On October 23, 2024, the G7 meeting of foreign ministers from seven of the world’s most industrialized countries was held in Pescara, Italy. The session was focused on “education, cooperation, and training for development in Africa.” The directors of Italian missions around the world were invited to participate.
The initiative with the mission directors was organized by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio TAJANI. He stressed the vital role of missions globally, recognizing “the importance of the exemplary work that so many men and women of faith carry out in developing countries, contributing to the human progress of those societies and building peace, tolerance and inclusion. I thank you missionaries,” said the minister, “because you are an important tile in the great mosaic of solidarity around the world and contribute as Italians to the growth and development of many communities.”
Representatives of various religious congregations and charitable associations that carry out missionary work attended the meeting. Among them was Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, the Director of the Franciscan Missionary Center ONLUS [non-profit] of the Federazione Intermediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP) and the Secretary of the Missionary Center, Lorenza CASSANELLI. They represent the FIMP Federation and the Order in initiatives that engage the friars and promote projects supporting Conventual Franciscan missionaries. The Center plays an important role in seven African countries, namely, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Malawi.
During the meeting, the remarkable ongoing work of Italian missionaries in Africa was highlighted, and a document was drafted, addressed to the government authorities and legislative institutions of the G7 countries “to support educational initiatives in the vast continent of Africa.”
The document pointed out that today, “ninety-eight million children in Africa do not attend school, and 86% of Africa’s billion inhabitants struggle to achieve basic literacy by age ten. Therefore, let us present you members of the G7 panel with the words of St. Pope Paul VI: ‘After prayer, politics is the highest form of charity.’”
During the meeting, a message from Pope Francis to the G7 was also read, which emphasized the urgent needs of Africa. He called for building a “culture of encounter” that fosters respectful dialogue and encourages the embodiment of the living Gospel of charity.
The event concluded with testimony from missionaries living in distant countries, and everyone was reminded that “the mission must be carried out in the various existential peripheries of the world.”
Lorenza CASSANELLI, Secretary of the Missionary Center
