III giorno del Capitolo OFS

In the morning the assembly concentrated in revising the Report of the General Minister. Later in the afternoon several pieces of information were presented: the economic situation and the results of the demographic survey. In their work groups the priorities of the Order were addressed and studied. Before Vespers, the sharing in the plenary assembly took place. By day’s end, all the participants took part in a festive moment with the countries of South and Central America, when the linguistic diversity was no obstacle for the Fraternity. Demographic data of the SFO in the world: At the moment the Secular Franciscan Order is present in 66 countries in the world in established Fraternities. In the other 42 countries the Fraternities are emerging and in 3 nations this process is in the initial phase. As for the Franciscan Youth (YouFra) it is present in 66 countries, with 35 established Fraternities and 31 emergent. The report presented to the capitulary assembly noted that various countries have commissions that are carrying out programs to promote and support Franciscan vocations with very encouraging results. In particular in Eastern Europe there is a strong number of brothers and sisters between twenty and thirty-five years old. There are also places where the presence of married couples involved in the life of the SFO is increasing. Overall it is estimated that worldwide there are about 350,000 Secular Franciscan brothers and sisters.