On November 20-25, 2023, the friars of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in South Korea conducted a six-day continuing formation meeting. The meeting took place at the St. Francis of Assisi Friary in Seoul, South Korea.
The theme of the meeting was “The Eighth Centenary of the Confirmation of the Rule and the Christmas at Greccio.”
On the first day, Father Joseph (Nam Il) PAEK, a Doctor of Theology of Consecrated Life and a member of the Clerical Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs, lectured on the meaning of “following Christ” as shown in the Earlier Rule. On the second day, the keynote speaker, Friar Bonaventure (Kyuhee) HAN, spoke about what inspired the drafting of the text of the Later Rule.
Over the remaining days, Friars Joseph (Myoung-jin) PARK, Matthias (Moon-ki) CHOI and Bonaventure (Kyuhee) HAN gave presentations from the Korean translation of a book by Friar Pietro MARANESI, OFM Cap., entitled: “The Dream of Francis: A Historical-Thematic Rereading of the Rule of the Friars Minor in Search of Its Relevance Today.”
On Friday afternoon, November 24, Friar Francis (Jihyung) YOON gave a lecture on the historical and spiritual significance of the Christmas at Greccio.
The friars of the Province of Korea considered and meditated upon the following questions, “Is the Rule still relevant today? If it is relevant, why and in what way is it relevant?” The contemplation of these issues led to meaningful reflection on the life of the friars today.
Friar Bonaventura Kyuhee HAN, Provincial Secretary
