The General Assembly of the Union of Friars Minor of Europe will be held in Medjugorje next week

date: 23.02.2023.

The XV General Assembly of the Union of Fraternities of Europe - UFME (Unio Fratrum Minorum Europae) will be held in Medjugorje from February 27 to March 3, 2023.

The theme of this meeting will be "The future of UFME - where we have left, where we have arrived, we want to be", and it will begin with an evening Holy Mass in the church of St.  James on Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m., which will be celebrated by the current president of UFME, Fr. Miljenko Šteko, Ph.D., OFM.

In addition to about fifty provincials and curators from Europe, the General of the Order of Friars Minor, Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, and the entire Administration of the Franciscan Order will also participate in this session.

One evening, Fra Massimo will concelebrate Holy Mass in the church of St. James in Medjugorje, and on those days there will also be Msgr. Sabino Iannuzzi, bishop of the Diocese of Castellaneta in Italy, a Franciscan who was president of the UFME in 2015.  In addition to the participants present in Medjugorje, more online addresses are planned too.

According to the prepared program, the General Assembly in Medjugorje will take place in three official languages ​​- English, Italian and Spanish.  At the Assembly, experiences from different realities of the European continent will be exchanged, and guidelines for future action and mutual cooperation in many areas of evangelization, upbringing and education will be planned.  During this Assembly in Medjugorje, the new President, Vice-President, Permanent Council and General Secretary of the UFME, whose seat is in Brussels, will be elected.  Depending on the weather, the participants will also visit some other sights in Herzegovina, apart from their time spent in Medjugorje.