{"id":102148,"date":"2026-08-24T13:15:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:15:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/spirito-di-assisi-in-ecuador-e-formazione-ecumenica\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:17:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:17:08","slug":"spirito-di-assisi-in-ecuador-e-formazione-ecumenica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/spirito-di-assisi-in-ecuador-e-formazione-ecumenica\/","title":{"rendered":"Spirit of Assisi in Ecuador and Ecumenical Formation"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 25, 2026, I arrived in Quito, Ecuador. This was the first stop on my visit to South America, during which I wanted to bring the Light of Assisi<\/em>\u2014a symbolic lamp\u2014to several places where our friars serve as part of the Spirit of Assisi<\/em> project. The format of these meetings will vary depending on the location and the nature of the pastoral work.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In general, the Catholic Church in Latin America is facing challenges posed by the presence of numerous evangelical and Pentecostal groups. In many cases, these cannot be considered ecclesial communities but simply sects. Depending on the country and the strength of these groups\u2019 influence, many Catholics leave the Church, creating a serious crisis of faith. For this reason, ecumenical formation has become especially important.
\nMy first stop was Shushufindi\u2014our easternmost outpost in Ecuador\u2014in the Ecuadorian Amazon. This region is home to several indigenous peoples and has become a place where numerous sects are active. For this reason, my mission focused primarily on ecumenical formation.
\nAt every Sunday Mass, I preached on the theme of the Spirit of Assisi,<\/em> drawing on Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cI am the light of the world\u2026 you are the light of the world.\u201d I presented the Light of Assisi<\/em> to my confreres and the parish. That same day, I also gave an informal presentation on the Spirit of Assisi<\/em> for altar servers and young people. I focused on Christian and Catholic identity, especially in light of the presence of various groups that call themselves Christian but actually operate as sects. Naturally, my presentation was very informal, and the use of many photos and short videos helped spark great interest among the young people.
\nI would especially like to thank the friars of Shushufindi for their warm welcome and hospitality, as well as for their help in organizing the liturgical celebrations and meetings. The Shushufindi community consists of Friar Eugeniusz WETTA (Guardian), Friar Vicente Carlom\u00e1n TANDAZO GALLEGOS, Friar Marek NIEMKIEWICZ, and Friar Franklin David SAMANIEGO GONZ\u00c1LES.
\nThe next stop on my mission in Ecuador was Quito, the country\u2019s capital. We have a formation house for seminarians there, and the friars serve in a parish as well. The Quito community consists of Friar Micha\u0142 SABATOWSKI (Guardian), Friar Zbigniew BRAUN, and Friar Krzysztof KURKIEWICZ. When the new academic year begins, eight seminarians will be residing at the formation house.
\nIn Quito, as in Shushufindi, I preached on the Spirit of Assisi<\/em> at every Sunday Mass, once again drawing on Jesus\u2019 words, \u201cI am the light of the world\u2026 you are the light of the world.\u201d Moreover, I presented the friars there with the Light of Assisi<\/em> and gave a talk for altar servers, young people, and interested parishioners. For the seminarians, however, I offered more \u201cprofessional\u201d material focused on ecumenical awareness and the challenges of contemporary dialogue.
\nI was particularly pleased by the high turnout at the celebrations and meetings, even though my visit coincided with the vacation period. It is a sign that there is great interest in religious issues in this country and, in this specific case, in ecumenical formation.
\nThe threat posed by sects is very serious. The presence of many shamanic elements in the liturgy poses a real challenge to pastoral ministry. Furthermore, the many reported cases of possession make the friars\u2019 work even more difficult and are one of the factors contributing to the scarcity of priestly and religious vocations.
\nI believe that the words of St. Paul can give the friars in Ecuador strength and perseverance in their mission: \u201cBut where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friar S\u0142awomir KLEIN
\nGeneral Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue (EDI)<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 25, 2026, I arrived in Quito, Ecuador. This was the first stop on my visit to South America, during which I wanted to bring the Light of Assisi\u2014a symbolic lamp\u2014to several places where our friars serve as part of the Spirit of Assisi project. The format of these meetings will vary depending on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":102144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4956,135,148],"tags":[640,5107],"class_list":["post-102148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edi","category-general-offices","category-news","tag-ecuador-en","tag-spirito-di-assisi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102148"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":102152,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102148\/revisions\/102152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}