The OFS brothers and sisters of Asia and Oceania, after the postponed Congress in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, finally have the joy of coming together with the emerging fraternity of Malaysia to celebrate the joy of belonging to the Franciscan family. The Congress was held at Gaya Centre Hotel in the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah – Malaysia – from 23-29 October 2025. 72 brothers and sisters from Australia, China, Korea, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Timor Leste, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam participated.
The Congress was officially opened by the celebration of the Holy Mass presided over by the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu, Most Rev. John Wong, who, in his homily, reminded the participants about the theme of the Congress, “Go and Repair my Church,” by telling them that it is important to invert this, beginning with ‘Church’– as a community of believers that need constant conversion – ‘repairing’ – oneself through repentance, then ‘Go’ and share what you have received from the Lord.
At the end of the Holy Mass, the participants had a group photo, followed by the presentation of the General Minister, Tibor Kauser, OFS, who emphasized the idea of how to repair the Church: “Repair a fraternal life within self and others – but avoid repairing what is not even broken.” He then spoke about “The role of the OFS fraternal animator for YouFra” and “The sense of belonging and responsibility in OFS and YouFra.”
Then many topics were presented during the week. Br. Stefan Acatrinei, OFMConv, spoke on the “Canticle of Creatures,” and Br. Pedro Zitha, OFM, presented on “Servant Leadership; Spiritual Assistance and JPIC; and JPIC Spirituality.” The following day, there was a presentation by Mark Aimazan, YouFra Coordinator for Asia-Oceania and Africa, on the “Role of OFS and Sense of Belonging and Co-responsibility in OFS and YouFra; YouFra Activities in the Philipines, Vietnam, Taiwan,” as well as “Vocation Development and Communications; Vocation Promotion in Different National Fraternities.”
On the last day 29 October, there was the wrap up and the participants nominated Vietnam and South Korea to be the next hosting countries in 2028, followed by the closing Holy Mass celebrated by Msgr. Nicholas Stephen. This was then followed by the farewell message and thanks from the Minister General Tibor Kauser, OFS and the departure of all participants.
Source: OFM
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