For the second consecutive year, on the solemnity of St. Francis, His Eminence, Pietro Cardinal PAROLIN, the Vatican Secretary of State, attended a fraternal agape meal at Rome’s San Giacomo Friary, gracing the community with his presence.
The cardinal also joined the community in offering best wishes to Friar Gianfranco GRIECO, who recently celebrated his 60th anniversary of simple profession. Friar Gianfranco professed his simple vows into the hands of the Minister General, Friar Basil HEISER, on September 17, 1960. The ceremony took place before the tomb of St. Francis in Assisi at the end of Friar Gianfranco’s novitiate year.
The Vatican Secretary of State greeted the friars and took special interest in the pastoral ministry that Friars Vittorio TRANI and Renzo DEGNI carry out at Rome’s Regina Coeli Prison. Last Christmas, the cardinal celebrated a Mass for the prisoners there. He mentioned the Franciscan Missionary Center, directed by Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, in particular the Center’s support for the Franciscan Mission in Venezuela. The Cardinal also noted the years of parish ministry performed by Friars Umberto FANFARILLO and Gianfranco GRIECO at the Santa Dorotea community in Rome’s Trastevere district.
Finally, the cardinal expressed his thanks and best wishes for the ongoing mission of the greater Conventual Franciscan family in the world, particularly in in Assisi. On October 3, 2020, Assisi was graced by a historic visit from Pope Francis. The Pope signed Fratelli Tutti, the third encyclical of his pontificate, upon the altar at the tomb of St. Francis, the saint of “universal fraternity.” Fratelli Tutti takes its title from chapter six of the Admonitions of our Seraphic Father Francis (FF 155).
Friar Paolo FIASCONARO, Chronicler of the San Giacomo Friary
