Prot. N. 0817/2021
Rome, October 15, 2021
Presidents of the Federations
Ministers Provincial and Custodes
Subject: Directory of the Provincial Chapter – Motion No. 10 of the 2019 General Chapter
Dear friars,
May the Lord give you peace!
The 202nd Ordinary General Chapter, celebrated in 2019 in Assisi and Collevalenza, decided to revise the Directory for the Celebration of the General Chapter and the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter.
Motion No. 10 of the 2019 General Chapter established an approval process and prescribed four steps for the revision of the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter:
B. Approval and experimentation process for the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter:
§1. The Central Government of the Order – having consulted with the Presidents of the Federations – shall appoint an ad hoc committee for the revision of the aforementioned Directory by the end of the year 2019.
§2. The draft of the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter shall be sent to the Assemblies of the Federations for consultation and proposals by the end of 2020.
§3. The text subsequently approved by the Minister General with his Definitory shall be used as a binding text for the celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapters scheduled for the 2021-2024 quadrennium.
§4. The Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter shall be studied and definitively approved by the Ordinary General Chapter of 2025.
[cf. 202nd GENERAL CHAPTER, Motions approved by the 2019 General Chapter. Motion No. 10, Commentarium Ordinis 116/2 (2019) 498]
The first two steps have been taken:
– in order to implement the first step (Motion No.10, B, §1), on December 13, 2019, the Minister General appointed the ad hoc committee for the revision of the Directory (Prot. N. 904/19). The ad hoc committee prepared a draft of the revised Directory. This draft was discussed and approved by the General Definitory during its session of October 27-30, 2020.
– in order to implement the second step (Motion No. 10, B, §2) it was necessary to translate the draft of the Directory into, at least, the four official languages of the Order. This was carried out and, subsequently, the draft of the Directory was sent, by letter dated January 7, 2021, to the Assemblies of the Federations for consultation and proposals. The Assemblies of the Federations worked on the text and delivered the results of their study during April and May of 2021. The General Definitory took the observations of the Federations into consideration and prepared the latest version of the text. This version was approved during the 18th session of the Definitory, celebrated July 1-9, 2021. The latest version was also presented in a summarized form to the Presidents of the Federations during the meeting of the Definitory with the Presidents of the Federations on July 5, 2021.
We are now at the third stage of the revision, where the text of the Directory shall be used as binding text for the celebration of Chapters scheduled over the next few years.
In view of implementing Motion No. 10, B, §3, we hereby send you the text of the 2021 version of the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter. The text shall be used as a binding text for the celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapters scheduled for the 2021-2024 quadrennium.
Therefore, use this Directory during your Chapters; experiment with the various proposed procedures, so that you can make your contribution during the 2025 General Chapter, which shall then definitively approve the Directory (as required by Motion No. 10, B, §4).
As you will see, the Directory is quite flexible and offers many possibilities. The Minister General with his Definitory will be pleased if you choose paths that involve the greatest possible number of friars while you are organizing your Chapters.
Good luck with your work; greetings from the Definitory and blessings throughout 2021.
Friar Tomasz SZYMCZAK
Secretary General
Download the Directory for the Celebration of the Provincial and Custodial Chapter (2021) >>>
