At 8.30 A.M., Br. Ambongo Besungu approached his topic from his own personal experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He shared his experience of being a lesser brother in situations of poverty and insecurity in Capuchin fraternal life and ministry. Br. Ambongo studied at Alphonsianum in Rome. He did his thesis on the Rehabilitation and development of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The presenter divided the topic into three parts: the life of “lesser” brothers today in sub-Saharan Africa, “minority” according to St. Francis, and some proposals for a better living of minority in that region today. Furthermore, he demonstrated the socio-economic-political situation of the Congo as well as the causes of generalized poverty. “The life of Capuchins in Congo”, he said, “in reality, judging from our lifestyle, are neither poor nor rich. While we have a decent life as brothers in the Congo, it appears like the life of a rich person among so many destitute people in the country. He proposed several practical points for the brothers: 1) to develop interior poverty and to find ways to earn a living by work as recommended by Francis; 2) to commit themselves to the apostolate of the deprived Christians, and participate in charitable works and projects as lesser brothers and animators. The delegates spent the rest of the morning in their working groups. In the afternoon, they had a short plenary session.

We had three extraordinary events on Tuesday evening. In the late afternoon the Province of Umbria invited us to visit the palace next to the Provincial Curia (close to the Basilica of Saint Francis). We had the great surprise of seeing the little museum on the missionary endeavors of the Franciscan and Capuchin Friars over the centuries, with rare exhibits, illustrative texts, photos, maps and video presentations. This museum was set up by a specialist from Milan and our former general secretary of the Order, Br. Dominick Arnold Desplentere from Belgium. Next, we went to the Basilica of St. Clare for a Mass with the 60 provincials of the Friars Minor, Conventuals, Capuchins and Third Order Regular of Italy, meeting in Assisi for their 28th Assembly of the Italian Franciscan Conference of Superiors, representing 7200 friars. We celebrated in the chapel of the San Damiano crucifix, joined actively by the community of 30 Poor Clares. The sisters have a number of postulants, novices and junior sisters. At the end we were all invited into the choir of the sisters to greet the abbess and receive a beautiful book on the frescos in the newly renovated church, which had suffered considerable damage in the earthquake six years ago. The whole celebration was a unique experience of Franciscan communion on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the death of St. Clare. After Mass all the Italian provincials came to our center for a common supper followed by another singular event, the screening of a short film on the Chapter of Mats celebrated by the Italian Capuchins at the end of October last year in Assisi and attended by close to 500 friars. These extraordinary events and encounters will leave a lasting imprint in the memory of the delegates.