Peace be with you! (John 20:19, 21)

Dear brothers, to each of you―to every community, Province, Custody, Delegation, and mission: Peace be with you!

With the greeting of the Risen Lord, “Peace be with you,” I wish to reach out to each of you and every fraternity at this time of grace, to share the gift of His living and disarming peace.
As our Franciscan Family celebrates the 800th anniversary of the transitus of our Seraphic Father St. Francis (1226–2026), Easter resounds with the invitation to contemplate the indivisible unity of the Lord’s passion, death, and resurrection, without which His first words to the community would not have the same power. There is no glory without Christ’s total self-giving on the cross, nor new life without passing through the silence of the tomb.
It is in the Paschal Mystery that the peace of the Risen One shines forth. His “Peace be with you” overcomes fear and opens hearts to trust. As Pope Leo XIV reminds us, it is “a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering.” St. Gregory the Great taught that evil is overcome by good and that humility disarms pride (cf. Moralia in Iob). This is the peace of Christ: it is not imposed, but given; it is not violent, but overcomes evil through the gentle power of love.
Our Seraphic Father is a shining example of this conversion to peace. Setting out on the crusade, clad in armor and driven by dreams of glory, he heard the voice of the Lord in Spoleto asking him whom it was better to serve. Sometimes a small change of heart is enough to change the course of one’s life. Francis turned back, laid down his armor, and chose to walk through the world unarmed, poor, and free. He learned that true victory is not achieved by conquering others, but by allowing oneself to be conquered by God’s love.
In this Jubilee Year of the Franciscan Family, may our presences be visible signs of grace: places where the Risen One meets his people and, in the light of Easter, disarms hearts and leads them back to peace, following the footsteps of our Seraphic Father.
Dear brothers, let us never grow weary of doing good, of proclaiming Christ’s Easter, and embracing continuous renewal as Jurisdictions, as fraternities, and, above all, as friars.
Our consecration to God in the evangelical vows gives us a privileged means to “disarm” the mindset of possession and power.
Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of hope by the news of a wounded world, in which the mindset of the strongest seems to prevail. Rather, let us fix our gaze on the empty tomb, which gives meaning to every cross we bear: it is there that every fear is overcome and every wound is healed. Our Seraphic Father, bearing the marks of the Passion in his body and stripping himself of everything to clothe himself in Christ, continues to encourage us to be heralds of that peace which humanity so desperately needs.

At the tomb of St. Francis, I keep you constantly in my prayers and remain close to you in fraternal affection. Happy Easter to you all!

Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia!

Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI, OFM Conv.
Minister General