The Franciscan Youth:
A Franciscan Vocational Journey

1. Introduction
   For whom this document is meant

   1. This document is meant for all animators of Franciscan Youth fraternities: Councils of Franciscan Youth fraternities, those responsible for formation, fraternal animator (secular), pastoral animator (religious brother or sister), spiritual assistant (priest).
      
      Note of the translator: The term Fraternity is used throughout this document in an inclusive sense, indicating a community of sisters and brothers united in Christ, the firstborn, sons and daughters of the same Father in heaven
      Purpose of the document

   2. We want to clarify in general terms the identity of the Franciscan Youth; to give some guidelines and suggestions for the animation and formation of the Franciscan Youth; to align criteria for the work of animating the Franciscan Youth.

   3. What the document is not meant to be
      However, we do not intend to give new norms. On the contrary, we only want to underline what is already stated in the General Constitutions of the SFO ( Const. ) in articles 96 and 97 and in the Conclusions of the General Chapter of the SFO, held in Mexico in 1993 ( ChapMex ). Furthermore, we do not want to impose a uniform mould on all Franciscan Youth groups, but to encourage unity in diversity.

2. What is the Franciscan Youth?

   1. Spiritual characteristics

      1. The Franciscan Youth,... is formed by those young people... ( Const. 96,2).
         The Franciscan Youth (YOUFRA) is formed by young people, which means that it is intended to be a specific period of life, limited to youth, which starts at the beginning of adolescence and ends upon reaching personal maturity.

      2. ... who feel called by the Holy Spirit to... deepen their own vocation... ( Const. 96,2).
         Franciscan Youth engage in a vocational journey, which presupposes an initial call developing itself unto a lasting choice of life. The call solicits a personal answer from the young, confirmed by a personal pledge before God and in the presence of the brothers and sisters.

      3. ... to share the experience of the Christian life in fraternity... ( Const. 96,2).
         The Franciscan Youth is an experience of fraternity, that is a community of young believers, children of the one Father, sharing their faith on the basis of love. This fraternity forms part of the ecclesial community in which it lives and works.

      4. ... in the light of the message of St Francis of Assisi , deepening their own vocation within the context of the Secular Franciscan Order ( Const. 96,2).
         The Franciscan Youth journeys in the light of the message of Saint Francis of Assisi , that is, it discovers and progressively assimilates this life-project and its values. The Franciscan Youth belongs to the franciscan family as an integral part of the SFO and accepts the Rule of the SFO as a document of inspiration. It requests spiritual, pastoral and fraternal assistance from the religious Superiors and from the competent secular franciscan leaders.

   2. Organizational characteristics

      1. The Franciscan Youth has a specific organization... ( Const. 96,5).
         The Franciscan Youth has its own organization, which can be specified in its Statutes. It has is own fraternities, its own leaders at all levels and its own spiritual and fraternal assistence.

      2. ... methods of formation and teaching methods adequate for the needs of the world of youth... ( Const. 96,5).
         The Franciscan Youth adapts itself to the needs of the world of youth in its methods and contents of formation. This formation is organized in such a way that the young person develops mature vocational choices and enters fully into the world where she or he lives.

      3. ... according to the existing realities in the various countries ( Const. 96,5).
         The Franciscan Youth is present in many countries and constitutes an extremely varied reality defying uniformity. The socio-cultural situation determines what it is to be young, what responsibilities young people can assume and what possibilities of formation and action are open to them.

   3. Relationship Franciscan Youth -- SFO

      1. The Franciscan Youth, as understood by these Constitutions and in so far as the SFO considers itself to be particularly responsible for it... ( Const. 96,2).
         The Franciscan Youth presupposes a special commitment of the SFO as a part of its own pastoral and vocational youth work. For this reason the SFO needs to accompany the youth, to help them develop a mature vocation and to introduce them into the life of the fraternity.

      2. The members of the Franciscan Youth consider the Rule of the SFO as an inspirational document... ( Const. 96,3).
         The Franciscan Youth accepts the Rule of the SFO as a document of inspiration for the growth of its own christian and franciscan vocation, either individually or in a group. The relations between the Franciscan Youth and the SFO should be marked by a reciprocal life-giving communion. For this reason, the vocational journey of the Franciscan Youth leads generally, but not necessarily, to the SFO ( ChapMex ).

