On March 20-22, 2019, the Russian General Custody of St. Francis of Assisi conducted an Extraordinary Chapter and a Fraternal Assembly. The events took place in St. Petersburg, Russia.
On March 20, the Extraordinary Chapter unanimously decided to incorporate the Missionary community of Nur-Sultan (Astana) in Kazakhstan into the Custody. As a result, some points of the Custodial Statutes were changed, and the decision was made to start the process for the canonical erection of the Nur-Sultan friary.
During the days that remained, the friars at the Chapter held a fraternal assembly. On March 21, Friar Jacek CIUPIŃSKI, the Assistant General for the Federatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO), presented some of the more significant changes made in the revised Constitutions. On the last day, the friars listened to Father Jakub BŁASZCZYSZYN of the Divine Word Missionaries talk about secularization, an evil that is penetrating into religious life.
Friar Jacek CIUPIŃSKI, Assistant General for the FEMO
