On July 22, 2018, a young man from Burkina Faso, Friar Joseph KADSONDO, was ordained a deacon. The ordination took place at the Shrine of the Eucharistic Miracle in Lanciano, Italy.
The ordination was conferred by the Most Reverend Emidio CIPOLLONE, Bishop of the Diocese of Lanciano-Ortona, Italy.
Participants in the ceremony included Friar Franco RAPACCHIALE, the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Bernardine and St. Angelo in Italy (Abruzzo); Friar Wiesław PYZIO, the Minister Provincial of the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw); Friar Tadeusz ŚWIATKOWSKI, the Assistant General for the African Federation of Conventual Franciscans (AFCOF), many friars from Burkina Faso and the two Provinces of Abruzzo and Warsaw, as well many clerical students from the Seraphicum college in Rome, where Friar Joseph studies.
The solemn liturgy was enriched by the active participation of a choir of young African singers who reside at various locations in Italy.
Friar Joseph completed his theological studies at the Order’s college and began specializing at another university in Rome. He is the second friar from the mission in Burkina Faso to be ordained.
Thanks to the work of the General Curia and the generosity of different Provinces of the Order (as benefactors providing scholarships), various student friars are able to continue their studies in Rome. These students come from Africa (currently Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Tanzania), Asia, Latin America and other areas where our Order is present. This arrangement has added a great deal of multi-cultural wealth to our Order.
Friar Tadeusz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI, Assistant General for the AFCOF