There is great joy in the Order of Friars Minor for the First Profession of the evangelical counsels of six brothers:

• Friar Carmine Pizzi, Friar Damiano De Conciliis, and Friar Davide Xompero of the Seraphic Province of the Friars Minor of Umbria-Sardinia;
• Friar Manuel Marini of the Province of Saint Anthony in Northern Italy, represented by the Vicar Provincial Friar Federico Righetti;
• Friar João Guilherme Marcelino Lopes of the Province of the Protomartyrs of Morocco of Portugal and
• Friar Kevin Leonel Flores of the Province of the Immaculate Conception of New York, represented by the Secretary for Formation and Studies, Friar Antonio Riccio.

The Eucharistic Celebration took place on the afternoon of Saturday 26 August at the Sanctuary of San Damiano and was presided over by the Provincial Minister of the Friars Minor of Umbria-Sardinia, Fr. Francesco Piloni. In the "here I am" of these confreres, the prompt and generous response of the young Francis of Assisi to the call of the Crucified was renewed: "Francis, go and repair my house, which, as you can see, is all in ruins."

During his homily, the Minister affirmed that knowing Jesus is a gift that comes from the Father and that no one is too far or too distant from God to feel excluded in his relationship with him. "These brothers of ours" he said addressing those present " they said a beautiful word that runs through history, from the old to the new testament, one of the most important terms that expresses personal availability: here I am!». He then reminded the newly professed that the underlying reason for their choice of life is only Christ, the "son of the living God" - as we have heard from the Gospel that has been proclaimed - who has conquered them. Fr. Francesco then concluded by saying that it is essential for each of us to keep in mind the question that Jesus addresses to us personally: "Who do you say that I am?" (Mt 16, 15).

This is a question that becomes a prayer and puts us in relationship with him because this is the key to reading where the heart is turned, where the mind is located and where the will is oriented. After the homily, the presider questioned the candidates on their willingness to follow Christ according to the example of Saint Francis, and then invoked the Holy Spirit upon them to consecrate them. Only then, in an atmosphere of profound recollection, the confreres – their hands in those of the Minister, their eyes on the text written in their own hand, their voice cracked by emotion, their hearts turned to heaven – were able to make their profession: "To the praise and glory of the Most Holy Trinity…."

The newly professed were then given two explanatory signs of their religious profession: the belt with the three knots, an external sign of the evangelical choice to live in obedience, poverty, and chastity, and the Rule of the Friars Minor, a sign of their belonging to the fraternity of the Friars Minors.

The sign of peace extended to the confreres, accompanied by warm applause, expressed the joy of a fraternity that can bear witness to the perennial fascination of the risen Christ, who continues to call men to follow Him and to the inexhaustible fruitfulness of St. Francis' charism. Let us pray then for these brothers, so that the face of Christ is made ever more clearly visible through them and that they be made ever more similar to Saint Francis, each in their own unique way.

[The original article in Italian can be found here]