From September 28 to October 2, 2026, the annual meeting of the Superiors of the fifteen monasteries belonging to the Federation of St. Clare of Assisi of the Urbanist Poor Clares of Italy took place at the Monastery of Santa Rosa in Viterbo, Italy.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 29, Friar Alfredo AVALLONE, OFM Conv., of the Sacred Convent of Assisi, led us in a reflection on the theme “Our Identity in Fragility: The Seed That Dies, the Life That Remains.” He left us with a burning question: not the obvious one, “How can we preserve our structures?” but “How can we keep the fire burning?” He invited us not to focus solely on preserving the structures of our religious life, but above all, to keep the spirit that animates them alive.
In the afternoon, we heard lectures by Sister Tiziana MERLETTI, Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and Father Clement NANDOU, OSA, an official of the same Dicastery, on the topic “The Canonical Visitation According to Cor Orans.”
On Wednesday, September 30, and Thursday, October 1, Mother Elena Francesca BECCARIA, OSC, Superior of the Monastery of St. Clare in Rome and President of the Lazio-Tuscany Federation, led us in moments of prayer and reflection. The theme, “Listen, Little Poor Ones: Francis’s Final Words to Clare and Her Sisters,” brought us back to the reality of our daily lives of listening, poverty, infirmity, and toil, in the certainty that we have a place in Heaven, alongside Mary, crowned in glory.
Throughout the Assembly, our Assistant, Friar Germano TOGNETTI, OFM Conv., was present and presided over Mass at the Shrine of Santa Rosa. On some days, a number of Vicar Provincials also participated.
The Poor Clares
