The Minister General's message to the UFME Assembly

A short film on the history of the parish of Medjugorje and the Canticle of the Creatures sung by the parish priest, Br Zvonimir Pavičić, opened the second day of the 15th UFME Assembly. 

This was followed by greetings from Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, Apostolic Visitator in Medjugorje, Bishop Peter Palić, Bishop of Mostar, and Br Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General.

Archbishop Cavalli wished to emphasise the grace of the Marian place where the Assembly is taking place: "This is a place of grace and faith; [...] the Virgin Mary has "found grace with God", and so Francis of Assisi too, by grace, was chosen by the Lord. Through his free and creative response, he proclaimed the Gospel to the people of his time. In the same way, we, by grace, have received the vocation and mission to proclaim the Gospel to the people of today's world".

Br Massimo Fusarelli recalled how, over the past month, he had met personally with the fraternities of South America and now of Europe: "Last month, all the provincials of Latin America gathered in Sao Paulo, Brazil; now we are holding this European Assembly: in a short time, almost half of the Ministers Provincial and Custodes of the whole Order have gathered in different parts of the world. For us in the General Definitory, it is a precious opportunity to see and meet the Order not only in the many papers that arrive at the General Curia but through the faces of the friars and to get to know better the many different situations that our international fraternity experiences". He added: "Here we are in a borderland between different cultures, historical experiences and worlds; when we meet together, we are obliged to cross borders and to have a greater outlook". 

In the following round table discussion entitled "History and Life of UFME: where we started from and where we have arrived", the speakers were Br. Miljenko Šteko, current President of UFME and organiser of the meeting, Br. Vitor Melicias, who remotely described the history of UFME, Archbishop José Rodriguez Carballo, former Minister General of the Order, and Bishop Sabino Iannuzzi, former President of UFME.

In the afternoon, the Assembly listened to the Minister General's report: "The Future of the Order in Europe and the Future of UFME: Where we are and what we want to be on the European continent today and tomorrow". A message ranging from the concept of "frontier" to that of "crisis", from the meaning of being friars and minors today to the presence of the Faith and the Spirit in one's life; from climate change to the need for dialogue, from borders reinforced by nationalism to "building bridges".

"Recognising the dynamic and continuous presence of the Spirit of the Risen Christ in us and around us in an ongoing discernment: this is a way to walk as "seekers of the Spirit" in a change of epoch that requires us to review our paradigms of thought and action", said Br Massimo. He continued: "The world is changing, and this is nothing new. Facing change in a reasoned manner, with a long-term vision, on the contrary, is. Those who will have to face it are not the generations that lived through the roaring '60s and '70s; for us, the Council and the hopes that followed amid lights and clouds. Instead, the new generations will have to face the consequences of choices fashioned for an eternal present and lacking imagination for the future".

The day ended with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Bishop Sabino Iannuzzi. 

Read the Minister General's Message: English - Italiano - Español

UFME (Union of Friars Minor of Europe) brings together several Conferences on the European continent: the Conference of Minister Provincials of Italy and Albania (COMPI), the Conference of the Provinces of Spain and Portugal (CONFRES), the Transalpine Franciscan Conference (COTAF), the North Slavic Conference (SLAN) and the South Slavic Conference (SLAS).

Photo di Mateo Ivanković, Mir Information Centre Medjugorje
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