For over thirty years I have been involved in ecumenical dialogue, and I must admit that throughout this time I have met many people from different religious denominations who are skeptical about this work. They are discouraged by the lack of visible and effective results from this dialogue. Sometimes they are even hostile toward those who promote the ecumenical movement. Someone once said that the world is divided between pessimists and optimists. The pessimists focus mostly on what is bad; the optimists focus on what is good. I believe this is the Church’s crisis today: we have too many pessimists. They make up the quantitas, but what truly matters is the qualitas—and that is the field of us optimists!
One such optimist was our confrere Friar Massimiliano MIZZI, OFM Conv., (†2008), a pioneer in contemporary ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, and Franciscan dialogue in particular. I recently read quite a lot about Friar Massimiliano, including his book, “Exploring the Spirit of Assisi.” I also meet people who knew him personally or who know him through stories—people he motivated, encouraged, or invited to persevere in interreligious dialogue.
On February 10, 2026, I met with a group of Japanese Anglicans (Nippon Sei Ko Kai) in Assisi . They have been coming here for twenty-nine years. They are “infected” with the Spirit of Assisi. They were here with their bishop, the Most Reverend Nathaniel M. UEMATSU of the Diocese of Chubu, Japan (St. Barnabas Church in Okaya). They, too, remembered Friar Massimiliano MIZZI.
The program for their stay in Assisi was more like a spiritual retreat than a visit. On February 8, they celebrated the Eucharist (in their theology they use the terms Holy Communion, the Mass, and the Lord’s Supper). On February 10. we gathered in the Brother Elias Chapel where Bishop UEMATSU gave a reflection on the experience of the Spirit of Assisi. I was struck by his admiration for St. Francis. Naturally, I had to rely on the translator, Mr. Giovanni UCHIYAMA, since the reflection was in Japanese.
For my part, I shared elements of the Franciscan theology of dialogue, highlighting figures such as Friar Massimiliano MIZZI, and St. Maximilian KOLBE as well as the friars continuing his mission. The visitors were particularly interested in our confrere Friar Zenon ŻEBROWSKI (†1982), who embodied the “dialogue of the heart” and accomplished many wonderful things without fully knowing the Japanese language. Above all, he was an optimist!
Therefore, I invite you to be an optimist! I invite you to share what is good! I invite you to dialogue!
Friar Sławomir KLEIN
General Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue (EDI)
