The Minister General meets the friars living and working in Sweden

The Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, accompanied by the Definitor General Br. Konrad Cholewa, met in Stockholm with friars of the Province of St. Francis in Poznań (Poland) who live and work outside their Province. Among them are the brothers from the two communities in Sweden, as well as those serving in Austria, Switzerland and Italy. The meeting takes place every year and offers these friars an opportunity for fraternity and ongoing formation.

Over the course of two days, the brothers shared their experiences and reflected on what it means to be missionaries in a country where Catholics are a small minority. They also met the Christian community they serve, which is made up of people from at least 20 different nationalities. It is a vibrant and diverse community, expressing the richness of differences that make the Church truly catholic, that is, universal. Together with the Bishop of Stockholm, Cardinal Anders Arborelius, and many faithful, they celebrated the Eighth Centenary of the Transitus of St. Francis.

The programme also included a visit to Stockholm, to the first Franciscan church in the capital, where the Friars Minor arrived in 1229, and to the historic church in Arboga. The Friars Minor founded the latter in 1285 and cared for it until the Protestant Reformation of 1527. Following the Reformation, the flourishing Franciscan presence in the Scandinavian countries quickly came to an end. Its medieval frescoes depicting the life of Francis still make the church a place of remembrance today. 

The Lutheran Church of Sweden is also commemorating the Centenary of the Transitus here: a sign of communion around the figure of Francis, who is recognised beyond confessional boundaries.