Archives: Spiritual Reflections

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures

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As we commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures, we cannot overlook one of the most challenging and profoundly liberating verses of Saint Francis:

“Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death, from whom no living man can escape.”

In the final days of his life at the Portiuncula, Francis of Assisi did not flee from the fragility of his body or the nearness of death. On the contrary, he embraced it as part of the fabric of creation and as the gateway to the ultimate encounter with God. There, lying naked on the ground, he asked to be placed upon the earth so that he might fully experience his littleness and his complete trust in the Father.

Francis and His Witness

All of Francis’ life was a journey of letting go: surrendering what seemed indispensable in order to discover that God alone suffices. That path of dispossession reached its fulfillment in his encounter with death, when he welcomed it not as an enemy but as a sister who would lead him to the embrace of Christ.

Calling death “sister” reveals the mystery of radical fraternity: even death, often feared and rejected, has a place within God’s loving design. For Francis, death was not the end but the light of the paschal passage into life with God.

A Call for Our Time

In a world scarred by wars, violence, exclusion, and ecological crises, Francis reminds us that death does not have the last word. To accept it as sister does not mean to glorify suffering, but rather to live reconciled with our human limits, to open ourselves to the hope of resurrection, and to learn to cherish life in all its forms.

The Franciscan conviction is that death opens the horizon of the final encounter with the Lord. From this perspective, we are invited to live simply, to reconcile with creation and with one another, and to commit ourselves to defending human dignity and the integrity of the planet—knowing that every step toward justice and fraternity prepares our hearts for eternity.

Conclusion

To celebrate 800 years of the Canticle is also to learn with Francis to say, without fear:

“Welcome, Sister Death, for in you is fulfilled the promise of Love that never dies.”

May this anniversary inspire Franciscans International to continue working for a world where life is respected, dignity is upheld, and death is not the fruit of violence or injustice, but the serene passage into the fullness of God.

– By Brother José Eduardo Jazo Tarín TOR

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures

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Praised be You my Lord through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, producing varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

– St. Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures

These words from the Canticle of the Creatures – or the Canticle of Brother Sun – composed by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225-26 reveal his understanding of a universe created in and for love, one that is deeply interpersonal, interrelated, interconnected, integral. As Pope Francis, reflecting on the origin and meaning of creation, and inspired by St. Francis’ Canticle, reminds us: “the universe did not emerge as the result of an arbitrary omnipotence, a show of force or a desire for self-assertion. Creation is the order of love. God’s love is the fundamental moving force in all created things” (Laudato SI: 77).

When reflecting on Mother Sister Earth, we recognize the planet as a single, complex, interconnected system. This integral perspective recognizes the intricate relationships between Earth’s physical components (geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere), its living organisms (biosphere), and humanity’s powerful and often damaging impact. Earth provides fundamental resources essential for all life: a continuous flow of energy source; liquid water; a stable and suitable atmosphere with vital gases; organic compounds and nutrients; moderate temperatures; and vital chemical ingredients. Mother Sister Earth also provides us with a magnetic field  that shields life from harmful solar radiation, and plate tectonics and seasons that contribute to the planet’s habitability. Seen in this way, the Earth is a living organism that provides conditions necessary for the survival of all of life’s inhabitants.

St. Francis’ breaks new ground within Western Christianity where he speaks about Sister Mother Earth bearing a double role of both sustaining and governing all members of the Earth community. First, St. Francis recognizes personality and agency within all creatures – “Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Sister Earth. But St. Francis goes one step further. According to Christiana Garzena, “The Franciscan revolution consists in the affirmation that the earth sustains and governs…Biblical exegesis prior to Francis argued that human beings must dominate the earth…He is the first person to challenge this” (see Jacques Delarun, Il Cantico di Frate Sole, Assisi, Biblioteca Francescana, 2015:55). It is not the mission of human beings to control, dominate, disfigure, destroy, and discard whatever we find useful within the natural world. We are called by God and St. Francis to recognize our place as co-creatures and fellow sojourners with Sister Mother Earth who, ultimately, provides all we need to survive.

