The 203rd Ordinary General Chapter of the Conventual Franciscan Friars was held June 1-21, 2025, at the Seraphicum International College in Rome. It was presided over by the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, with seventy-nine Capitulars and eighteen Auditors in attendance.
On Sunday, June 1, the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, the opening Mass was celebrated in the chapel of the Seraphicum, presided over by the Minister General. In the days that followed, Masses were celebrated by different confreres, each offering a homily in two of the Order’s four official languages.
The first session of the General Chapter began on June 2 in the Seraphicum auditorium, with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, the confirmation of Friar Tomasz SZYMCZAK as Chapter Secretary, and Friar Juan Miguel VICENTE VALTUEÑA as Chapter Actuary. The day was dedicated to prayer and meditation, with preaching by Friar Štefan KOŽUH, OFM Cap., originally from Slovenia but now a member of the Le Celle friary and hermitage in Cortona, Italy.
On Tuesday, June 3, the second session of the Chapter began with the full reading of the Minister General’s Report, coinciding with his name day: the Feast of St. Charles Lwanga, Martyr. The report was introduced by the Secretary General, Friar Tomasz, who presented his work on the Order’s statistics.
In the days that followed, summaries of the reports from the main General Offices were read, namely, the reports of the Postulator General, Friar Zdzisław KIJAS; the General Delegate for the Second Order, Friar Germano TOGNETTI; the General Delegate for Assistance to the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.), Friar Gilson Miguel NUNES; the General Delegate for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation, Friar Michael LASKY; the General Spiritual Assistant to the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS), Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI; the General Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, Friar Jerzy NOREL; the General Delegate for Communications, Friar Alejandro PALACIOS VÁZQUEZ; the Procurator General, Friar Maurizio Di Paolo; the General Econom, Friar Nicola ROSA; the Secretary General for Formation, Friar Piotr STANISŁAWCZYK; the Secretary General for Mission Animation, Friar Dariusz MAZUREK; and the Projects Office Coordinator, Friar Valerio FOLLI. Each report was followed by ample time for discussion and group work. The Capitulars divided into seven groups led by the Assistants General, with the aim of reflecting on three areas of the Order’s life that have borne good fruit and three areas that need further development.
The highlight of the Chapter took place on Saturday, June 7, at the Sacred Convent of Assisi. Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI was elected by a large majority to his second term as Minister General. At noon, the Capitulars went in procession to the tomb of St. Francis. They sang the Te Deum and Friar Carlos made his profession of faith and took his oath of office. He raised the relic of the Chartula and bestowed his solemn blessing on all present. Then, each of the friars warmly welcomed him with a fraternal embrace.
On Sunday afternoon, June 8, the Capitulars made a visit to the General Curia and attended Mass at 6:30 p.m., in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles. The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro PAROLIN, presided.
The fourth session was held June 9-10. At that time, the members of the new General Definitory were elected. These are: the Vicar General, Friar Igor SALMIČ; the Secretary General, Friar Tomasz SZYMCZAK; the Assistant General for the African Federation of Conventual Franciscans (AFCOF), Friar Blasio Ooko OLENGE; the Assistant General for the Centralis Europae Foederatio (CEF), Friar Vincenzo COSATTI; the Assistant General for the Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF), Friar Joseph WOOD; the Assistant General for the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC), Friar Rogério PEREIRA XAVIER; the Assistant General for the Federation of Asian Minor Conventuals (FAMC), Friar Giuseppe PARK; the Assistant General for the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO), Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK; and the Assistant General for the Federazione Intermediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP), Friar Colin Charles SAMMUT.
The fifth session opened with discussion on the Motions. The Procurator General, Friar Maurizio DI PAOLO, presented the first two Motions, concerning amendments to the Constitutions and General Statutes. The Secretary General for Formation, Friar Piotr STANISŁAWCZYK, presented Motion 3 on Franciscan Discipleship and the Ratio Studiorum, followed by the Secretary General, Friar Tomasz SZYMCZAK, who presented the text of the new Directory for the Provincial Chapter.
On Wednesday, June 11, the General Custos of the Sacred Convent of St. Francis of Assisi, Friar Marco MORONI, presented Motion 5 on the revised Special Statutes of the Custody. Finally, Motion 21, which was not part of the Instrumentum laboris, was discussed and approved. Friar Martin DAY, the Minister Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation in the USA, proposed hiring an external consulting firm to audit and improve the financial and asset management of the Order.
On Thursday, June 12, the then General Exactor, Friar Leszek ŁUCZKANIN, presented Motion 15 on the taxatio ordinis. He also presented Motion 18, which concerned the restructuring of the General Houses in Rome, Motion 16 concerning the Fraternal Solidarity Fund, which is reserved for formation and for exceptional needs of the Order, Motion 17 concerning the Formation Fund, Motion 19 regarding the training of friars in charge of finances, and Motion 20, which defined spending limits for the Minister General alone and with his Definitory.
