Dear brothers and sisters of the TOR of St. Francis of Assisi,
May the Lord give you peace!
Last October, during the meeting of the 6 general ministers of the Conference of the Franciscan Family, held as every year in Assisi, the idea of writing a common Christmas letter for all the members of our Orders came about. You will remember that this meeting coincided with Pope Francis’ visit to the tomb of the saint of Assisi, where he celebrated a very sober and significant Eucharist, followed by the historic signing of his new Encyclical Letter Fratelli tutti, on fraternity and social friendship. For this reason, we General Ministers decided to prepare a letter that would help to underline some elements of Fratelli tutti that we consider to be of particular importance for us Franciscans men and women of today’s world. This world is so in need of reconciliation and harmony, of mutual respect and understanding, of justice and peace among individuals and among peoples. For this reason, I invite you to read this letter by our Franciscan conference, which wants to be a sign of fraternal communion and at the same time a stimulus to welcome with a Franciscan spirit this message that the successor of Peter wanted to highlight with his visit to the tomb of our holy founder.
May this Christmas be a moment of grace for all of us, at the end of a year that has been marked by great suffering and upheaval throughout the world, in the midst of which God-with-us makes himself present with faithful and vulnerable love, in order to show us the way towards a new humanity. Let not the darkness of sin and lack of love reign in our hearts and in our midst, on the contrary, let us be illuminated by the most intense light that lightens the whole universe and that will shine forever: Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the son of Mary.
A big fraternal hug to each and every one of you, and may the Lord bless you and keep you,
Fr. Amando Trujillo Cano, TOR
General minister
Text in English