If there are any doubts about who governs whom, we have only to look to increasingly violent and destructive weather events – heatwaves, droughts, floods, wildfires, hurricanes, etc. – nature’s way of reminding us that we are, in fact, not the masters and gods of our own destiny. We are dependent, interdependent, co-responsible partners with all of creation, called to respond to our specific vocation to love, respect, and care for all members of the Earth community, non-human and human. When we accept the nature of our identity as dependent and interdependent creatures; when we recognize our Sister Mother Earth and all of creation are graced with personality and agency; when we open our lives to a life-long process of ‘ecological conversion’; we will find ourselves on the road to authentic wisdom, a wisdom that is deeply spiritual but also one that calls for urgent, concrete, united efforts to address the drivers of climate change and threats to biodiversity and to the future existence of countless millions of human beings and innumerable other life forms (cf. Pope Francis, Laudate Deum; Franciscans International, The Right to a Healthy Environment).

But how might the way of wisdom lead us to a new relationship with creation. Pope Francis, in Querida Amazonia (42), reflects on the many global indigenous cultures that continue to follow a wisdom approach in their relationship with creation. He writes: “The wisdom of the original peoples of the Amazon region “inspires care and respect for creation, with a clear consciousness of its limits, and prohibits its abuse. To abuse nature is to abuse our ancestors, our brothers and sisters, creation and the Creator, and to mortgage the future.” For St. Francis and Pope Francis, this relational way of wisdom wherein all members of creation are recognized as brothers and sisters  is the only path capable of restoring right relationship and full communion with God, with one another, and with all of creation. If we follow this path, allowing an ecological conversion to take root within us, we will find ourselves capable of recognizing the “cry of the earth [and the] cry of poor [brothers and sisters] (Laudato Si’:49) and our responsibility to respond.

Let us unite in prayer and action. May our efforts leading up to and following the 30^th meeting of the UN conference on climate change (COP-30) in Belem, Brazil in November 2025 serve to promote a deep and lasting ecological conversion, and the inauguration of a process of healing and restoration. Let us embrace our vocation and mission to give praise to God through love and care for all of creation. May our Sister Mother Earth teach us the way of wisdom, unity and harmony. Laudato Si’, o mi Signore! Praise be You, my Lord!

– By Brother Michael A. Perry OFM

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures

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As Franciscans, we are invited to take extra care of our universe and all that exists in it. “God saw that all He had made was very good,….”, (Gen.1:31) therefore we must preserve and conserve the goodness that He has created in every living creature.

– By Sister Charity-Lydia K. Nkandu SFMA

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures

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“Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind,
and through the air, cloudy and serene,
and every kind of weather,
through which You give sustenance to Your creatures.” 
— Saint Francis of Assisi

In his Canticle of the Creatures, St. Francis saw no separation between spirit and soil, heaven and earth, breath and being. He called the wind “Brother,” recognizing in its unseen currents the presence of God — wild, free, and sustaining.

Wind is the movement of air, and air is the breath of life. It is the invisible gift we so often overlook. From the first breath we take to our last, we are held in the embrace of Brother Wind — carried, comforted, and sustained. In the book of Genesis, it is God who breathes life into humanity. And in the Gospel of John, Jesus likens the Spirit of God to the wind — moving where it will, felt but not seen, always a mystery.

Air surrounds us, whether cloudy or serene, turbulent or still. It teaches us that God’s presence does not depend on clarity or calm. Even in stormy moments, the Spirit is always moving — stirring what has grown stagnant, sweeping away what no longer serves, and inviting us into freedom.

Saint Francis did not praise the wind because it was pleasant or predictable. He praised it because it served God’s purpose. So too it is with our lives. We are called not to control the wind but to trust the One who sends it. To let our hearts be moved, our breath be sacred, and our spirits be stirred by the Holy Mystery in all things.

Let us take a moment, now, to breathe deeply. To step outside and feel the wind on our face, to give thanks for the unseen gifts that sustain us. Let us listen for the Spirit in the rustling leaves, the shifting skies, and the quiet breath that fills our lungs.

Prayer
“Holy God, may we praise You through Brother Wind,
who reminds us of Your Spirit — unseen, yet always present.
Teach us to live in harmony with all creation,
and to recognize in every breath a reason to give thanks. Amen.”

Reflection Question
When was the last time you paused to feel the wind or notice your breath? In what ways might the Spirit of God be gently moving in your life, even if you cannot see it?