      3. The Franciscan Youth, as a component of the Franciscan Family... ( Const. 96,6).
         The Franciscan Youth belongs to the franciscan family as an integral part of the SFO, and will therefore be accompanied and animated by secular Franciscans. In addition, its leaders at higher levels are to be professed Secular Franciscan Youth (see Const. 97,2).

3. Vocational journey

   1. The Young Franciscans deepen their personal vocation in the light of the message of Saint Francis by an itinery of progressive formation. The whole itinery will be focusing on vocational discernment.
      This vocational journey will normally consist of the following periods:

      1. Initiation

         1. This is a period of seeking, of making contact, of approaching, of welcome, which ends with the decision to begin the period of formation for the pledge in the Franciscan Youth.
            For the young person this is the first experience of the Franciscan Youth, centering on the question what to do in the group and what it is all about. From its side, the Franciscan Youth informs the young person about ideals and requirements, about the method and style characterizing the Franciscan Youth.
            The length of this period depends on the personal situation of each candidate and on the Franciscan Youth fraternity. If appropriate, the national Statutes can determine the length of this period, e.g. between three and six months, taking into account the situation of youth coming from other groups of Franciscan youth or adolescents.
            The minimun age to enter the Franciscan Youth will depend on the development of the individual young person and on the cultural situation. One should, however, keep in mind that the Franciscan Youth is not for children. If appropriate, the national Statutes can determine the minimum age to enter the Franciscan Youth, e.g. between 14 and 17 years.

      2. Formation for the pledge in the Franciscan Youth

         1. This is a period of formation and full integration of the candidates into the life of the youth fraternity. At the end of this period, they confirm this option with a personal pledge before God and in the presence of the brothers and sisters.
            For the young person this is the time to discover and to live the Gospel according to the example of Saint Francis from within this specific youth fraternity. This requires always a willingness and constancy to confront one's own life with the Gospel, to acquire progressively Franciscan values, lived in a spirit of dedication and of service to others. From its side, the Franciscan Youth fraternity accompanies the young person on this journey of searching and growing in the spirit.
            The national Statutes of the Franciscan Youth can establish the minimum length of this period, which cannot be less than one year. If it seems appropriate, they can also determine the maximum length of this formation for the pledge in the Franciscan Youth.
            It belongs to the local Council of the Franciscan Youth to admit the candidates to the pledge, according to the provisions established in the national Statutes.

      3. Deepening one's vocation

         1. This is a period of verification of the vocation, in which the young person grasps and deepens the values composing secular franciscan spirituality and its mission in the Church and in society. It comes to a conclusion at the moment the young person makes adult life choices.
            For the young person this is the moment to assimilate the inspiration of the SFO Rule and to translate it into daily life, in order to verify her or his real vocation in life and which answer to give to God's call. It entails lived experiences of communion and participation with the brothers and sisters in the context of the Franciscan Family and experiences of mission and service in the Church and in society. From its side, the fraternity helps the young person to clarify and discern which vocation better responds to one's own capacities and desires.
            This period is temporary and cannot be prolonged indifinitively for the simple fact that the period of initial life choices, the stage of discernment, is only a passing moment in the life of any person. At the point where the young adult takes a definitive choice, he or she has to leave the Franciscan Youth. The maximum age to leave the Franciscan Youth depends on the individual and social situation of the person, e.g. marriage, completion of professional preparation, acceptance of a definitive job, fundamental life choices. The national Statutes must determine the maximum age of belonging to the Franciscan Youth, e.g. between 25 and 30 years.

