The second issue of the 2026 general newsletter of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.) is now available. It features documents and news from April through June. As we mark the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis, the testimony of our friars and the journey of our communities invite us to renew the vocation we have received.
The cover features the Venerable Friar Martin BENEDICT; Friar Wenanty KATARZYNIEC; Friar Casimir CYPHER; and the Blessed Martyrs of Pariacoto, Friar Michał TOMASZEK and Friar Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI: confreres who lived the Gospel concretely, even to the point of self-sacrifice, and who continue to challenge us in our mission.
The Minister General’s Easter message encourages us to be peacemakers through our presence (pp. 6–7); the letter marking the 40th anniversary of the death of Friar Martin BENEDICT calls us to stand alongside those who suffer (pp. 7–8). This is followed by the sessions of the General Definitory (pp. 9–12), including the handover of duties from Friar Joseph WOOD to Friar David BLOWEY as Assistant General for the Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF).
The General Offices section (pp. 13–74) includes “To Truly Reign,” by our confrere Cardinal Dominique Joseph MATHIEU, which connects peace with our everyday choices (pp. 13–14), while the letter for the Week of the Poor calls us to listen and draw close to those in need (p. 15). The Projects Office proposes concrete acts of solidarity, from providing drinking water in Burkina Faso to vocational training in Ndola, Zambia (pp. 16–27).
The General Secretariat for Formation reports on its visit to the formation houses in Poland (pp. 28–29); the General Secretariat for Missionary Animation presents the new mission in Rwanda and entrusts it to our prayers (p. 30). The “Lessons in Nonviolence from Assisi,” presented by the General Secretariat for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (pp. 36–37), find an echo in the report from Lebanon by the General Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue, where a soup kitchen brings people of different religious backgrounds together (pp. 41–43). The Office of the Postulator General brings us closer to Friar Casimir CYPHER, whose memory remains alive in the communities of Honduras (pp. 39–40).
The Franciscan Family offers further insights into formation and consecrated life, including a formation day on the Testament of St. Francis of Assisi conducted by the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) in Lithuania (p. 55); the consecration of sixteen new members to the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) in Colombia (pp. 70–71); and a formation meeting on leadership for the Superiors of the Poor Clares in Poland (pp. 73–74). The “Solidarity Bulletin Board” of the General Financial Office expresses gratitude for the support provided by various Jurisdictions (p. 75).
The section on the Federations (pp. 76–161) offers experiences closely connected to the life of our fraternities. The African Federation of Conventual Franciscans (AFCOF) highlights the gathering of formators in Lusaka, which focused on the personal accompaniment of young people and the impact of new technologies (pp. 81–82); the Centralis Europae Foederatio (CEF) reports on the collaboration between friars and lay people in Germany (pp. 90–91); and the CFF offers a rereading of the Testament and the Admonitions as a way to face change together (pp. 101–102).
In the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC), we follow the story of the unification of two Jurisdictions in Brazil (p. 108). The Federation of Asian Minor Conventuals (FAMC) offers a report on a pilgrimage made by friars from Vietnam to the Franciscan sources, inviting us to make time to rediscover our vocation (pp. 120–121). The Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO) echoes the themes on the cover with a prayer for the beatification of Friar Wenanty KATARZYNIEC (pp. 122–123) and the new museum dedicated to the martyrs of Pariacoto (pp. 138–139). From the Federazione Inter-mediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP), we present the welcome offered to pilgrims in Astorga, Spain (pp. 143–144) and the documentary film The Martin Benedict Case: Forbidden to Believe (pp. 160–161).
Among the Provincial and Custodial Chapters (pp. 162–186), we highlight the Spiritual Chapter of the Italian Province of the Immaculate Conception (Sicily-Calabria), which focused on the protection of minors and vulnerable persons (p. 167), and the discernment process in the Province of Spain, regarding care for elderly friars, new vocations, and the renewal of presences (p. 171).
The issue closes with personal statistics and “Resting in God” (p. 187). This section invites us to share in the joy of our confreres’ milestones in consecrated life and to pray for those who have completed their earthly journey.
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