Temporary Profession
On January 9, 2022, the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord, Friars Alfredo de los Santos BELLO TERAN and Neider Luis TETAY SÁNCHEZ, members of the Provincial Custody of Saint Francis of Assisi in Colombia, made their temporary profession. The event took place in the chapel of the San Maximiliano Kolbe Friary in Itagüí, Antioquia, Colombia. The friary is also the seat of the novitiate for the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC).
The Provincial Custos, Friar Sidifredo de la Cruz CHAPARRO GUALDRÓN, presided over the Mass. He invited the newly professed to recognize and experience their profession as a fundamental sign of the consecrated life, a manifestation of the definitive gift of love to the One who called them and gave them the strength to follow Him, after the example of St. Francis of Assisi. He also exhorted them to desire nothing but fullness in God, a desire that will help them to accept and respond effectively to the call of the Church and the Order.
Those concelebrating at the Mass included Friar Pedro Pablo BERMÚDEZ, Novice Master; Friar Jair del Cristo CONTRERAS LÁZARO, Rector of Temporarily Professed Friars; Friar Camilo CALLE RAMÍREZ, Vocation Animator; and some young men in the Custody who were beginning their novitiate year.
We wish our confreres a fruitful journey with Christ. May they always identify with the ideals of His Kingdom.
Beginning of the FALC 2022-2023 Novitiate Year
On January 10, 2022, the following friars began their novitiate year: Richard Javid ACUÑA RIVAS; Santiago de la Inmaculada BUILES BUILES; Breiner TORREGLOSA ARDILA; and Friar Brayan Alfonso ESTRADA GARCÍA, all from the Custody of Columbia; and Weslyn Daniel CÁRCAMO ANDINO from the Provincial Custody of Mary Mother of Mercy in Central America.
The inaugural ceremony took place during Mass, again in the chapel of the friary in Itagüí, Antioquia. The Provincial Custos, Friar Sidifredo, presided. Others participating in the celebration included the Novice Master, the Rector of Temporarily Professed Friars, the Vocation Animator, and Friar David TABARES VÉLEZ who is preparing for solemn vows.
In light of the beginning of Ordinary Time, a time viewed as a spiritual journey in which Christians are urged to further explore the mysteries of salvation, Friar Sidifredo exhorted the novices to see their time in the novitiate as a spiritual journey, that it would be a time of grace to learn more about the Franciscan charism and a time of discernment in which to identify with the lifestyle of following Christ as lived within the Conventual family.
We entrust the novices to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mother, so that they may faithfully follow her motherly advice: “Do whatever he tells you” (Jn 2:5).
Beginning of the Second Novitiate
On Tuesday, January 11, 2022, Friar David TABARES VÉLEZ began his second novitiate, a time of preparation just prior to making his solemn profession. This period will expose him to significant aspects of formation, fraternity and spirituality, so that he might reenergize his firm decision to live his consecration as a definitive gift of love to the Supreme Good, following the example of St. Francis of Assisi within the Conventual Franciscan family. To this end, Friar David began a week-long spiritual retreat. It will give him time to examine his own life and vocation in peaceful dialogue with the One who called him.
We wish Friar David a fruitful time of preparation.
Friar Jair del Cristo CONTRERAS LÁZARO, Custodial Secretary
