On February 6-10, 2022, the friars of the Province of St. Joseph in Slovenia celebrated their 16th Ordinary Provincial Chapter. The Chapter was held in the Friary of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles, in Ptuj, Slovenia. The Chapter was presided over by the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, the 120th Minister General after St. Francis. Friar Carlos also happens to have some Slovenian ancestry.
Friar Igor SALMIČ, the Assistant General for the Centralis Europae Foederatio (CEF) and a member of the Province of Slovenia, was also present at the Chapter.
The Chapter elected a new Minister Provincial, Friar Milan KOS. The members of his Definitory were also elected, namely, Friars Janez ŠAMPERL, Vicar Provincial; Matei SENTEŞ Provincial Secretary; and Ernest BENKO and Anton BRINJOVC, Definitors.
The Provincial Chapter gave the friars a valuable opportunity to evaluate the life and works of the Province over the last four years and to plan for its future. Despite the severe restrictions imposed by the coronavirus, the Chapter was nevertheless an important time for building fraternal life and reflecting on ways to deepen it, at the level of each community and at the level of the Province. This is the very foundation on which the friars are able to carry out their mission. The friars try to bring God closer to the people and the people closer to God. In one way or another, every human being joyfully yearns for this deeper relationship.
During the Chapter there were two fraternal evenings which featured music. During the first, the Capitulars were pleasantly surprised when the Minister General played a piece on the piano. During the second, the Capitulars enjoyed a concert by the students of the music school housed at the friary in Ptuj.
The new Minister Provincial, Friar Milan, professed his solemn vows on April 10, 1988, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 29, 1990. He previously served as Minister Provincial, from 2006 to 2018. He also served as the President of the CEF Federation, the President of the Conference of the Major Superiors of Religious of Slovenia and the President of the Slovenian Franciscan Conference. During the last four years, he served as the Guardian of the friary in Ptuj, where he also served as the Parochial Vicar.
Through the intercession of the Virgin Mary and our Seraphic Father St. Francis of Assisi, may God bless the new government of the Province during its four-year term. The term concludes in 2026.
Friar Danilo HOLC
