Chronicle: 8 September 2025

8TH SEPTEMBER 2025: DAY 7 OF THE ORDINARY GENERAL CHAPTER

Following the Sunday rest in which the chapter members also participated in the canonization of Saints Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati at Saint Peter’s Square, the Ordinary General Chapter resumed for activities of the Seventh Day.

The day began with the celebration of the Holy Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary presided over by P. Felix Usman. In his homily, P. Felix emphasized the grace that Mary enjoyed, making her a turning point in the genealogy of Jesus and thus of our salvation history. Mary was also a woman of great interiority, pondering everything in her heart. Also, her humble obedience heralded the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Grace, interiority and humility which characterized the life of Mary, are all values that Augustine cherished. These are values we must also cherish especially in these days of our preparation to elect a new prior general for our Order.

After the mass the brothers proceeded to have their breakfast, resuming the general assembly at 09:30 am. The assembly divided into regional groups to hold conversations on the imminent election of a new prior general.

The general assembly resumed at 11:15 am. An opportunity was introduced to listen to the concerns and proposals arising from the regional conversations. The concerns related to the lack of knowledge many had about the potential candidates and their vision for the future of the Order, which led to discussions about the possibility of the main candidates presenting themselves and their vision for the Order.

After a proposal to review the program of the chapter was jettisoned, the outgoing prior general, P. Alejandro Antón Moral, handed over the seal of authority to the president of the Chapter, P. Joseph Farrell. With this, his term in office came to an end and the seat of the prior general was declared vacant.
An invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the chapter members was made by singing the song, Veni Creator. After this, the secretary general, P. Pasquale di Lernia, read the requirements for the office of the Prior General, according to the provisions of the constitutions, n. 431. In addition, the secretary general also read out the number requirement necessary to elect the prior general, namely, a 3/5 of the votes.
The first round of voting did not see any of the candidates arrive at the 3/5 majority necessary to produce a new General. Thus, the friars proceeded with the Midday prayers and went for a Lunch Break.

After the Lunch break and a brief rest, the friars returned to the conference hall at 16:00 pm for the second round of voting, which also saw no candidate emerge with the required majority. Then a third round of voting commenced, which ended similarly without producing the required majority. With this, the process of voting was suspended, to be resumed after 24 hours in accordance with the requirements of the Constitutions. Thus the program of the day came to a close, to resume at 09:30 am of the following day.