Annual Meeting in Rome
As happened with other bodies and offices of the General Curia, the Solidarity Commission was also reformed after the General Chapter of 2024. In a letter dated Feb. 14, 2025 (Prot. No. 00093/25), the General Minister appointed new members for the Commission of the 2024-2030 sexennium:
- Br. Patrice Afonso Fernando – General Councilor, PR Angola
- Br. William Chang – General Councilor, PR Pontianak, Indonesia
- Br. Albert Poblete – PR Philippines
- Br. Mario Dias – PR Tanzania
- Br. Matteo Ghisini – PR Emilia-Romagna, Italy
- Br. Miroslav Kulich – PR Slovakia
- Br. Sandeep Babu Neendissery – PR St. Joseph, Kerala, India
- Br. Thomas Betz – PR Pennsylvania, USA
- Br. Wilmer Alexander Miranda Tejada – CU Guatemala-Honduras-El Salvador
In addition to members of the Commission, the meeting was attended by:
- Br. Yustinus Saragih, new Secretary for the Solidarity Office
- Br. Justino Sánchez Durán, former Secretary for the Solidarity Office
- Br. Aklilus Petros, Promotor for Solidarity in the Order
- Br. Fergnan da Conceição da Silva, collaborator in the Solidarity Office
On the first day of the proceedings, the General Minister expressed his gratitude for the valuable service of the Commission so far. He also encouraged the members to continue to reflect and offer their input to the leadership in the Curia, particularly on ways to support circumscriptions on the path to self-sustainability. Finally, he stressed the importance of close collaboration with other offices and general councilors of the Order.
Considering that most of the members are newly appointed, the first two days were devoted to an intensive introduction to the principles and working methods proper to the Order’s Solidarity, gained by experience over the years by previous members of the Commission. In addition to technical aspects related to information management, reflecting on the Order’s vision for Fraternal Economy was explored.
The Commission had the opportunity to dialogue with the heads of the Secretariats for Missions, Formation, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), and the Delegate of the Minister General for the Capuchin Poor Clares. These discussions proved crucial for better understanding of how the Office of Solidarity can effectively collaborate with other areas of the Order.
After the orientation period, work continued with detailed evaluations of projects admitted to the second evaluation phase, along with requests for missionary and initial formation grants.
The last day was devoted to finalizing the new proposals that will be presented to the General Minister and his Council. These proposals aim to strengthen the work of the Commission and offer concrete tools to help the Order embody the values of the Fraternal Economy more authentically.
We express our sincere gratitude to the brothers who served on the Commission in the previous sexennium. Their experiences, commitment and reflections will continue to enlighten and inspire the path of the new team in their service to the Order.