Seed Sown in the Desert

A Franciscan presence on the streets of Taranto

“If a grain of wheat… dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12,24)

Taranto, Paul VI neighborhood: here the Brothers Minor Conventual from the province of Puglia work in one of four parishes in the district that sprang up in the last 50 years to house industrial working families. The area has almost nothing to offer, the inhabitants are isolated in huge cement apartment buildings that rise amidst acres of abandoned, undeveloped land.

In this vast, difficult, often dangerous neighborhood the church becomes “yeast” of humanity and of hope. Here fear, hatred and anger reside. The inhabitants are deeply wounded, having learned from early childhood the language of violence; one must be strong in order to not be crushed, one must defend oneself against everyone, no one can be trusted.

During the month of July, spent with the friars in Taranto, the challenge of how to create human relationships with the locals provoked me to seek out the correct attitude to have, the right words to say in the midst of this conflict-oriented atmosphere. What to do in this situation? How can the friars, the church, testify to the love of Christ in this mission-field.

I found the answer in a single word, “compassion,” in other words: being present, simply standing alongside the other, feeling that which the other feels.

The most significant experience from my time in Taranto was the “Street Oratory” (street camp) organized with a group of volunteers in the most difficult part of the neighborhood, where children and youth group up sharing the street with wild dogs that populate the area.

Forced to grow up far too quickly, these kids come from dysfunctional families, parents in prison or in drug rehabilitation centers. Many of them have stopped dreaming because early on their life was marred by suffering and injustice, and they have learned to respond with violence and the same injustice.

However when their eyes meet a loving gaze that does not desire to judge or criticize them they once again are free to laugh. The little onese act like adults, but give them a ball, carry them on your back or make them run and they revert back to their true identity: children. It is important to recognize in them the profound need to be loved and to love, to receive a hug or a kind word, to feel important in the eyes of another.

Seeing this situation, the fear that attacks my heart comes from the knowledge that a true change, a radical turn-around, is very difficult; these children’s destinies seem determined from the outset! Their only option is the street and all that it has to offer. Sometimes after being with them I had the impression that all our work had been in vain. There did not seem to be any positive results or changes. So after it was all over many of the volunteers, resigned, said, “It’s a waste of time.” These children relax during the games but then return to their normal lives of fights, provocations and vendettas.

This mission is difficult and yet at the same time stimulating! Here our conventual fraternity can truly live out the Franciscan charism in its “purest” form, serving the marginalized. Though often in discouraging situations and with no gratification, the community moves forward rebuilding where others have destroyed, becoming channels of peace in the logic of unconditional love, in a constant openness to listen to others and in being a welcoming presence. Practically speaking they seek to create alliances with the various agencies present in the area, developing common projects (like the aforementioned “street oratory” as well as soccer camps, dance lessons etc…) Already there has been much fruit, not the least of which is the construction – finally! – of a church building after many years in which the parish has had to make do without one.

There are many possibilities hidden behind the faces of the brothers and sisters that could truly change this little world! Many collaborate with the parish in order to build a better Paul VI neighborhood, offering their personal resources and talents. Drop after drop the stone is worn smooth and takes form: this presence is a seed in the desert that, once grown, will help bring salvation.

Friar Vito Cosimo Manca

Missions Display in the News

Video interview with friar Rocco e friar Anton Giulio regarding our community's missionary center on the site San Francesco Patrono d'Italia (in Italian)

http://www.sanfrancescopatronoditalia.it/visualizza_video.php?id_multimedia=1427

For more information on the missions display

"Missionary Listening" in Assisi

How a missions display reaches out to pilgrims, seekers.

“Go into all the world… and proclaim the Gospel”

Much time has passed since the day Jesus entrusted this mission to his disciples, yet today it remains as relevant as ever.

Moved by this invitation, frontiers have been crossed and cultures and nations have been reached. Today there is no corner of the earth that has not known the proclamation of the Good News.

Friar Francis felt this necessity to share the Gospel which had transformed his life. Moved by this desire, he left for the lands of the Middle East and invited his friars to do likewise.

For eight centuries the friars have continued to announce the beauty of the Gospel, moved by the same desire as that of Saint Francis. Today they seek to give life to the same passion in their various missions on six continents, enriching the local churches with the Franciscan Conventual charism, enabling interaction between the Order’s new and ancient communities through reciprocal aid, and meeting Christ in the face of every person.

Even in Assisi, among the various initiatives of our community, the Franciscanum, we seminarians seek to live out “the mission.” Our Missionary Center works to promote our Order’s missionary efforts by educating pilgrims and tourists that pass through our doors, located on one of the main streets of Assisi.

Using stands, photos, and objects typical of various cultures we seek to present our missions and collect funds for their operation. But beyond this activity we are involved in another effort, just as important, directly tied to supporting missions. It’s what we call, “missionary listening.” We want to truly meet the needs of those who enter our missionary display and who ask for information about the missions, about the organization of our Order, and about our identity as consecrated religious brothers. We listen to them express their doubts and talk about their daily lives. They ask only to be listened to.

One rainy day this winter when no one was on the streets of Assisi, we received a young woman who, in telling us about her life, expressed a desire to offer her medical training in the mission-field to serve those who do not have adequate medical care. In this way, we allowed the Gospel to continue its work, offering meaning to someone who at the moment was having difficulty making sense of her life.

When we have moments like the one mentioned above (and there are many) we realize that in reality we are not that far away from the activity that our confreres carry out on the mission-field; we find ourselves interacting with strangers who immediately become friends, people from all parts of Italy and the globe who, following a route opposite to that of a traditional missionary, come to us. Many are attracted by the simplicity unique to Saint Francis and his friars, which is enough to make us stand out from everything that surrounds daily life. These are people thirsty for truth, for justice, for peace, but especially for God. They see us as “sign” of his presence in the world and feel the need to find in our lifestyle, in our Franciscan charism, an appeal to a different and better reality than the apathy and indifference common in our modern culture.

Being a missionary just by remaining where we are and waiting for pilgrims, shows that mission is about much more than the physical movement of “going.” The patron saint of missions, Theresa of Lisieux, lived out this reality. The Carmelite nun was obedient to her mission by remaining in the small cloister of her French convent.

This is the account, not so much of what we do, but of what we are (because one does what one is). And we are content to be able to be “missionary listeners,” witnesses for the Gospel, witnesses of Love.

Fr. Rocco Predoti

Fr. Anton Giulio Vacanti

An Evening on Martyrdom and Missions

On Wednesday, February 8, we met after dinner with our order's General Secretary for Missions, friar Jarosław Wysoczański. He talked with us about our Franciscan missions around the world and about his own experiences overseas.

In 2006 our order’s first International Missionary Conference was held in India in order to define our missionary strategy. A mission is authentic when it is born about of a real encounter with Jesus. Those who have met Christ cannot keep him to themselves, they must announce him. Christian communities and groups need fresh apostolic impetus, lived out as a daily commitment. Nevertheless this evangelization must be done with complete respect for each individual and for the various cultures into which the Christian message enters.

At the end of the evening, friar Jarosław talked about what it means to be courageous witnesses for God. He shared with us his experience in Pariacoto, Peru where two of our friars were killed by guerillas of the „sendero luminoso” in 1991. The witness of Christian martyrs illuminates our contemporaries, who are often distracted and disoriented. It pointes them to the One in whom they can place their trust in order to give sense to their lives. The martyr dies with the certainty that he is loved by God and knowing that he has chosen the better part, having left everything behind for the love of Christ.