Capuchin Friars open their 84th General Chapter

Beginning yesterday and for the next five weeks the Capuchin friars are engaged in their 84th General Chapter in Rome. The General Minister, Friar Mauro Jöhri presides over the Capitulars from many nations. The Capuchins have set a wonderful multilingual website to cover the work of the Chapter, pictures included. Walk with the Capuchins in friendship and prayer for a good meeting guided by the Holy Spirit.

During the homily Bishop Corriveau stated strongly that when his words did not penetrate the heart of his people the Prophet Ezechiel acted with deeds and dramatic actions in his own life. No one understood this way of acting better than Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words". Quoting Blessed John Paul II, he said that the Church's prophetic response to the individualism of our day is communion: "to make the Church the home and school of communion: this is the great challenge which is laid before us in the millennium that has just begun. If we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond to the deep expectations of the world"(NMI, 43). We have been created to live in communion, to be family. Bishop Corriveau also said, the call to Trinitarian communion, which for a Capuchin is a call to fraternity is much more than a slogan. It implies deep conversion of the heart, Only the heart which is fraternal and decidedly relation oriented can offer the secularised world a prophetic word. By way of conclusion he hoped that by keeping our gaze fixed on Christ we would be able to touch the hearts of the men and women of our day. May this Chapter discover once again the relational aspect of our Franciscan inheritance. In this way we will be able to assist the Church to give visible expression to a spirituality of communion. (Capuchin website for the Chapter)