After taking a break for the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the Capitulars met on Saturday, June 14, to discuss Motion 6 regarding the Projects Office, which was presented by the Projects Office Coordinator, Friar Valerio FOLLI. At about 11:00 a.m., there was a meeting with the Conference of the Franciscan Family. Its members include the Ministers General of the Franciscan First Order: Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, OFM Conv.; Friar Massimo FUSARELLI, OFM; Friar Roberto GENUIN, OFM Cap.; and Friar Amando TRUJILLO CANO, TOR; as well as Tibor KAUSER, OFS; and the President of the International Franciscan Conference of Friars and the Sisters of the Third Order Regular (CFI-TOR) Sister Daisy KALAMPARAMBAN.
In their presence, Friar Raffaele DI MURO, the Dean of the Faculty of St. Bonaventure, gave an award to our fellow professors and deans, Friars Orlando TODISCO and Francesco COSTA, for their academic work and service to the Order and the Church.
The Assistant General for the FEMO Federation, Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK, presented Motion 7 on a new Office of Cultural Heritage, to be included among the entities of the General Curia. Finally, the newly elected Vicar General, Friar Igor SALMIČ, presented Motion 8 on the review and restructuring of the Federations.
After resting on Sunday, the Capitulars resumed work on Monday, June 16, with the approval of the aforementioned Motion 8. Work then continued in thematic groups, reflecting in particular on: charism and identity, mission, new evangelization, finances, formation, the renovation of the General Houses, and the General Chapter.
Friar Giovanni VOLTAN, the former Assistant General for the FIMP Federation, presented Motion 9 regarding the Provinces of Southern Italy. Finally, the Vicar General, Friar Igor SALMIČ, presented Motion 10 on identity and charism.
On Tuesday, June 17, Friar Jan MACIEJOWSKI, the former Vicar General, presented Motion 11, concerning the St. Bonaventure Project.
In the afternoon, before addressing the Motion on Mission, Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, the Director of the FIMP Missionary Center, presented the book, “Cina – l’alba missionaria dei Frati Minori Conventuali” [China – The Missionary Dawn of the Friars Minor Conventual] written to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Order’s mission in China and the arrival of the first friars there. During his overview of the history of Conventual Franciscan missionary activity, Friar Paolo showed a short video about our presence in China.
Friar Dariusz MAZUREK, the Secretary General for the General Secretariat for Mission Animation (SGAM), presented Motion 12, which was aimed at rekindling the missionary spirit throughout the Order.
On Wednesday, June 18, the work of the Chapter resumed only in the afternoon because the Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, attended a family funeral.
At 4:00 p.m., Friar Francesco PANIZZOLO, a member of the General Procurator’s Office, presented Motion 13 regarding the protection of minors.
On Thursday, June 19, there was a discussion on Motion 14, presented by the outgoing Vicar General, Friar Jan MACIEJOWSKI, on the revision of liturgical texts starting with an updated Liturgical Calendar. Next, Friar Piotr BIELENIN of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow), presented the Kolbe Project. In recognition of the importance of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe’s charism for the interior and missionary formation of the friars. After that, the Assistant General for the FEMO Federation, Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK, presented a funding request for the 2025 International Youth Toward Assisi Meeting.
Following this, the Capitulars discussed a proposal by Friar Giacomo DI CIANO from the Provincial Delegation in Burkina Faso, regarding collaboration with the other Franciscan Families
On Friday, June 20, the morning was dedicated to an audience with Pope Leo XIV. At around 9:00 a.m., the Capitulars and friars from the General Houses in Rome, celebrated Mass on the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. His Eminence, Cardinal Luis Antonio TAGLE, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presided. After the Mass, the Procurator General, Friar Maurizio DI PAOLO, led the large group of friars (around 150) to the Clementine Hall. The audience with Pope Leo XIV began around noon.
The work of the Chapter resumed in the afternoon: Friar Giovanni VOLTAN, the former Assistant General for the FIMP Federation, read the closing letter addressed to all of the friars of the Order at the conclusion of the 203rd General Chapter. This was followed by the election of the General Econom: Friar Leszek ŁUCZKANIN, and the General Exactor: Friar Cătălin FABIAN. Finally, the Minister General and the Secretary General thanked all those who contributed to the Chapter, especially the friars of the Seraphicum, who graciously hosted the Capitulars.
The General Chapter concluded in the Seraphicum chapel with the recitation of Evening Prayer, into which a prayer for the friars who had died during the past six-year term, had been incorporated.
On Saturday, June 21, after the morning Mass, most of the Capitulars began their journey home.
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