The meeting held in Rome for “New forms of life and evangelisation” had a double mission. First of all it sought to bring together the different realities being lived in Europe. Secondly, it sought to evaluate and review “Ite, nuntiate”, the guidelines established for these “new forms” that were last revised in 2017. Together we recalled the itinerary that brought these fraternities into being, we shared the lived experiences that brought to light these experiences, the inspiration and the difficulties of living this evangelical life. A common denominator was the primacy to prayer life, with the daily practice Lectio Divina; the attention to fraternal relations, with weekly local chapters and being besides the marginalised people.
The Minister General reflected that many of such initiatives have not survived the proof of time, for various reasons. He exhorted us to give feedback on the structures needed to support these initiatives and, if needed, to propose amendments to the document “Ite, nuntiate”, which is still the magna carta for such fraternities.
The Minister General held that the history of our convents reveals that friars came from different countries. We need to recuperate this concept, that of belonging to an order and not only to a province, and be more open to be part of international communities. Reaching out and connecting with other realities is important and required of us for the coming decades. He encouraged us to support each other’s initiatives and keep the connections between the various “new forms of life and evangelisation” alive. It was suggested that fraternities close by could exchange visits more regularly. It was suggested that such meetings of coming together and reflecting together should be held every year.