{"id":106037,"date":"2026-10-26T12:51:33","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:51:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/colombia-la-famiglia-francescana-celebra-il-capitolo-delle-stuoie-a-chia\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T12:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:53:46","slug":"colombia-la-famiglia-francescana-celebra-il-capitolo-delle-stuoie-a-chia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/colombia-la-famiglia-francescana-celebra-il-capitolo-delle-stuoie-a-chia\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia: Franciscan Family Celebrates Chapter of Mats in Ch\u00eda"},"content":{"rendered":"

From October 9 to 11, 2026, the Jorbal\u00e1n Spirituality Center of the Adorers Sisters, located in the municipality of Ch\u00eda, Colombia, hosted a Chapter of Mats that brought together various members of the Franciscan Family in Colombia. The gathering was held as part of the 800th<\/sup> anniversary of the transitus <\/em>of St. Francis of Assisi. It was a time of prayer, reflection, dialogue, and artistic expression, allowing the participants to explore the significance of Francis\u2019 spiritual legacy in today\u2019s world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Among those attending were Friars Jos\u00e9 Gabriel HERN\u00c1NDEZ CAMPO and Jos\u00e9 Danilo JIM\u00c9NEZ RINC\u00d3N, both members of the Conventual Franciscan Provincial Custody of St. Francis of Assisi in Colombia. Over the three-day gathering, the participants reflected on the meaning of life, caregiving, aging, and death in light of Franciscan spirituality. They sought to connect the transitus<\/em> of St. Francis with the experiences and challenges of contemporary life.
\nThe Chapter opened on Friday, October 9, with the participants\u2019 arrival and a time of fraternal welcome. An initial reflection on the transitus<\/em> of St. Francis helped the participants understand the purpose of the gathering and raised questions that would guide their discussions over the following days.
\nOn Saturday morning, the participants gathered outdoors for a time of prayer inspired by the Canticle of the Creatures. Their close contact with nature helped them engage with this text, which expresses St. Francis\u2019 faith and his relationship with creation, and set the tone for a day of shared dialogue and reflection.
\nThe discussions focused on three themes: essential care, aging, and death. To address these topics, the group used the \u201ccircle of speech\u201d<\/em> method, a dialogue practice rooted in Colombia\u2019s Indigenous communities that encourages attentive listening and full participation. Everyone shared their experiences and perspectives, reflecting on these aspects of life and how to live out the Franciscan charism in the face of the challenges of contemporary society.
\nIn the afternoon, the participants took part in three workshops devoted to poetry, weaving, and dance, each offered as a way to express faith and Franciscan experience. The poetry workshop invited the participants to discover the power of words to convey personal and spiritual experiences. The weaving workshop offered an opportunity to reflect on the value of relationships and the importance of building fraternal bonds. Finally, the dance workshop used music and bodily movement to allow the participants to express what words cannot always communicate.
\nThe artistic program concluded with an exhibition by Friar Juan REND\u00d3N HERRERA, OFM, who shared his journey as a painter and explained how he uses art to communicate his experience of God. His colorful, joyful works demonstrated how artistic expression can become a way to bear witness to faith and convey a message of life.
\nSaturday evening was dedicated to fraternal fellowship around a bonfire. The participants shared traditional foods from their respective regions and spent a few hours together enjoying music, dancing, and conversation. The gathering provided an opportunity to strengthen fraternal bonds and appreciate the cultural richness of the different regions represented.
\nOn Sunday, October 11, Deacon Alirio C\u00c1CERES AGUIRRE of the Archdiocese of Bogot\u00e1, an eco-theologian and a member of the Laudato Si\u2019 <\/em>Movement, shared his experience coordinating the Movement\u2019s activities in Colombia. During his presentation, he described initiatives underway across the country, the Movement\u2019s working methods, and the main difficulties and challenges involved in this work. His testimony provided an opportunity to explore the care of creation more deeply and reflect on how Franciscan spirituality can help address the needs of today\u2019s world.
\nThe Chapter concluded with Mass, during which the participants thanked God for their shared experience and celebrated the mystery of Christ, who gives Himself and remains present among His people.
\nIn the year marking the 800th<\/sup> anniversary of the transitus<\/em> of St. Francis, this Chapter of Mats gave members of the Franciscan Family in Colombia an opportunity to share their experiences and reflect on the relevance of the Franciscan charism today. Through prayer, dialogue, art, and fraternal life, the participants rediscovered the witness of St. Francis and reflected on how to live out and pass on his message in the present day.<\/p>\n

Friar Jos\u00e9 Danilo JIM\u00c9NEZ RINC\u00d3N<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From October 9 to 11, 2026, the Jorbal\u00e1n Spirituality Center of the Adorers Sisters, located in the municipality of Ch\u00eda, Colombia, hosted a Chapter of Mats that brought together various members of the Franciscan Family in Colombia. The gathering was held as part of the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[107,132,138,148],"tags":[1134],"class_list":["post-106037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-falc-en","category-federations","category-franciscan-family","category-news","tag-colombia-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106037","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=106037"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106041,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106037\/revisions\/106041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}