The Holy Father Pope Francis received the General Chapter of the Order of Capuchin Friars Minor in an audience on August 31, 2024. During the meeting, he encouraged these followers of St. Francis to “fraternity, availability, and commitment to peace.” The Pope warned this mendicant order, which consists of some 10,500 friars in over 100 countries around the world, against the temptation to put “economic resources, human calculations, or other such realities” at the center of their attention.
“As Capuchins, you are known for being ready to go where no one else wants to, and that is a very good thing,” said the Argentine pontiff.
The Holy Father is particularly devoted to Franciscan spirituality, to the point of having chosen to take the name of Francis on the evening of his election to the See of Peter on March 13, 2013.
A confessor and cardinal who “forgives everything”
At the start of the audience, the Pope also recalled his appreciation for a 97-year-old Argentinian Capuchin friar, whom he made a cardinal in 2023: Fr. Luis Dri.
“He forgives everything!” said Francis enthusiastically, appreciatively recognizing priests who exercise the ministry of mercy generously in the Confessional.
The Holy Father has spoken publicly of this priest a number of times. Vatican News gave a round-up of some of these accounts, as well as some thoughts from the Capuchin cardinal himself.
The report quotes the Pope:
"I remember a great confessor, a Capuchin father, who exercised his ministry in Buenos Aires. Once he came to meet me, he wanted to talk. He said to me: 'I come to ask you for help. I always have so many people in front of the confessional, people of all kinds, humble and less humble, but also many priests.... I forgive a lot, and sometimes a scruple comes over me, the scruple of having forgiven too much.'"
"We talked about mercy, and I asked him what he did when he felt that scruple. He answered me in this way: 'I go to our little chapel, in front of the tabernacle and say to Jesus: 'Lord, forgive me because I have forgiven too much. But it was you who gave me the bad example!'"
"This, I will never forget. When a priest lives mercy on himself like this, he can give it to others."
The cardinal explained that his sense of mercy is deeply rooted in him.
"I must thank the Pope very much for this trust he has placed in me, because I do not deserve it. I am not a person, a priest, a friar, who has done studies, I have no doctorate, I have nothing. But life has taught me a lot, life has marked me, and since I was born very poor, I feel I must always have a word of mercy, of help, of closeness, for anyone who comes here. No one should leave thinking they have not been understood or despised or rejected."
Who are the Capuchins?
This branch of the Franciscan family was born around 1525. This year, 173 of its friars gathered in Rome for their general chapter. The Holy Father warned them to see economic resources “always as means and never as ends.” The priority, he continued, “must be people, those to whom the Lord sends you and those he has given you to live with.”
In a world “marked by conflicts and prejudice, where indifference and selfishness seem to prevail over openness, respect and sharing,” the Pope called the Capuchins to be “simple, free and available, ready to leave everything behind and to go wherever the Lord calls you, without seeking recognition.”
Finally, Francis emphasized that the history of their order has made Capuchins “expert peacemakers.” He encouraged them on this path, reminding them of a “fundamental condition: to be, in Christ, neighbors to all, especially the poor, the outcast and the despairing, none excluded.”
