Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – In just a decade, the missionary projects have grown and developed, and at the same time so has the number of lay people and families dedicated to the mission ad gentes. These are the fruits of the Missionary Center of the Secular Franciscan Order of Italy (CemiOfs), who celebrate their 10th anniversary this year. The group began in an effort to provide a more structured promotion of the missionary vocation among the Secular Franciscan Order, the lay branch of the religious family founded by Saint Francis of Assisi eight centuries ago.
The missionary initiatives, carried out thanks to the dedication of laity and Franciscan families in the area of education and helping the poor, have evolved in Venezuela, with the projects: “Pequeño Lápiz” and “Semillita”; in Romania, with the project “Prietenie”; and in Cameroon, with the project “Shisong.”
In the years to come, the CemiOfs hope to increase their service in Romania, through ecumenical dialogue with concrete activities, as well as in the promotion of adoption “at-a-distance” of needy families. In Venezuela, Albania, and Cameroon, they are searching for the means to collaborate with local organizations, so as to benefit the Franciscan Fraternities already present in those countries. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/9/2008)
