On November 16, 2022, the Guardians of the six friaries of the Province of St. Elisabeth in Germany and the Guardians of the four friaries in Austria, belonging to the Provincial Custody of St. Leopold and St. Nicholas of Flüe in Austria-Switzerland, conducted their annual Guardian’s meeting at the friary in Schwarzenberg, Germany.
Due to illness, the representatives of the friaries in Switzerland were unable to participate. The Guardians had recently attended a formation course entitled, “Community,” which provided a good foundation for this meeting.
Part of the meeting was dedicated to the theme, “Alcohol and Addiction.” The Minister Provincial, Friar Andreas MURK, invited Ms. Yvonne MUNRO to give a presentation to the friars on the effects of alcohol, the development of dependency and possible ways the family members of drug addicts might behave. Ms. MUNRO was also available to answer any questions the friars might have. It became clear that this topic affects everyday life and the Guardians expressed their desire to cover other addiction-related topics at future meetings, such as pertains to the Internet.
In the second part of the meeting, the Guardians dialogued with one another. In their role as animators of their communities, they are constantly called to give new impetus to the friars. Each Guardian gave examples of his own “best practice”—approaches that have been tested and that help the community. In this way, the Guardians were able to learn from each other about conducting house chapters, recreational activities and pastoral tasks.
Friar Andreas MURK
