From November 20 to December 3, 2021, Friar Rogério PEREIRA XAVIER, the Assistant General for the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC), conducted a canonical visitation to the Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. in Brazil, in preparation for its Ordinary Custodial Chapter which will be celebrated in September of 2022.

The Custody has five friaries and three filial houses. The Assistant General visited six communities, including the formation house in Petrópolis, and personally met with more than twenty friars. This fraternal experience helped him better understand the status of the Jurisdiction and the needs of the friars, taking into account the pastoral complexity of Rio de Janeiro and Costa Barros, the urban pastoral ministry in the metropolises of Belo Horizonte and Juiz de Fora, the hope placed in the young men at the formation house in Petrópolis—also known as the “Imperial City,” the cultural wealth of Araruama and the rural challenge of Paraíba do Sul.
The visitation was an experience full of fraternity, hospitality and meaningful dialogue on the future of this Conventual Franciscan Jurisdiction, the first in all of Latin America.
In the coming months, Friar Rogério will return to visit the Franciscan community and hermitage in Andrelândia.

Friar Rogério PEREIRA XAVIER, Assistant General for the FALC Federation