On Wednesday, March 15, at the OFM General Curia, Br. Daniel Rodriguez Blanco, OFM and Br. Taucen Hotlan Girsang, OFM of the JPIC General Office received the representatives of Franciscan Missions based in the United States of America, Br. James Gannon, OFM (Minister Provincial), Br. Andrew Brophy, OFM (Executive Director) and Br. Gil Noriega, OFM. It was a fraternal rather than a formal visit.

Dear Pope Francis, whom the cardinals as your brothers went to seek “almost to the end of the world”:

May the Lord give you peace!

On the 10th anniversary of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s election to the papacy, the Minister General of the OFM, Br Massimo Fusarelli, shared a brief reflection on Pope Francis and these ten years of his pontificate.

On International Women’s Day, we collected the testimonies of Sr Miriam Oyarzo, Franciscan Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart (FMSC), and Sr. Stella Balthasar, Franciscan Missionary of Mary (FMM), both of whom are committed to serving the most marginalised women.

The JPIC animators of the Conference of Brazil-Southern Cone met from September 12 to 15 in the city of Córdoba, Argentina, Franciscan Province of Asunción, with the objective of discussing the new organization of the conference, based on the services developed in each entity, preserving the particularity of each region and, finally, the construction of the Special Statutes (SS) of this new organization.

The Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Commission of the Custody of the Holy Land initiated recently encounter and dialogue, first, among the postulants in Montefalco on January 28, then, among the novices in La Verna on January 30-31.