Feast of St. Francis, Assisi 2024

For the Solemnity of St. Francis on October 4, 2024, in Assisi there were various events, all very significant and centered upon the celebration of the Eucharist at 10:00 a.m., which brought together thousands of people, including ecclesial and civil authorities from Italy, particularly from Sicily, which was followed by speeches by civil authorities, delivered from the loggia in front of the Lower Basilica. Our General Minister, Br. Roberto Genuin was the main celebrant. Many friars from different regions of Italy who were on pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Francis were also present, as were religious women from different congregations belonging to the Capuchin family and lay people who work and minister with us and visit our friaries. There was an atmosphere of joy, fraternity and simplicity, as the Franciscan family gathered around the tomb of St. Francis.

In his homily, the General Minister reminded us of a disturbing reality that is constantly present in the human heart, namely violence at all levels, the desire for revenge, war, and the thirst for domination. Such propensity is the consequence of what happens when man reasons as if “he was God” and decides to apply “justice” through his own hands, at any cost. It is in this sense that “St. Francis, in this terrible air that the world breathes, returns to firmly reintroduce to us over the past eight centuries - a different way to prevent from sinking into the abyss of violence and to repair the house of humanity so badly damaged. It is the way of recognizing that each person is capable of loving, rather than hating; it is the way of simple humility; it is the way of humble self-giving, rather than cynical pretension from the other; it is the way of welcoming the other as a brother, rather than as an enemy.”

This path of conversion and change of mentality of St. Francis does not come from himself, but from a “constant and humble confrontation with the Gospel, which was the foundation of the Saint's life and must be the foundation of our life. For God reveals His benevolence to those who know how to be small and poor and are not afraid to let The Lord and His Gospel inform their lives, their way of feeling, thinking and acting.”

The General Minister's profound and concise reflection concluded by thanking the Lord for the gift of our charism for ourselves and for the world, as well as asking for the intercession of “Brother Francis” so that we can truly follow Jesus, to be able to establish relationships of fraternity and mercy with those around us and thus live more intensely our Capuchin vocation.

At the end of the celebration, the friars shared breakfast at our friary of the Immaculate Conception, a short walk from the Basilica of St. Francis.

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