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Franciscan Discipleship and the Common Good

June 14, 2023

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Franciscan Discipleship and the Common Good
St. Bonaventure Project Pilgrimage 2023

St. Bonaventure once said of St. Francis, “In things of beauty, he contemplated the One who is supremely beautiful, and led by the footprints he found in creatures, he followed the Beloved everywhere.” Guided by these words, from May 14-28, 2023, a pilgrimage was conducted in Italy, for English-speaking friars. The pilgrimage was designed to cultivate within the friars a sense of Franciscan Discipleship that is oriented towards Christ and strives toward the common good. For Christ himself becomes a pilgrim, and walks arisen among the poor.

We began the pilgrimage with a visit just down the street from the Seraphicum College in Rome, to the Tre Fontane Sanctuary [Three Fountains]. While there, Sister Monika of the Little Sisters of Jesus spoke to us about the spirituality of work. Having shared her image of Jesus as the Divine Worker, she went on to explain how, in her ministries, she found that she was always being evangelized by others; they helped her to better see, know, and love Jesus.
While visiting the major basilicas in Rome, we reflected on excerpts from Laudato Sí and Fratelli Tutti that focused on the common good, as seen through the lens of the dignity of work. We also enjoyed a conversation with the Sant’Egidio Christian Community about the preferential option for the poor. This occurred while having lunch at their Trattoria degli Amici Restaurant, where all the workers have disabilities. Their artwork displayed throughout the restaurant was inspiring.
On the first day, we made an excursion beyond Rome to the towns of Narni and Amelia, where we focused on the importance of imagination and science. The highlight was visiting the planetarium and science museum belonging to the Friars Minor in Amelia. A few days later we made our way to Greccio and Fontecolombo where we spent some quiet time reflecting on an excerpt taken from a conversation between two characters in the movie The Color Purple. It led us to reconsider our images of Jesus and how we might better share the good news of the Incarnation with others.
Our pilgrimage through Rome was enriched by the many friars who spent time with us and welcomed us to their tables. We are also grateful to the Lord for allowing us to cross paths with our fellow pilgrim and confrere, the Most Reverend Marco TASCA, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Genoa. He was in St. Peter’s Basilica with a group of pilgrims from Genoa.
In Assisi, we were fortunate to be present for the Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis. It afforded us the opportunity to share some prayerful and fraternal moments with the friars and other religious of the Franciscan Family. As we considered the Rule of 1223, we focused our reflections on how our Franciscan charism can bring healing to a polarized world and promote the common good through fraternal friendship. We also visited the local “Pro Civitate Christiana” Gallery of Contemporary Art to take in their exhibit entitled Jesus the Divine Worker.
Our time in Assisi, as well as our visits to La Verna and the Basilica of St. Francis in Arezzo, offered us varied ways of broadening our imagination in order to better appreciate Franciscan preaching and evangelization through the centuries. The many friars who opened their hearts to us, sharing their experience of Franciscan life and their love of Jesus, opened for us all new paths of evangelizing and further opening ourselves to being evangelized by others.

Pilgrimage participants were: