Meeting of Capuchin Lay Brothers

Dear Brothers,

 Being in full agreement with this request which emerged at the recent General Chapter and considering its worthiness, I hereby announce to you that we are organizing – already for this year – a meeting for lay brothers.While more detailed information will come to you in time, with this letter I would like to announce the initiative, invite you to take part in it and offer the first installments of pertinent information.

The meeting will be held at the College of St. Lawrence of Brindisi in Rome from November 3 to 10, 2025.

It follows a similar one held in 1996, with the theme: “The Capuchin vocation in its lay expressions.” The General Minister at the time, Br. John Corriveau, in a letter announcing that meeting, wrote: “The brothers are equal, but they are not identical! Clerical friars and lay friars have the same vocation, but their different ways of being in the Church and society mean that they also have different experiences in living the same vocation. Each experience brings its own richness to our common vocation” (Circular Letter, Oct. 13, 1995).

This year's meeting aims to bring together again lay brothers after almost 30 years, to share their life experiences of our common vocation and to also learn from them how we can authentically bring to bear our charism in today's ever-changing world. We would like the whole Order to participate and for the meeting to be an important stage in the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Capuchin Reform.

Letter of Convocation