Having completed this years-long process and being open to the journey that the Lord indicates for us; having obtained the definitive approval of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life by decree dated November 29, 2018, I, through this letter, by virtue of my office, submit for publication and do hereby promulgate the definitive text of the Constitutions of the Order, which shall go into effect starting February 2, 2019, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and World Day for Consecrated Life.
Prot. N. 865/18
Dear brothers,
Peace be with you!
The Ordinary General Chapters of 2007 and 2013 decided upon and confirmed the work of revising the Constitutions. This work has been a commitment of the Order for over a decade. We have finally reached the end of this formative journey, which has helped us to reflect upon and renew our identity and mission within the Church. The Constitutions, in fact, are expected to be, and must be, an actualization of the Rule in the context of the Church and of the societies in which we Friars Minor Conventual live.
In the first of two sessions during 2007-2013, our common commitment was to learn more about some fundamental topics. To begin, reflections were initiated in all the communities of the Order through common worksheets to use as guides during House Chapters and the publication of various studies carried out ad hoc and published in Commentarium Ordinis and on the Order’s website.
At the 2013 Ordinary General Chapter, the process of revising the Constitutions was given a renewed and decisive boost. The Chapter called for a committee composed of some friars working full-time to promote the process of working on, discussing, studying and debating particular topics. Then they would propose the revised text for the Constitutions. The General Chapter indicated three guidelines for the revision process of the previous text. This text had gone into effect on March 25, 1985, concluding work that started in 1969. The guidelines were to considered during the process of rewriting the new charismatic-legislative text: (1) to deepen our knowledge of our charism, in light of the development of studies on Franciscanism in recent years; (2) to understand more deeply the evangelical and theological principles related to the consecrated life in the Church, in the light of the fact that the ecclesial magisterium has profoundly renewed its vision and language (starting first in the area of ecclesial and interpersonal communion); (3) to seriously consider the significant demographic changes and the geographical delocalization of the Order in these last decades. In fact, the Constitutions must respond to the needs of an increasingly global, diverse and pluralistic fraternity.
The 2013 General Chapter called for the involvement of the entire Order in the revision process, through the study and discussion of the draft of each chapter of the Constitutions, which would be reviewed during the House Chapters of all the individual communities scattered throughout the world. The faithful commitment of many friars and of many local fraternities has made a surprising contribution to the growing consensus on our identity as Friars Minor Conventuals and has given us a better understanding of the witness and mission that the Church asks of us and which the world needs. Ongoing formation throughout most of the Order has received a considerable boost precisely because of our shared effort to reflect on our identity and mission. It has also benefited the quality of fraternal life in our communities.
The 2018 Extraordinary General Chapter has just concluded. It was a profoundly fraternal event, precisely because we began with different visions and opinions and still, the Chapter managed to make us come together on those differences, so that we could review and approve a text of the Constitutions that adhered to our vocation and faithfully reflected not only who we are, but who we are called to be – in the light of the richness of our charism – in the Church today. The Capitulars, almost unanimously saw in the fruits of their labor, results that were inspired and blessed by the “Most High, all-powerful, good Lord”. The Chapter was thus an invaluable aid in living our Gospel call wherever Providence calls us.
I therefore invite the friars from all backgrounds and Jurisdictions to accept, with humility and fidelity, the initiatives that will be promoted by the Ministers Provincial and Custodes in the coming years – as the main task of their office – in cooperation with the Minister General and his council and to allow to the new Constitutions to provide a common foundation in the mentality, discernment and lifestyle of each Jurisdiction, community and individual friar.
May the Immaculate Virgin, Queen and Patroness of our Order, sustain and guide us during this journey. The Constitutions describe our devotion to her as the “golden thread” that runs through our history. May the Seraphic Father Saint Francis and all the Saints of the Seraphic Order assist and inspire us. We are called to holiness, a holiness realized in our total dedication to the Lord “who performs wonders”, in our joyful, fraternal daily life and in our missionary commitment in which we always try to reach all human peripheries.
Having completed this years-long process and being open to the journey that the Lord indicates for us; having obtained the definitive approval of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life by decree dated November 29, 2018, I, through this letter, by virtue of my office, submit for publication and do hereby promulgate the definitive text of the Constitutions of the Order, which shall go into effect starting February 2, 2019, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord and World Day for Consecrated Life.
Rome, Friary of the Twelve Holy Apostles,
December 8, 2018,
the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Friar Marco TASCA, Minister General
Friar Vincenzo MARCOLI, Secretary General
Attachment: Italian Text of the Constitutions
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To the Friars of the Order
