{"id":106197,"date":"2026-10-26T15:24:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/sicilia-il-ministro-generale-celebra-il-centenario-francescano\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T15:39:42","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T14:39:42","slug":"sicilia-il-ministro-generale-celebra-il-centenario-francescano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/sicilia-il-ministro-generale-celebra-il-centenario-francescano\/","title":{"rendered":"Sicily: The Minister General Celebrates the Franciscan Centenary"},"content":{"rendered":"

From October 20 to 24, 2026, the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, visited Sicily to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi. In Palermo, he visited the friar community at the San Francesco d\u2019Assisi all\u2019Immacolata Friary, which houses the pre-postulancy formation program. He also visited several other friar communities in the area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Minister General\u2019s five days in Sicily were filled with visits, meetings, and opportunities to become better acquainted with the local friar communities and the new leadership of the Italian Province of the Immaculate Conception (Sicily-Calabria). Friar Javier Antonio RAM\u00cdREZ RICO, the Minister General\u2019s Special Secretary, was also present and accompanied him throughout.
\nThe Minister Provincial, Friar Salvino PULIZZOTTO, welcomed the Minister General. Friar Carlos explored the Province\u2019s close ties with the Order and, above all, strengthened a journey that has lasted eight centuries. He did so in the spirit of a Franciscan and Marian Sicily, whose roots lie in the historic traditions of devotion of the Sicilian people to the Immaculate Conception.
\nFriar Carlos reviewed the work that has been underway for three years inside the 14th century Pontifical Minor Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. He then met the five young men\u2014some of them adults\u2014who are currently discerning their vocation in the pre-postulancy program. These men are guided by their Rector, Friar Antonio PARISI, and are preparing to begin their formation in the formation houses of the Federazione Inter-mediterranea Ministri Provinciali (FIMP). The Province currently has twelve young men in its various formation houses.
\nOn Friday, October 23, Friar Carlos spent the entire day in Terrasini, in the Province of Palermo, at the invitation of the municipal administration and the cultural association \u201cCos\u00ec, per\u2026 passione!\u201d The association, chaired by Ino CARDINALE, organized several events during the celebratory year marking the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis.
\nIn the morning, the Mayor of Terrasini, Giosu\u00e8 MANIACI, and the entire Municipal Council, welcomed Friar Carlos at the Terrasini Town Hall. The meeting offered an opportunity to discuss the values and spiritual legacy of Italy\u2019s Patron Saint. It also gave the hosts a chance to share the beauty, traditions, and daily life of this welcoming and supportive town.
\nIn the afternoon, Friar Carlos presided over Mass at Terrasini\u2019s Maria Santissima del Rosario Parish Church. The church was filled with faithful. The Pastor, Father Pino INGRAO, welcomed Friar Carlos, as did the altar servers and the concelebrating friars. The Mayor and civil and military authorities attended the Mass as well. Before the liturgy began, Friar Carlos spent some time in prayer and blessed a statue of St. Francis that had been created by sculptor Giuseppe GAGLIANO and placed in front of the church.
\nDuring his homily, Friar Carlos thanked the entire town for its warm and hospitable welcome. He encouraged everyone to rebuild their lives of faith following the example of St. Francis and recalled the words that God spoke to Francis: \u201cGo and repair\u2026.\u201d He urged the faithful to strengthen their bond with the parish church, which had been closed for ten years and was recently renovated thanks to donations from the faithful.
\nAt the end of the day, the musical group Wind Ensemble honored Friar Carlos, the 120th successor of St. Francis, with a welcome concert featuring classical pieces from the Argentine and Franciscan traditions.
\nIn his concluding remarks, Mayor MANIACI said, \u201cThank you, Friar Carlos, for your presence and for sharing with us a day filled with emotion, spirituality, and genuine moments of fraternity, inspired by the values St. Francis handed down to us. Thank you as well for your love, support, and willingness to share in the life of our community in Terrasini.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friar Paolo FIASCONARO<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From October 20 to 24, 2026, the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, visited Sicily to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the transitus of St. Francis of Assisi. In Palermo, he visited the friar community at the San Francesco d\u2019Assisi all\u2019Immacolata Friary, which houses the pre-postulancy formation program. He also visited several other friar communities […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":106154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,117,148],"tags":[2300,428,934],"class_list":["post-106197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-federations","category-fimp-en","category-news","tag-franciscan-centenary","tag-minister-general","tag-sicily"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106197","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=106197"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106201,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106197\/revisions\/106201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}