News

6th Asia-Oceania OFS-YouFra Congress: “Go and Repair My Church!”

The 6th Asia-Oceania OFS-YouFra Congress is taking place from October 23–29, 2025, in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, under the motto “Go and Repair My Church!” The Congress gathers around 70 participants from across the region and marks the first such event since the 5th Congress in Bali, Indonesia (2017), following a long pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. …

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Saint José Gregorio Hernández

Dr. José Gregorio Hernández, OFS, is being canonized Oct. 19, 2025

A Franciscan Saint for the Entire World Dr. José Gregorio Hernández was a Venezuelan physician born in 1864 and a member of the Secular Franciscan Order since joining the Fraternity of La Merced in Caracas in 1899. As a physician and university professor, he stood out for his Christian and merciful care for the neediest …

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Saint Luigi Guanella

October 2025: Saint of Month – Saint Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)

Luigi Guanella was born on December 19, 1842, in Fraciscio, a village in the Diocese of Como, Italy. Raised by practicing Catholic parents who prayed the Rosary daily and read the lives of the saints, he developed a deep devotion that shaped his future ministry. After completing his studies at the seminary in Como, he …

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John Bradburne

September 2025 ‘Saint of Month’: Servant of God John Bradburne (1921-1979)

Born to an Anglican vicar and his wife in Cumberland (now Cumbria) County, England, Bradburne was baptized into the Church of England. During World War II he served with the Indian Army in India, Malaya, and Burma. During the war, faith became the dominant impulse in his life. He also met the future Father John …

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Secular Franciscans at the OFM Chapter of Mats: Strengthening Fraternity in the Franciscan Family

by Virginija Mickute, OFS From June 2–8, 2025, the International Chapter of Mats was held at St. Mary of the Angels in Assisi. Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, Minister General, and his Definitory envisioned this Chapter as a synodal journey involving the entire Franciscan Family – friars, sisters, and laypeople – to prophetically renew the identity …

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Ceferino_Gimenez_Malla

August 2025 ‘Saint of Month’ – Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla (1861-1936)

Son of Spanish gypsy parents, Ceferino Giménez Malla known familiarly as “El Pelé” was born in Spain in 1861—no one knows exactly where or when. Ceferino, like his family, was a Roma who lived his life according to Roma traditions and laws, both in his upbringing and throughout his life. As a child, he wandered …

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