On February 8-11, 2024, the Minister General visited the friars of the Provincial Delegation in Holland, thus completing the last leg of his trip to Northern Europe.
The Provincial Delegation in Holland first began as an autonomous Province in 1954. In 2015, it became a Delegation of the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany. The presence of the friars in Holland dates back to the first disciples of St. Francis, who came to ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 1227-1228, and later, Maastricht in 1234. Due to the Protestant Reformation [1517], the friars were unable to return to Holland until 1853. From then on, they remained as a single presence with Belgium until 1954.
The Delegation welcomed the visit of the Minister General, who got to meet all the friars. Today, the Delegation has eleven friars, two of whom work in Belgium.
Three friars live in Voorhout, in southern Holland, including the Delegate, Friar Thijs MOONS. They are housed in some apartments around the former Friary of the Brothers of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (Broedercongregatie van Onze Lieve Vrouw van Zeven Smarten), which is now also a retirement home. In this facility, the friars can celebrate Mass, organize various meetings and, if needed, eat meals together.
Some friaries, like the ones in Treebeek and Valkenswaarare, are suppressed or are in the process of being suppressed. The ever-decreasing number of religious forced the Delegation to make some difficult choices.
Friar Michiel VAN KOOTEN works at the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters in Dongen, in the Dutch province of North Brabant. He and the Delegate organized the details of the Minister General’s visit. Thus, the Minister General was able to learn more about the unique aspects of consecrated life in the Church in Holland, thanks in particular to his meeting with the Secretary General of the Conference of Dutch Major Superiors, Mr. Simon EVERS.
The Minister General visited the site of the former friaries in Treebeek and Mariarade, in the Dutch Province of Limburg, where he stopped at the graves of the friars to pray for their repose. He also went to the nearby village of Neerbeek, where he visited the artist Friar Matthaeus VAN KAMPEN. Friar Matthaeus made a statue that was installed at the Vatican College of Penitentiaries, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the friars’ service as confessors at St. Peter’s Basilica.
On Saturday, February 10, the highlight of the visit took place in Dongen when all the friars of the Delegation gathered for a fraternal meeting with the Minister General. The Minister Provincial of Germany, Friar Andreas MURK, was also present for this event. The well-attended Mass was graced by the singing of a liturgical choir that had been called in for the occasion.
Next, there was a convivial lunch during which the Delegate gave the Minister General a water color painted by Friar Matthaeus VAN KAMPEN, depicting the entrance of a tent, whose sides were being held open by the friars, in keeping with the prophetic saying in Isaiah 54:2: “Enlarge the space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your pegs.” The painting was an image of hope and a worthy conclusion to a visit that offered much food for thought about the Franciscan mission in this part of Europe.
Friar Igor SALMIC
