On July 12-13, 2021, the friars of the Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land met in Istanbul, Turkey, to celebrate an Extraordinary Custodial Chapter.
The Capitulars met at the St. Anthony of Padua Friary in Istanbul’s historic Beyoğlu district to approve changes to the Custodial Statutes and discuss the future of the Order in the region. Sixteen confreres from the four communities in Lebanon and Turkey attended, along with the Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, and the Minister Provincial, Friar Damian-Gheorghe PĂTRAŞCU, of the Mother Province of St. Joseph, Spouse of the B.V.M. in Romania.
The Capitulars, representing six different nationalities, were finally able to meet face to face and engage in ongoing formation, community prayer and fraternal discussion. Although the official work of the Chapter was conducted in Italian, the most commonly spoken language among the confreres, fraternal conversation flowed in Arabic, English, French, Polish, Romanian and Turkish.
On the morning of July 12, the Minister General, Friar Carlos, opened the Chapter with a reflection on the role of Franciscan minority in fraternal life. Afterwards, Friar Lucian HORLESCU, a psychologist, spoke via Zoom from Roman, Romania, to offer a reflection on the psycho-spiritual dimension of evangelical poverty.
The friars hosted some guests for lunch, namely, the local archbishop of the Latin Rite, the Most Reverend Lorenzo PIRETTO OP, Apostolic Administrator of Istanbul, and our confrere, the Most Reverend Martin KMETEC, Archbishop of Smyrna, Turkey.
After approving the renewed Custodial Statutes, the friars discussed proposals regarding life in the friaries and the pastoral activities of the Custody. In particular, the friars focused on creative ways of giving witness to the evangelical life, despite the worsening economic situation in the region and the political crisis in Lebanon.
Friar Andrew Jeylan HOCHSTEDLER