4. Relation Franciscan Youth - SFO

   1. Passing over to the SFO

      1. The members of the Franciscan Youth who wish to make profession in the SFO should satisfy the requirements of the Rule, the Constitutions and the Ritual of the SFO ( Const. 96,4).
         The vocational journey of the Franciscan Youth generally, but not necessarily, leads to the SFO. For this reason, the franciscan formation received in the Franciscan Youth by a young person who wants to enter the SFO can be considered valid for the period of initiation (postulancy) in the SFO. The period of initial formation (novitiate) in the SFO has to be lived under the responsibility of the Council of the SFO Fraternity which the young person wants to enter, in conformity with the Rule and the Constitutions of the SFO ( ChapMex ).

   2. Simultaneous belonging to Franciscan Youth and SFO

      1. Because of the continuity of the vocational journey from the Franciscan Youth towards the SFO, the profession in the SFO does not necessarily exclude the young person from the Franciscan Youth fraternity. The young person, who by profession in the SFO accepts the Rule as a life-project, can continue this journey together with the brothers and sisters of the Franciscan Youth, who take that same rule as a source of inspiration.
         Various reasons can recommend that the young person be simultaneously active member of both fraternities: the Franciscan Youth fraternity and the SFO fraternity. It might be that the Franciscan Youth fraternity needs the contribution of the young professed to animate the other youth, either as a leader in the Franciscan Youth fraternity or as a simple active member.
         It is in any case important that the young professed actively participates in both fraternities, even when, in accord with the SFO Council, these activities refer in preference to the Franciscan Youth.

   3. Animation of the Franciscan Youth

      1. The SFO will seek the most appropriate means to promote the vitality and the spreading of the Franciscan Youth. It will stand by the youth to encourage them and to procure the means which can help them to progress in their journey of human and spiritual growth ( Const. 97,1).

      2. These means will vary according to the situations, but one of the most important means will always be a living contact with the SFO fraternity. Therefore, local fraternities should create space for welcoming young people into the dynamics of the meetings and for giving young people specific tasks in the fraternity. It is equally important that the meetings of the SFO fraternity be flexible in their organization, by a more creative use of the possibility to form specific sections or groups inside the SFO fraternity ( ChapMex ).

      3. Another indispensable means of animating Franciscan Youth is the direct accompaniment by capable members of the SFO. The Constitutions of the SFO contemplate fraternal assistance to the Franciscan Youth and the presence of an SFO representative in the councils of the Franciscan Youth at all levels. Normally, even if not necessarily, the SFO representative in the Franciscan Youth council will also be the fraternal animator of the Franciscan Youth.

      4. Equally indispensable is the animation and spiritual assistance of the Franciscan Youth by franciscan religious. The Franciscan Youth, as a component of the Franciscan Family, needs spiritual assistance in order to guarantee its fidelity to the franciscan charism, its communion with the Church and its union with the Franciscan Family ( Const. 85,2). The appointment of spiritual assistants and animators of the Franciscan Youth belongs to the competent Franciscan major superior, in analogy to what is established by the Statutes for spiritual and pastoral assistance to the SFO (see Stat. Assist. 6,2; 18). As far as possible, the service of animation to the Franciscan Youth and to the SFO should be rendered by the same person, and in any case, in close cooperation between the respective animators and assistants.

      5. At times the young prefer certain animators, who easily understand their problems. This natural facility of an animator, however, can also constitute a very subtle temptation of "-command-", to appropiate power for oneself and to dominate the young. Not without reason Francis often exhorts us to expropriate ourselves from all things to be "-subject to all human creatures for the love of God-". All the good which the Lord operates through the animators should not be retained, but put at the humble service of the young.

5. Form and content of formation

   1. The Franciscan Youth has specific... methods of formation, and teaching methods adequate for the needs of the world of youth... ( Const. 96,5).
      To be adequate for the needs of the world of youth, the methods of formation must be flexible in their form and content. Youth trends in all countries change continuously and develop rapidly. A strong sense of one's own identity will be important to discern what needs to be changed and what would be only following some fad or fashion.

   2. ... according to the existing realities in the various countries ( Const. 96,5).
      Existing realities in various countries also present a factor of diversity in the form and content of formation. On the other hand, this diversity should never invalidate the basic unity of formation criteria. To reach its goals, this formation should incorporate human, Christian and Franciscan aspects.

