The request Christ made from the crucifix to St Francis 800 years ago came up repeatedly at the 6th Asia-Oceania OFS-YouFra Congress in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. The simple phrase – Go and repair my Church – resonated with the Secular Franciscans (OFS) brothers and sisters of Asia and Oceania as they sought greater clarity and depth in their identity and mission.
In the Holy Mass that opened the congress, Kota Kinabalu Archbishop John Wong told all gathered that it is important to invert “Go and repair my Church”, to begin with “church” as a community of believers that needs constant conversion, then “repairing” oneself through repentance, and finally “go” and share what you have received from the Lord.
Over the six days, 23-29 October 2025, the 72 Franciscans (61 Seculars and 11 Clergy/Religious) spoke the common language of love and fraternity, despite hailing from several countries, including Australia, Korea, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Timor Leste, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
Fraternity is the fundamental call for all Franciscans – Secular and Religious. This is responding to Jesus’ call for all his disciples to be in communion, “that they may be one” (John 17:21) and this deep union is coming from Jesus’ acknowledgement that “the Father and I are one” (John 10:30).
Collective discernment saw the Congress members unanimously voting to conduct formation for leadership – local councils, ministers and formators – to help them understand what they have been called to do and to do it in a Christian and Franciscan way.
Whilst formation was a priority during the congress, other areas of importance discussed included Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and vocation promotion. Much was said about engaging youths and YouFra in particular. The many entities seriously considering establishing a YouFra fraternity had the chance to learn from the rich experience of entities like Philippines and Vietnam which have YouFra numbering in the thousands.
With the Asia-Oceania delegates were Tibor Kauser OFS General Minister and Francis Park OFS Asia-Oceania Councillor, who helped steer the direction of the conversations and provided clarity on many matters. Tibor Kauser spoke of what it means to repair the Church, “Repair a fraternal life within self and others – but avoid repairing what is not even broken”. He also spoke about the role of the OFS fraternal animator for YouFra and the sense of belonging and responsibility in OFS and YouFra.
If you feel an inner prompting to explore the Secular Franciscan Order, do reach out to Singapore National Minister Janet Lim OFS (janetsfo@gmail.com) or Malaysia National Minister Marina Anjuman OFS (marinaanjuman7284@gmail.com).
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