ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL CHAPTERS
OF THE ORDER OF FRIARS MINOR CONVENTUAL
AND OF THE ORDER OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY AND OF THE CAPTIVES
Clementine Hall
Friday, June 20, 2025
_________________________________
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Welcome, dear brothers and sisters! I greet in particular the Superiors General – both of whom have been confirmed – the Councilors and Capitulars of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and those of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives, as well as the delegates from the Third Orders and lay groups.
Having the opportunity to receive both Franciscans and Trinitarians together reminded me of a painting in the apse of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which depicts an audience that this gathering could beautifully reenact. In fact, the image shows Pope Innocent III receiving St. Francis and St. Juan de Matha together, to honor their great contribution to the reform of religious life.
Notably, St. Francis is shown kneeling with a large open book, as if to say to the Pope: “Your Holiness, I ask only to live the rule of the Holy Gospel without gloss” (cf. Test 14–15). St. Juan de Matha, on the other hand, is standing and holding the Rule that he drafted together with the Pontiff. If St. Francis shows his docility to the Church by presenting his plan, not as his own, but as a divine gift, St. Juan de Matha shows his approved text, after study and discernment, as the culmination of work that was absolutely necessary to fulfill the purpose that God inspired. Far from being in contrast with each other, these two attitudes illuminate one another and are a guideline for the service that the Holy See has carried out since then in support of all charisms.
God inspired these two saints not only with a spiritual path of service, but also with a desire to consult the Successor of Peter about the gift they had received from the Spirit, so that it could be made available to the Church. St. Francis expressed his need to the Pope to follow Jesus without reservation, without ulterior motives, without ambiguity or pretense. St. Juan de Matha expressed this truth with words that would later prove fundamental and that St. Francis would make his own. A beautiful example of that was living “with nothing of one’s own,” with “nothing of one’s own hidden there in the cell, or in the pocket or, worse still, in the heart”, as Pope Francis emphasized (cf. Address to the Canonesses of the Holy Spirit, December 5, 2024). Another of those terms expressed the need for such dedication to be transformed into service, for the Superior to be perceived as a Minister, that is, the one who makes himself smaller in order to be the servant of all. It is notable how the verse from St. Matthew (cf. 20:27) has influenced the vocabulary of religious life as a whole, because calling someone prior, master, magister, or minister, shapes the entire conception of authority as service.
To put this gift into practice, you Trinitarians have chosen to focus on the purpose of your Institute: to bring consolation to those who cannot live their faith freely. Over the past few months, you have prayed for this intention, following the words of St. Paul: “Persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Cor 4:9). These words inspired the motto of your Chapter. I join you in this prayer and also ask the Triune God that this may be one of the fruits of your assembly, that you always remember, in your prayers and daily work, those who are persecuted for their faith. According to the teaching of St. Augustine, the third part of all this, in reference to the persecuted, is God’s part and marks the vocation of the liberator of His people (cf. Questions on the Heptateuch, book II, 15). Furthermore, your focus on the most suffering members of the Church will draw the attention of vocations, the faithful, and people of goodwill to this reality and will keep you ready for service in your missions on the frontline, in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian subcontinent.
Another essential element of your goal as Friars Minor Conventual during your Chapter was the discernment of your General and Provincial Chapter regulations—because in them, “we speak of the things of God.” It is not our personal interest that should move us, but that of Christ. It is his Spirit that we must first listen to in order to begin “writing the future in the present” – as the motto of your Chapter says. Listen to Him in the voice of your brother, in the discernment of your community, in attentiveness to the signs of the times, and in the appeals of the Magisterium. Dear sons of St. Francis of Assisi, on the 800th anniversary of the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures, or Brother Sun, I urge each of you personally, and in each of your fraternities, to be a living reminder of the primacy of the praise of God in Christian life. Moreover, let me not forget that you Conventuals are also celebrating the anniversary of your renewed presence in the Far East.
Dearest ones, I would like to conclude this meeting with the Praises of God Most High, the trisagion written by St. Francis: “You are the holy Lord God Who does wonderful things. You are strong. You are great. You are the Most High. You are the almighty King. You, holy Father, King of heaven and earth.” (Franciscan Sources, 261).
Thank you all, and may God bless you!
