On June 20-23, 2019, the fourth edition of Brazil’s “Youth towards Assisi” meeting took place in Caçapava, Brazil.

The participants included seven friars, two candidates and fifty young people, mostly from our communities in Caçapava, São Bernardo do Campo, Santo André, Curitiba, Rio de Janeiro and other Brazilian parishes.
The theme of the meeting was the “Franciscan Hermitage”. It was based on St. Francis’ “Rule for Hermitages” and on the experiences of the early friars, as described in the Franciscan sources. During the event, the young people divided into small fraternities in order to create a hermitage experience, where they led lives of work and prayer as proposed by the aforementioned Rule.
What attracted the most attention was the dynamics of fraternity during kitchen duties. Friar Jean Vieira SOUZA directed the young people and guided them in reflections, service, etc.
Each fraternity chose its own way of serving the brothers and offered special moments during meals. Caring for others was the main lesson taught during this event.

Friar Flávio Martins VENNCIO, Province of St. Francis in Brazil [FALC]