On Thursday, November 5, 2026, the Guardians and Pastors of the Province of St. Joseph, Spouse of the B.V.M., in Romania, gathered at the Provincial Curia in Bacău, Romania, for their first meeting of the pastoral year. As the Church celebrates the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi, the theme of this meeting was the “Call of San Damiano” and its significance for the friars responsible for leading fraternities and providing pastoral care to parish communities.
The program began at 9:30 a.m. with a prayer and words of welcome from Friar Cristian DUMEA, Guardian of the host community. This was followed by a meditation by Friar Fabian BLAJ, Guardian and Pastor of the Latin Rite Catholic community of the Assumption of the B.V.M. in Nisiporești, on the theme “Francis, Go and Repair My Church, Which Is Falling into Ruin: Friars and Pastors Today.”
The speaker highlighted several parallels between the transformations of medieval society and the challenges facing the Church today. Just as Francis responded to the spiritual aspirations of his time through an authentic experience of the Gospel, the Church today must find new ways to proclaim it. In the face of secularization, an aging clergy, and declining vocations—but also in light of people’s search for meaning—the Church’s witness to the faith must remain credible and close to people’s lives.
Friar Fabian then traced Francis’s journey from the invitation to repair a ruined church to the realization of a deeper mission—to help renew the Church through conversion, fidelity to the Gospel, and fraternity. This journey, shaped by Francis’s encounter with God and others, remains a model for consecrated life. The renewal of communities begins with taking personal responsibility and placing one’s gifts at the service of one’s brothers and sisters, sustained by an interior life rooted in prayer.
The speaker recalled the words of Pope Leo XIV during the Angelus on October 4, 2026, highlighting how St. Francis, inspired by the Crucified One, built his own life upon the foundation of Christ and contributed to the repair of the Church by virtue of his faith and his witness of fraternal love.
The speaker then explored three dimensions of the Franciscan mission: service, peace, and missionary courage. Service, following the example of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, requires humility, willingness, and care for one’s brothers and sisters while rejecting any desire to dominate others. Peace, which Francis proclaimed in his greeting and entrusted to the fraternity, calls the friars to promote reconciliation, dialogue, and communion. Missionary courage challenges the friars to leave their comfort zones, reach out to people, and respond to the needs of society.
Fraternal witness lies at the heart of all these dimensions: mutual love is the distinguishing mark of Christ’s disciples (cf. Jn 13:35). Before any pastoral initiative, the quality of the relationships among the friars lends credibility to the Gospel and demonstrates the relevance of the Franciscan charism.
After a break, the friars reconvened at 10:45 a.m. and divided into three groups to discuss how to balance administrative responsibilities with spiritual life, how to foster fraternal reconciliation, and which personal and communal aspects needed renewal. They shared experiences and explored possible responses to practical challenges.
At 12:15 p.m., the Minister Provincial, Friar Damian-Gheorghe PĂTRAȘCU, presided over Mass. He invited everyone to thank God for the gift of fraternity, the Franciscan vocation, and the example of St. Francis, and to pray for new vocations to the consecrated life and the priesthood.
In his homily, he reflected on Jesus’ way of looking at people—a gaze that recognizes their weariness, suffering, and needs. He invited the friars to examine how they look at the people entrusted to their care. A Guardian is called to watch over the fraternity like a sentinel. He must pay attention to every friar without allowing personal preferences to influence him—even in difficult relationships—and recognize each friar’s dignity, understand his history, and address his needs with respect and sensitivity.
After a fraternal lunch, the friars reconvened at 2:30 p.m. to share their group discussions with the assembly. The Minister Provincial then made several announcements regarding the Province and thanked the friars for their participation, willingness to serve, and dedication to their assigned ministries. The day concluded around 5:00 p.m.
This meeting renewed the awareness that the Call of San Damiano continues to challenge the friars today. The Church is renewed through people who allow Christ to transform them. The fruitfulness of their service is evident not only in their activities but, above all, in the quality of their fraternal life and the love they express through concrete actions.
Friar Vlad-Bogdan BEJAN
