of our lives is also built through daily choices that make the Gospel visible in our fraternities. The invitation to return to the sources without nostalgia, to experience a simpler and more authentic fraternity, resounded forcefully; A fraternity that is a home for every brother and a safe space where even their frailties, weariness, and wounds can be welcomed.
Similarly, the Chapter recalled that our mission requires a humble and close presence. Evangelising in a minority means listening, accompanying, and walking with the People of God. The new spaces of digital culture, the development of artificial intelligence, and the care of our common home also demand responsible discernment and a Franciscan presence that always places the person, fraternity, and the Gospel at the centre.
We wish you happy reading and hope that these pages, images, and videos will allow you to relive something of what was shared in Assisi and extend its fruits into the life of your fraternities.
Br. Byron A. Chamann Anléu, OFM
Director
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