Pope Francis Makes A Curial Appointment That Is A Franicscan Surprise!

The Italian news website, The Vatican Insider, has posted a story about Pope Francis' first major Curial appointment.  He has appointed Father Jose Rodriguez Carballo, OFM, as Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (formerly known as ‘The Congregation for Religious’).  Father Carballo is currently serving his second term as the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, (The Franciscans).  The Pope will raise the Spanish friar to the office of archbishop. 

This will be the second religious to hold the office in recent memory, the first being Archbishop Joseph Tobin of Indianapolis, who is a Redemptorist, and held the office from 2010 to 2012.

It will be interesting to see how this appointment will affect the relationship between some American religious women communities and the Vatican. This Papacy continues to be full of surprises!

A Lovely SFO Lady Passes Away

While surfing the Web, I came across the announcement that Emanuela De Nunzio, SFO, had passed away on November 10, 2011.  She had been an Italian member of the Secular Franciscan Order since 1949.  After Vatican II, the SFO underwent a renewal, one of the results being that all the worldwide fraternities were united under one Minister General.  Ms. De Nunzio was elected as Minister General in 1990, and again in 1996.

Among her achievements was to get the Secular Franciscan Order recognized as an equal, and valuable part of the Franciscan Movement, and became the first Secular Franciscan to join the Conference of the Franciscan Family, with the other Ministers General.  She also promulgated the revised SFO Constitutions in 2001.

A true servant of God, and daughter of Saint Francis, she will be missed.

OFM Minister General

Franciscans re-elect minister general to a second six-year termASSISI, Italy (CNS) -- Spanish Father Jose Rodriguez Carballo was re-elected to head the Franciscan order during a general chapter May 24-June 20 in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace of St. Francis. Father Carballo, 55, was elected to a second six-year term as minister general of the Order of Friars Minor June 4. Some 152 representatives of the order reconfirmed the Spanish friar during the Assisi meeting as the leader of the 15,000 Franciscans who live in 113 countries. Father Carballo is the 119th successor of St. Francis and will lead the Order of the Friars Minor until 2015. The delegates will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of their order June 9. Father Carballo told reporters at the end of May that during the general chapter the delegates were looking at how well the order has met the priorities set in 2003 for deepening spirituality, improving fraternal life and living as poor among the poor and in solidarity with all those in need. Second, he said, they would try to find new ways to meet the challenge of being missionaries in the modern world.