6. Franciscan Youth organization

   1. The local fraternity

      1. The local fraternity is the constitutive cell of the Franciscan Youth and the context in which the young share their experience of our Christian life in fraternity, in the light of the message of St. Francis of Assisi . The fraternity should meet frequently, e.g. each week, to live together its relationship with God and with the brothers and sisters. It is important that the meetings integrate moments of prayer and formation with elements of action and recreation. The meetings should be organized in such a way as to favour the insertion of the Franciscan Youth fraternity into the Franciscan Family and into the local Church.

      2. The official recognition of the local fraternity of the Franciscan Youth belongs to the Franciscan Youth council of a higher level in collaboration with the council of the local SFO fraternity, i.e. the two councils with whom the new Franciscan Youth fraternity will be in relation. In absence of structures of the Franciscan Youth, the interested SFO councils should provide. The competent religious superior from whom spiritual assistance is to be requested, should be informed.

      3. The local fraternity is animated and guided by a council of at least three members, elected, for a limited period, by and from among the members of that fraternity who have made their pledge in the Franciscan Youth. The representative of the SFO and the spiritual animator or assistant are also members of the Council. It belongs to the local Council of the Franciscan Youth to admit candidates to the formation for the pledge in the Franciscan Youth and, after completing the formation, to the pledge itself.

   2. The regional fraternity

      1. If deemed appropriate, the national Statutes of the Franciscan Youth can determine whether regional fraternities of the Franciscan Youth in the country should exist and how they should be established. In such a case, these Statutes should also determine the composition and competencies of the regional Chapter and Council.

   3. The national fraternity

      1. The national fraternity of the Franciscan Youth is the organic union of all local Franciscan Youth fraternities, existing in the territory of the corresponding national fraternity of the SFO. The official recognition of new national fraternities of the Franciscan Youth belongs to the Presidency of the International Council of the SFO, after consultation and in collaboration with the corresponding national Council of the SFO.
         The national fraternity of the Franciscan Youth can draft its own Statutes, which should be presented by the National Council of the SFO to the Presidency of the International Council SFO, for approval ( Const. 96,5).

7. Other franciscan youth groups

   1. Specific properties of the Franciscan Youth

      1. In the field of youth work, we find young people attracted to Saint Francis, who want to deepen their franciscan vocation. To them we should propose the options of the form of life of Franciscan Youth and of the SFO, fully respecting the needs of the world of youth with its crises, problems and questions.

      2. Some essential elements of their vocational journey are:
         -- a feeling of being called by the Holy Spirit to live in fraternity the experience of Christian life;
         -- a progressive discovering of Saint Francis, of his life-project and his values;
         -- an ecclesial and social presence, as a condition to living concrete experiences of apostolate ( ChapMex ).
         34. The Franciscan Youth, as meant by the SFO General Constitutions, differentiates itself from other groups of young franciscans by:
         -- its acceptance of the Rule of the SFO as a document of inspiration;
         -- the personal and formal commitment taken before God and the fraternity to live out this inspiration;
         -- its belonging to the Franciscan family as an integral part of the SFO;
         -- its being accompanied and animated by Secular Franciscans;
         -- its own organizational structure and specific methods of formation, in a vocational journey which generally, but not necessarily, leads to the SFO;
         -- its own national Statutes, approved by the CIOFS Presidency, which regulate the conditions of belonging to the Franciscan Youth ( ChapMex).

   2. Groups of children and youngsters

      1. Already for a long time there exist, in the context of the Franciscan Family, groups of youngsters or of children, who are called Heralds, Cordbearers, Franciscan Children, Little Flowers, Troubadours, Micro-Franciscan Youth, Mini-Franciscan Youth, etc. Many of these groups are animated by members of the Franciscan Youth or by secular or religious Franciscans. It is at times easier to start and to animate groups of children, mostly of Secular Franciscans, than groups of adolescents or youth.

      2. The life of these groups will be very much linked to the local fraternity of the SFO and its development will depend heavely on the presence of suited animators. In any case it is important that the national councils of the SFO and the Franciscan Youth, in collaboration with interested religious, coordinate this service of animation and prepare didactic material in support of these groups (cf. Const. 25).
          

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