The Seventh Plenary Council of the Order began on Monday, March 01, 2004 at the “Cristo Risorto” Capuchin Friary in Assisi. With snow falling outside, all the brothers came together in the friary chapel at 6.30 A.M. Br. Joseph Nacua, general definitor for Asia-Oceania as well as President of the preparatory commission for the VII PCO was the principal celebrant. He invoked God’s blessing upon all present for the PCO and welcomed everyone to walk together in our common brotherhood and common journey as children of God.

After breakfast at 9.00 A.M., the delegates and officials met together in the Council Hall for the opening session of the CPO, moderated by Br. Giovanbattisa Urso from the Province of Cosenza. There are 43 participants with the right to vote: the General Minister, 8 General Definitors with the General Secretary, and 33 delegates from the various conferences. In addition, 22 officials are present.

John Corriveau, general minister, addressed the assembly on the purpose of PCO7. Since Assisi is the charismatic heart of the life of our Order, it is a perfect location for this PCO. Minority and poverty are the two columns of our Franciscan spirituality and are inter-connected. PCO6 described the first column of our Franciscan spirituality – evangelical poverty and its importance in the reconstruction of human relationships in our world. St. Francis is the model of our fraternal identity and our living common brotherhood among our brothers and sisters in diverse areas of the world. The VI CPO outlined some of the courageous choices that we have to make in order to live our evangelical poverty in fraternity. Some of these are: our attitude towards the poor ones, our solidarity and participation with them, and the communal and institutional aspects of our poverty.

The VII CPO addresses the second column of our Franciscan spirituality, namely, our fraternal life in minority. This CPO needs to examine the exercise of authority and of power as they impact the world. The recent conference from February 2-8 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on “Brotherhood of the Gospel in a multi-ethnic world” drew some conclusions on the topic: the impact that authority structures have on joining or dividing the persons; the relationships between confidence in a multiethnic world and the way in which power is exercised determines many things. Therefore, in this CPO, we must examine the modality of the way authority is exercised in the Order. Likewise, the way that authority is expressed in our ministries. The general minister then spoke about the Trinity and its impact on the nature of fraternity for Francis. Francis defined himself as a brother. We define our identity as Franciscans and Christians in terms of our brotherhood in human relationships. Minority must define our fundamental attitude in these relationships with our brothers and sisters. Minority will also help us to define human justice. The VII PCO can help us to complete the vision of the V PCO: the prophetic presence of our fraternal life and apostolic activity in the world. This council on our fraternity in minority challenges us to reflect on our fundamental attitude in the world, the society that encircles us, and the way in which we live out our vocation in the world. PCO7 has an enormous importance for the Order and also for the development of our spirituality of brotherhood in the world.

After Br. John's address, each Delegate introduced himself. The afternoon session began with a short prayer at 3.30 P.M. Then, Brothers Giovanbattista Urso and Sergio dal Moro were elected as moderators and Br. Aubert Bertrand as Secretary of the council. The elected members of the Presidential Coucil are: Brothers Giovanni Ferri, Jossy Fernandes, Tewelde Beyene and Manoel Delson Pedreira da Cruz. The participants were divided into working groups. The working session ended with Vespers.