Message to the whole order at the conclusion of the 86th General Chapter 

Brothers, with joy and gratitude to the Lord we wish to share with you what the Holy Spirit has worked through us in this 86^th General Chapter, which had as its theme the words of St. Francis: Dominus dedit mihi fratres… ut irent in mundum.

Gathered around the Crucified and Risen Christ, who gives us His Spirit to go out into the whole world as missionaries, as a fraternity, the General Chapter was truly a “sign and instrument of unity and solidarity” (cf. Const. 117:1-3;124:1;125:1).

The time spent listening, dialoging and debating with one another were characterized by that parresia that the synodal style of the Church’s journey asks us to practice in community discernment.

We are brothers called to be with Jesus and to go out into the world (cf. Mk 3:14), in the spirit of Francis of Assisi. Indeed, as Capuchin Friars Minor, we live at the service of the Church in pluriform, interreligious socio-cultural contexts, in which we recognize, along with joys and hopes, the shadows of injustice, war, inequality, violence, abuse of minors and vulnerable people, as well as the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

Therefore, the Chapter discerned some of the most urgent issues for our living as brothers and for the proclamation of the Kingdom of God, embracing the challenges and changes our homelands are going through.

The universality of the Gospel and the interculturality of the charism are gifts that impels us to be witnesses of universal fraternity and, in the name of Christ, capable of fitting into and valuing every culture, working together to grasp the seeds of the Word hidden in the heart of every person.

Collaboration, the central theme of the Chapter, is based on the fraternal, prophetic and missionary dimension of our Capuchin Franciscan life. We are truly brothers and minors when we welcome, in the name of Christ, and accept one another in humility, living interdependently and working together for the good of God’s people.

Such a prophetic mission today demands ever greater collaboration in formation to the charism, guided by the Ratio Formationis Ordinis, which is for the whole Order a valuable tool for strengthening unity through cultural plurality in our charism. We are called to renew and consolidate, through a prophetic lens, our approaches to initial and ongoing formation, caring for one another, so that fidelity and perseverance in following the Lord are not diminished.

By being minor, contemplative, and close to all and cum tucte le creature, we make visible the unity and peace that the Spirit of Christ comes to build through our relationships, the spreading of our charism, and the care of the poor among the poorest, especially in today’s hotspots of war. In our commitment to justice, peace and the safeguarding of creation, we recognize the identifying trait of our charism.

Fraternal collaboration is a criterion for a new and decisive co-responsibility in the face of all forms of abuse that, unfortunately, are still perpetrated in our world. We reaffirm the commitment of every circumscription of the Order to train in the prevention, protection and welfare of minors and vulnerable people, while walking with and providing appropriate care for victims.

The theme of collaboration was also key to the new geographical configurations of the Order and is a call to knowing how to be even more available for mission. In this regard, the Chapter, in addition to adjusting some aspects of our legislation, entrusted the General Minister and his Council with the task of organizing an event for reflecting upon the broader theme of the missionary nature of our Order and to continue in support of the St. Lawrence of Brindisi Fraternities.

Guided by the words of Pope Francis, who challenged us on August 31^st to the “mystique of collaboration,” we are all invited to respond to the signs of the times with the prophecy of evangelical fraternity, the prophecy of missionary availability, and the prophecy of peace.

With this momentum we are approaching the fifth centenary of our reformation (1528-2028), grateful to the Lord for all the good things that, through our hands, He has sown in the paths of history. We look with passion and hope toward the future as we continue to be missionaries of mercy and communion, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, patroness of our Order, and in the footsteps of our Seraphic Father St. Francis.