Letter to the Order at the Beginning of the Sexennium 2024-2030

To All the Friars of the Order

To All the Capuchin Poor Clare Sisters

Prot. N. 00118/25

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. Thus begins, with these words, the Canticle of Brother Sun, also commonly called the Canticle of the Creatures: “Altissimu, onnipotente, bon Signore”! Francis, after the experience of La Verna and adorned with the signs of Christ’s passion - the stigmata received there - is now in San Damiano, with very fragile health and almost completely blind. At a time when everything seems to be compromised and awaiting the definitive encounter with God, Saint Francis dictates this lauda, ​​“which has become one of the most beloved texts of Christian literature”[1] and recognized by authoritative scholars as the beginning of Italian literature.
2. Coincidence would have it that the new sexennium begins with the year in which the eighth centenary of the composition of the Canticle occurs, a year solemnly inaugurated by the Franciscan Family last January 11, in San Damiano, Assisi. The coincidence cannot and should not go unnoticed, especially for those of us who desire again to ‘begin again’ each day, all the more so after the General Chapter, to walk the path the Lord wants to show us, with a soul full of gratitude for the many gifts he has bestowed upon us. The important anniversary becomes a reason for reflection and a happy spur for the journey ahead.