The day’s work of September 5, 2024, is entirely dedicated to the election of General Councilors. In this regard, our Constitutions state that “the duty of the General Councilors is to assist the General Minister in the governance of the whole Order” (Const. 125:7). The councilors, although they each represent an area of the world, are councilors for the whole Order and are therefore called to be of service to circumscriptions even outside of their own area. To fulfill this service, the Chapter decided to maintain the number of councilors to 10, as was the case in the last sexennium, one for each of the 9 conferences of the Order (CEMCap has two, because of the high number of friars). The order in which they are elected was drawn by lot.
Today, there will be no further information about the progress of the Chapter, either through the website or other social media, until all the Councilors have been elected. This period of silence can be a favorable time for prayer as the elections take place.