Final celebration of the Franciscan Jubilee held in Medjugorje, Holy Mass celebrated by Fr. Massimo Fusarelli

The final celebration of the Franciscan Jubilee - the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis was held on Saturday, September 5 in Medjugorje. At the beginning, the participants were greeted by the parish priest of Medjugorje, Fr. Zvonimir Pavičić, who opened this event with the prayer, and then a catechesis on St. Francis on the topic 'The Lord gave us brother Francis' was held by Fr. Ante Vučković.

At the celebration of the Franciscan Jubilee, the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis, the Jubilee Church Year of Saint Francis and the Day of the Religious in BiH were attended by all Franciscan orders from Croatia and BiH, Franciscan nuns, secular Franciscans, Friars Minor, numerous pilgrims...

On behalf of the Council of Franciscan Communities, the Provincial of the Franciscan Province of the Holy Cross - Bosnia Srebrena, Fr. Zdravko Dadić, expressed his "welcome and fraternal joy that we are gathering today around the altar of Christ, in the communion of the great Franciscan and religious family."

"Together, we give thanks for the gift of Saint Francis of Assisi - for a man who allowed himself to be completely transformed by the Gospel and who showed with his life that Christ can be followed humbly, joyfully and with the greatest love.

May this Jubilee not stop us just at memory, but may it awaken in us a new zeal for Christ, renewed fidelity to the vocation and courage to bear witness to the Gospel. In a world that lacks peace, communion and hope, may the Franciscan family continue to be a recognizable sign of peace, fraternity, simplicity and love for every person and all creation," said Fr. Zdravko Dadić at the beginning of the Holy Mass, which was celebrated by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, with the concelebration of 184 priests. The Rosary was led before the Holy Mass by Fr. Ivan Vasilj.

At the beginning of his homily, Fr. Massimo Fusarelli said that it was "a great joy for me to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis, here in Medjugorje with the Franciscan family of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina" and that the Franciscan presence "testifies to a tested and living faith."

Speaking about the fraternal admonition that the Gospel speaks of today, he said that it is not a condemnation but a concern, and that the prophet Ezekiel also reminds us of this with the image of a watchman: "We are responsible for one another. "The watchman is not one who watches to judge, but the one who watches so that a brother is not lost."

This word illuminates the memory of Francis's death today. Mercy is the key to reading his entire life. Francis went through many transitions, each of which prepared him for the last one. In him we see the path: to receive mercy, to live from mercy, to give mercy. Francis encountered lepers. In his Testament he admits that what was bitter to him before had turned into sweetness for his soul and body. And he calls this transition mercy. That is the decisive word. It describes not only what Francis does for the leper, but what God does in Francis," said Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, continuing that Francis teaches us something essential for our fraternal life, which is that "we are not brothers because we are all good; we are brothers because we all live from God's mercy."

Brothers and sisters, it is no coincidence that we are celebrating all of this right here. For centuries, in these lands, in many moments when the presence of the Church was fragile or severely tested, the Friars Minor have remained by the side of the people: guardians of the faith and heralds of the Gospel. This is your history. This is the history of fidelity. Even today, the sons of St. Francis welcome pilgrims, guard places of prayer, accompany people, sit for hours in the confessional to share God's forgiveness. Please continue to do so, all with generous dedication.

Because the mercy received cannot remain confined within us alone. The mercy received seeks to be bestowed on others. These lands still bear in their flesh the wounds of the recent war: wounds in homes, in families, in memory, in relationships between people and nations. Here, reconciliation is not just a word. It is still the fruitful fruit of the Gospel.

And to us, the sons and daughters of Saint Francis, this ministry of peace has been entrusted in a special way. You know that the mercy received can be given to others. You have received mercy: give it," said Fr. Massimo, and he called for the mercy received to be given in your fraternities, to wounded families, to those who carry painful memories...

"Give it among people and nations who have yet to learn to look at each other without resentment. And do it here, where many come to seek peace," urged the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, and continued how Francis still gives us one path, eight hundred years later: to receive mercy, to live by mercy, to give mercy.

"We have all received mercy. Today, in this place, let us give mercy. We have received peace. Let us not keep it for ourselves alone. Let us carry that peace. We have received Francis' greeting: The Lord has given you his peace. Let us proclaim it to everyone.

Here, in the place where we invoke Mary as Queen of Peace - in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Croatia, in Slovenia, greetings to all you pilgrims from other countries - let us allow this greeting to pass once again through our regions, our fraternities, our families, our history. We have all received the greeting of peace, we carry it to everyone", concluded Fr. Massimo Fusarelli.

The Franciscan choir composed of friars, secular Franciscans, nuns and seminarians sang at the Holy mass, and after the Holy Mass a film about St. Francis and the spread of the Franciscan order throughout the world, "The Lord gave us brother Francis - from Assisi to the Croatian regions", prepared for this occasion, was shown. After the film, a concert was held by the Franciscan choir, which sang at the Holy Mass, and which was led by Fr. Ante Vukoja. This evening in Medjugorje, or rather the final celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Franciscans, ended with Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.