Assisi, ITALY – With the desire to strengthen bonds of fraternity and reflect on service to the Church, the General Minister, Br. Roberto Genuin, formally invited all bishops of the Order last April to a meeting scheduled for this coming September 2026.
The event aims to focus on personal encounter, formation, and in-depth study of certain topics offered by the General Council and by the participants themselves. This will pose a unique opportunity for this group – geographically diverse but united by the same charism – to share their experiences of service to the universal Church.
Meeting in Assisi is always very meaningful for the sons of St. Francis and it takes on even greater significance while we prepare for the celebration of the fifth centenary of our Reform. It brings our brothers called to the episcopate back to the roots of their vocation of consecration, beginning with the Rule and example of the Poverello.
The bishops will meet on September 9, 2026, at the International College in Rome and will travel to Assisi the following day, where the meeting will continue until September 13, 2026. The General Minister and his Council will also be present.
Currently, the Capuchin Order counts among its ranks 71 bishops who serve in various dioceses around the world; some of them have already completed their ministries due to reaching the age limit.
We make the General Minister’s words our own from his invitation to our brother bishops: “I invoke the Lord’s blessing on all of us, that he may enlighten our journey in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi and make your critical service to the Universal Church fruitful.”
As we look toward this event that could “slip by,” silently amid the daily life and activities of the Order, may it be for us an opportunity to remember the reverence and devotion that St. Francis had for his brother priests, and even more for his brother bishops.