From the evening of February 25 to February 28, 2024, the friars of the Provincial Custody of St. Leopold and St. Nicolas of Flüe in Austria-Switzerland conducted the second part of their Ordinary Custodial Chapter. The event took place at the Heilige Dreifaltigkeit Friary in Vienna, Austria.
Those attending included twenty-one Capitulars from the Custody, the Assistant General for the Centralis Europae Foederatio (CEF), Friar Igor SALMIČ, and the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany, Friar Andreas MURK, who presided.
The Custodial Definitory prepared an instrumentum laboris with some very important motions for the future of the Custody. There was a proposal, for example, to transform the friary in Flüeli, Switzerland into a filial house belonging to the friary in Fribourg, Switzerland. The friars have been seeking a solution for the friary in Flüeli for years, which also houses the “Juvenat,” a school for girls. However, using the friary for any other purpose is forbidden by the rules of the local municipality. This regulation has created a heavy financial burden for the friary.
The Minister General himself proposed a motion to turn the historic libraries in the friaries of Vienna and Fribourg into Custodial assets. This will allow the Definitory to take direct responsibility for these important places of history, art and science.
On the second day, two financial experts spoke to the friars about the challenges of managing their finances and providing for their pension fund.
On the day the Capitulars voted on the motions and the Four-Year Custodial Plan, the Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, sent a video message from Assisi, reminding the friars of the important choices they needed to make and to always put the common good above personal interest.
The Capitulars voted for all eleven motions. It showed a willingness on the part of the friars to be open to change and to work and journey together.
On the last day of the Chapter, the Guardians were elected. They are Friar Nicholas THENAMMAKKAL for the friary in Asparn/Zaya (third term); Friar Daniele BROCCA for Fribourg (second term); Friar Petru FARCAŞ for Graz (second term); Friar Tomasz ZEGAN for Neunkirchen (first term); and Friar Thomas MANALIL for Vienna (second term).
At the conclusion of the Chapter, the friars went down into the crypt of the church to pray for the deceased.
Friar Bernhard LANG, Provincial Custos
