ROME — The Order of the Poor Clare Sisters is looking forward to the 800th anniversary of its founding in 2012.
Fraternitas, the newsletter of the General Curia, reported in its February edition: “This anniversary is not a commemoration of a glorious past, but an event to remember, so as to draw from one’s own history greater thrust to renew our willingness to serve the Church.”
The February issue reported on a variety of other topics as well.
The Amazon Project will form a commission, to include Joseph Rozansky, OFM, director of the Order’s JPIC office in Rome, and three other friars, charged with developing ways to build awareness for the project.
OFM archivists met in early December at the Franciscan Library of the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico, for an international symposium, “Science and Culture between Two Worlds. Documentary Sources and Different Interpretations.” Several archivists presented reports. The OFM website has also been updated to include historical archive materials, in addition to links to Provincial archives.
The Order has established an OFM Liturgical Commission within the Commission of Contemplative Life, tasked with preparing several standardized informational resources for all provinces. It will produce a missal and lectionary for the celebration of saints, along with a supplement for the Liturgy of Hours and a Ritual for Celebrations and Prayer. The commission hopes that these standardized resources will help the provinces with liturgical celebrations that are common to the Order.
Newly-elected provincial ministers met in Rome at the General Curia from Jan. 17 to 28. Nineteen new leaders and custodes attended.
The General Curia is mourning the passing of Fr. John Abela, OFM, the Order’s communications director, who died in Dec. 19. Fr. John, 56, succumbed to heart and kidney failure as a result of diabetes complications. Born in Malta, Fr. John was first professed in 1972 in the Province of St. Paul the Apostle in Malta. Fraternitas reported: “He was kindly disposed and always ready to meet the needs of the brothers who came to him.” He was laid to rest in Malta, where his mother and brother live.
— Compiled by Wendy Healy