If the Custody Assembly in July was the breath before the plunge, then our Custody Chapter, held from 1 to 5 September 2025 in Singapore, was the deep dive – a moment when prayer turned into purpose, reflection into resolution, and fraternity into forward movement. Over those five days, 33 friars of the Custody of St Anthony (Malaysia–Singapore–Brunei) gathered once again, this time to discern not merely what God has been doing among us, but what He calls us to become.
We began each day as Franciscans must with the rhythm of prayer. Lauds, Eucharist, and Vespers held the days together like the golden thread that binds a tapestry. Around these sacred hours, our discussions, discernments, and decisions unfolded.
A significant portion of our time was devoted to group dynamics and reflection on the quality of our fraternal life. We revisited questions raised in July: What nourishes our brotherhood? What strains it? How might we live more faithfully the simplicity, humility, and mutual care that St Francis envisioned?
We spoke from lived experience, sharing the everyday realities of running parishes in Malaysia and Singapore – the joys of serving people, the exhaustion of administrative duties, and the delicate balancing act between ministry and fraternal life. In the process, we recognised that our collective vitality depends not only on doing more, but also on discerning what must be pruned with care, and what perhaps must be cut away altogether, so that new life might emerge.
Presiding over the Chapter was Brother Ferdinand van der Reijken, our Visitator General from the Netherlands, whose calm wisdom and quiet attentiveness created space for truth to surface. In his opening address, he reminded us that discernment is not a race to conclusions, but a pilgrimage of listening – to God, to one another, and to the signs of the times.
Under his guidance, the Custody Chapter proceeded to elect new leadership. The announcement of candidates for Custos marked a solemn moment of communal trust. Ballots followed for the Vicar and Custody Council members, all carried out in prayerful transparency. When the new leadership team was confirmed, a deep silence of peace settled over the room. It was the sound of brothers entrusting one another anew to the grace of God’s guidance.
Guided once again by our facilitator, Aaron Maniam, we undertook a patient and honest exploration of the Custody’s strengths and challenges, identifying the opportunities and obstacles that might shape the next three years. Out of these conversations came resolutions and recommendations that are living signposts for a fraternity on the move.
Two of the most significant were:
- A call to strengthen our fraternal presence in Malaysia and Singapore, including courageous discernment of whether to suspend or close certain houses, or to invite friars from other entities for renewed vitality.
- A shared commitment for the Custody to deepen its ownership of the Franciscan charism – through devotions to St Anthony, the Blessing of Animals, and the Liturgy of the Word, seen not as mere traditions but as evangelising encounters that embody our identity.
These discussions were both administrative and theological as for Franciscans, governance is an act of fraternity, leadership a form of service, and structure a vessel for grace.
As our facilitator Aaron reminded us in the closing session, “The Custody Chapter’s true fruit lies not in documents, but in decisions made anew every morning.” He then invited each friar to reflect on two deceptively simple questions:
- What is one thing I have learned during this Chapter that I will put into practice in the coming months?
- What is one personal commitment I make to build on this moment in our Chapter’s history, and to help our fraternity manage its polarities in the best possible way?
It was a fitting close – for no Chapter is truly complete until its insights are embodied in life. Around the room, heads bowed and pens hovered. Some friars wrote quickly; others lingered in quiet thought. What united us was the shared awareness that we stood at another threshold – invited to translate vision into vitality, policy into presence, and fraternity into flesh.
As the friars returned to their friaries and ministries, there was a sense that something had shifted. The Chapter had reawakened a shared memory of who we are called to be – brothers to one another, and instruments of hope to a world in pain.
In the words of St Francis, “Let us begin again, for up to now we have done little.” That ancient invitation feels as fresh today as it did eight centuries ago. The world has changed beyond measure, yet the call remains the same: to live the Gospel, simply and joyfully, together.
For the Custody of St Anthony, the next three years will undoubtedly bring new challenges – changing demographics, shifting ministries, the ever-present tension between prayer and action. May God, who began this good work among us, bring it to fulfilment – in the laughter shared at table, in the silence of prayer, in the hands that bless, and in the hearts that continue to hope.
By Friar Aiden Peter Jr OFM
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