ROME — “The Identity and Significance of the Apostolic Consecrated Life Today” was the theme of the General Curia’s International Seminar on Theology of Religious Life last month.
One of the goals of the seminar, according to the March issue of Fraternitas, newsletter of the Order of Friars Minor, was to determine what the theology of religious life is today.
The 60 people who gathered for the Feb. 7 to 12 seminar, including the General Minister and six Franciscans from the United States, discussed the identity of religious life, along with its mystical, ecclesiological and eschatological dimensions, according to the newsletter.
Fraternitas also reported on Project Europe, the evangelization program underway for the Union of Friars Minor in Europe. Some of the evangelization tools discussed were a biannual youth meeting in Poland, supporting the Franciscan presence in the Ukraine, initiatives for friars coming from abroad, and supporting the Franciscan Institutions.
This month’s Fraternitas also features:
| • | Former General Minister Fr. Hermann Schaluck, OFM, was honored with the Order of Merit of the Romania (Gypsies) of North Westphalia. Fr. Hermann is a former provincial minister of Saxony. |
| • | The Gathering of Archive-Keeping for archivists of the Franciscan family scheduled for Nov. 14 to 17 in Rome |
| • | Brazil’s project to eliminate leprosy |
| • | The Franciscan Conference of Asia/Oceania’s recent launch of new website |
| • | The March schedule of General Minister Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo, OFM, which includes a celebration on March 19 of his patron saint |
— Compiled by Wendy Healy