The National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) in Australia has 509 members. 263 of them are active and 246 are less active due to age and the long distances they must travel.
The members are distributed among twenty-two active fraternities, out of forty-eight which were canonically established. The fraternities are grouped into four regions: New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia. On September 9-12, 2025, the OFS Minister General, Tibor KAUSER, and the representative of the Conference of General Spiritual Assistants (CAS), Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI, OFM Conv., made a fraternal and pastoral visit to the OFS national fraternity of Australia. The visitors arrived on the evening of Monday, September 8, at the Mary MacKillop Spirituality Center in Baulkham Hills (Sydney). On Tuesday, September 9, after the 8:30 a.m. Mass, they met with the National Council and finalized the schedule for the visit. At 11:30 a.m., met with the Most Reverend Vincent Long Van NGUYEN, OFM Conv., Bishop of Parramatta, Australia who stressed the importance and value of the OFS fraternities in his diocese, especially in such a secularized society. The bishop also recalled how his vocation was influenced by his father who was a Secular Franciscan. At 2:00 p.m., the visitors resumed their meeting with the Council. The Council reported on the activities of the Australian national fraternity and reflected on its future. The day concluded with Evening prayer at 5:45 p.m. On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., the visitors resumed their discussion with the national council regarding the apostolate and missionary activities of the national fraternity. In the afternoon, they reviewed the OFS documents and archives. At 6:00 p.m., they met with the local Fraternity of St. Francis in Leichhardt (Sydney), which shared its monthly meeting schedule with them. On Thursday morning they made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Mary MacKillop, Australia’s only canonized saint. In the afternoon, they conducted an online meeting with the members of the various local OFS fraternities across the country using the Zoom Internet platform. On Friday morning, the visitors met with the regional spiritual assistants, who shared the joys and struggles of the work they do. The greatest difficulty is the closure of friaries due to the decreasing numbers of friars and the long distances they must travel to reach the local fraternities. Also that morning, the regional ministers met with the visitors, and reported on their fraternities and current activities. At 11:30 a.m., the visitors shared the conclusions they reached regarding their visit with the national council. The last event of the visit was a meeting with the Major Superiors, namely, the Minister Provincial, Friar Robert STEWART, OFM Cap.; the Minister Provincial, Friar Philip MISCAMBLE, OFM; and the Provincial Delegate, Friar David Francis BLOWEY, OFM Conv. The meeting was held at 5:00 p.m. because it was hoped the Major Superiors would stay for dinner and enjoy some fraternal time with the OFS members. At the end, the OFS Minister General, Tibor KAUSER and Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI thanked the Major Superiors for the spiritual and pastoral care they have provided the OFS in Australia.
Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI
