On Thursday, October 23, 2025, the national fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) of Malaysia hosted its 6th Annual OFS-YouFra Asia-Oceania Congress. The theme of this year’s Congress was: “Go and Repair My Church!” The event took place at the Gaya Centre Hotel in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah State, Malaysia. Seventy-three participants attended.
At 4:00 p.m. that day, Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI, OFM Conv., presided over Mass. After the Mass, there was an initial greeting from Francis Byunglu PARK, Councilor for the Asia-Oceania area, and Maria J. ANJUMAN, National Minister of the OFS of Malaysia. The program continued with Evening Prayer, dinner, and introductions among the participants.
On Friday at 9:00 a.m., the Most Reverend John WONG, Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, presided over Mass. He expressed his joy at having the Congress hosted in his archdiocese. The OFS Minister General, Tibor KAUSER, gave the opening address. Next, there were two conferences by the General Spiritual Assistants. Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI lectured on the “Canticle of the Creatures,” while Friar João Pedro ZITHA, OFM, lectured on “Servant Leadership: Authority as Service.” The afternoon was dedicated to group discussions and the topic of formation.
The program for the following days began with Mass at 6:30 a.m. and concluded with a fraternal evening at 9:00 p.m. To better understand the local culture of Sabah, the participants visited the nearby Mari Mari Cultural Village on Saturday morning. That afternoon, they made a pilgrimage to the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Kota Kinabalu and passed through its Holy Door.
From Sunday to Tuesday, the schedule was packed with presentations, discussions, and topics including spiritual assistance, JPIC (Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation), vocation promotion, YouFra (Franciscan Youth) Franciscan Children, the role of the YouFra animator, and membership in the OFS/YouFra.
On Wednesday, October 29, the last day of the Congress, a final document was presented that had been prepared by a specially appointed Commission. The document summarized the results of the group discussions and the decisions that had been made. Nine National Spiritual Assistants participated in the Congress. They included five Friars Minor, three Conventual Franciscans, a nun and a diocesan priest. Monsignor Nicholas STEPHEN presided over the closing Mass.
The participants at the Congress came from thirteen different countries, namely, Australia, China, East Timor, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. After a full week of work, prayer, and fraternity, the participants said their goodbyes in the afternoon and returned to their homelands, enriched by this Franciscan experience and ready to share it in their fraternities.
After the Congress, the OFS of Malaysia conducted a two-day spiritual retreat (October 31 to November 1), led by Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI.
Friar Ștefan ACATRINEI
