The 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi inspired the Most Reverend Corrado LOREFICE, Archbishop of Palermo, Sicily, to make a fraternal and friendly visit to the friars of the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Palermo. The visit took place on July 8, 2026.
This was not a canonical visitation, but rather a fraternal moment of encounter among brothers, in the simple style and tradition of St. Francis. In the Earlier Rule, Francis exhorts his friars to receive with kindness whoever comes to them (cf. Earlier Rule VII; FF 26).
Archbishop LOREFICE arrived without formality, dressed simply in short sleeves and wearing a wooden cross pendant. He came with a sincere desire to be among the sons of St. Francis, sharing moments of prayer, fraternity, and the joyful simplicity of Franciscan life. Those welcoming the Archbishop included the Minister Provincial of the Italian Province of the Immaculate Conception (Sicily-Calabria), Friar Salvino M. PULIZZOTTO; the local Pastor, Friar Jacek PINKOSZ; the eight friars of the community; and five young men in formation. The Archbishop took time to greet each friar personally, offering words of encouragement, a warm smile, and a fatherly expression of friendship and fraternal communion.
After presiding over Evening Prayer the Archbishop joined the community for a simple, modest dinner in the refectory. True to Franciscan tradition, the meal centered on the joy of being together and on the table as a place of fellowship, where food and fraternal conversation are shared.
After dinner, the group gathered on the terrace for an informal conversation focused on life experiences. There, the friars encountered an archbishop who was both a shepherd and a man as he recounted his life, his struggles, and his joys. He opened his heart, sharing the ups and downs of a pastoral journey that is often demanding—marked by service in a city facing deep-rooted challenges, yet open to a future filled with hope and committed to a path of genuine and constructive renewal.
He strongly emphasized that we live in an age dominated by the “self”— an ”I” that becomes destructive when it places itself at the center of everything, even within Christian communities and consecrated life.
Don Corrado—as the Archbishop prefers to be called—after sharing his personal relationship with God, listened to the friars, particularly the Minister Provincial, Friar Salvino, who described the life and activities of this community, which serves in a distinctive area of Palermo. Friar Salvino also talked about the journey of the Province of Calabria-Sicily, whose current vocational prospects offer encouraging signs for the future.
Friar Paolo FIASCONARO and Davide ROMANO (pre-postulant)
