acta ordinis fratrum minorum - OFM

A07nterno:ACTAORDINIS 16/5/07 16:37 Page 101E SECRETARIATU PRO FORMATIONE ET STUDIIS101national Congress for Moderators of OngoingFormation, which will take place in St.Mary of the Angels from the 13th to 28th October2007. The intervention of Br. NestorSchwerz, in the morning of the 8th, and thatof Br. Joe Rozansky, Animator General ofJPIC, helped to place ongoing formation atthe heart of our life and mission.There was a guided tour of a very poorslum, where a Capuchin Friar and one ofour Friars work, in the afternoon of the 8th.This allowed us to see something of thescandalous inequality and injustice presentin a great city like Nairobi. The Councilcontinued in its effort to elaborate andredact its document in a good fraternal atmosphere,supported by the great welcomeof the Dimesse Sisters, and the commitmentto find questions and some new ways to respondto the challenge of constant conversionand transformation of the person of theFriar Minor and of the fraternity in whichhe lives.We visited the National Park of LakeNakuru on Sunday 11th February. The encounterwith and contemplation of the naturalbeauty of this corner of Africa really refreshedus, despite the rigours of the journey.It allowed us, however, to experiencein the flesh the difficulty of travel on thecontinent and to see villages and people thatare bigger than life!The second part of the Council beganwith a morning of reflection and prayer,opened by Br. Alojzy Warot, who, speakingof the inculturation of franciscan life andformation helped us to summarise what wehad already done during the first few days.The Eucharist on this day was celebrated byMsgr. Raphael Ndingi, Metropolitan Archbishopof Nairobi, who addressed a kindand heartfelt exhortation to us to know andesteem Africa, as well as to make ourselvesavailable to work for it and in it. He stayedwith us for supper and for a fraternal momentof recreation.The next two days were spend listening tothe reports of each Conference, whichopened up our horizons through the variety ofexperiences found in the Order. The listeningto each delegate of the Conferences was fol-lowing by a rich and stimulating debate. Asmall Commission drew up a draft of the InstrumentumLaboris, which was then presentedto the Council. Following its approvalin principle there was further revision anddeepening in a plenary session of the Council.The draft was later revised, completedand approved for presentation to the GeneralDefinitory. The Instrumentum Laboris willbe sent to the Moderators for Ongoing Formationas a preparation for the Congress.The election of the Executive Committeefor the next two-year period, 2007-2009, then took place. This service was entrustedto Br. Guillermo Lancaster Jones,from the Conference of Mexico, CentralAmerica and the Caribbean, Br. Tom Westfrom the English-speaking Conference andBr. Vincent Zungu, from the African Conference.The whole Council wished theCommittee well. It then met immediatelywith the Friars of the General Secretariat forFormation and Studies.The Council closed with a EucharisticCelebration presided by the Secretary General.It was an occasion to thank the Lordfor the gift of this XI International Council,which met in Africa for the first time. Thelunch offered by the Fraternity of theProvincial Curia in Nairobi allowed us togreet and thank the Friars of the Province of“St. Francis” for their discrete and delightfulreception.To the praise of Christ and of His servantFrancis!THE CHRONICLER4. Visita alle Province OFM in Slovacchiae nella Rep. CecaNei giorni 11-15 aprile 2007 il Segretariogenerale per la Formazione e gli Studi,Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, ha visitato le realtàformative della Provincia del “SS. Salvatore”di Slovacchia e di quella di “S. Venceslao”nella Repubblica Ceca.In particolare è stato significativo l’incontrocon il Definitorio e il Segretariatoprovinciale per la Formazione e gli Studi diSlovacchia, per un confronto approfondito