By Carolyn D. Townes OFS

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures

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Fire is at once dangerous and playful.

It is useful and destructive.

Necessary and yet feared.

Tamed by careful precautions, lest it burst out of our control.

Its heat transforms the raw materials of root or fish or animal flesh into food we can eat and which sustains us.

Its heat warms us when it is cold, and protects us at night from predators.

Yet its danger lurks ready to jump out unless we are continually vigilant.

Its destructive power can destroy whole forests, but there are trees whose seeds need the heat of fire before they can germinate.   

Many creation stories from many cultures round the world tell of fire being obtained by trickery or theft from the ancient gods or by heroic journeys to far off and dangerous places.

Such stories tell us to respect nature and the divine.

They tell of the value of community and cooperation in achieving common goals.

And they tell of the significance of courage and intelligence in the face of adversity.

Francis of Assisi in his Canticle of the Creatures addresses fire as Brother.

Praised be You, my Lord,
through Brother fire,
through whom You light the night,
and he is beautiful and playful
and robust and strong.  

In Francis’s vision, fire was no longer something capricious or without purpose. He praises God through it and for it. It has a place in the beautiful order of God’s creation. He even had no fear of the red hot poker used in surgery on his eyes, trusting that as he had respected fire and been gentle with it, so it would be gentle with him.

We pray for our use and relationship with this precious gift from God.

– Br. Christopher John SSF

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800-year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures. 

As we face the intensifying effects of climate change, 2025 offers a sacred opportunity for reflection, recommitment, and prophetic action. This year, the Franciscan family around the world marks three deeply connected milestones: the 800th anniversary of The Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis of Assisi, the 10th anniversary of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, and Earth Day 2025. These anniversaries are more than dates, they are a call to reawaken our Franciscan spirit of ecological justice and deepen our care for our common home. 

In 1225, St. Francis composed The Canticle of the Creatures, praising God through Brother Sun, Sister Moon, and all elements of creation (Water, earth, air, and fire). Even in suffering, Francis saw the world as a sacred communion of life. Today, his vision challenges us to move beyond domination and consumption, toward kinship and reverence, caring for Mother Earth. “Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us…” These words are not only beautiful, but they are also a deeply prophetic insight to ecological justice.  

Pope Francis echoed this spirit in Laudato Si’, which continues to inspire many people since its release in 2015. This encyclical remains one of the Church’s most powerful moral responses to climate and ecological crises. It reminds us that care for creation is not optional. It is at the heart of our Catholic Christian discipleship: “Living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue.” (LS 217). The Pope connects our ecological crisis to injustice and poverty. “The cry of the earth and the cry of the poor are one and the same.” (LS 49) The destruction of ecosystems, plastic pollution, and loss of biodiversity are not isolated issues. They are symptoms of a throwaway culture that treats both people and nature as casual.  

But Laudato Si’ is not just a critique. It is a call to hope and action. At the grassroots, we Franciscans are living this call every day. In Kenya, we engage schools and parishes in tree planting, clean-ups, and Laudato Si’ education. In places like the Philippines, the Solomons Islands and Latin America, our sisters and brothers are working with local communities on sustainable farming, climate resilience, and the defense of Indigenous rights. One powerful example is the JPIC Franciscan Africa- Laudato Si community center in Isinya, Kenya. This center, among the Maasai people, consists of a community water borehole, an agroecology demo farm, and other community empowerment focus programs. Rooted in Franciscan and Maasai spirituality, the center offers a living example of how climate action, cultural respect, and spiritual care can go hand in hand. It is a response not only to ecological destruction but to the marginalization of Indigenous voices in the climate conversation. 

In this journey, we walk alongside many others, including the Mother Earth Network and the Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM). LSM has mobilized Catholics around the world to embrace ecological conversion. Their support to local initiatives, training of Laudato Si’ Animators, and global advocacy campaigns complement the work of Franciscans and amplify our shared voice for the Earth and the poor. Together, we are building a global movement grounded in faith, science, and solidarity and putting Laudato Si’ to life.  

This year’s Earth Day theme, “Planet vs. Plastics”, gives us a concrete way to live out this call. Plastics are suffocating the planet and harming the most vulnerable. Inspired by Laudato Si’, we urge all Franciscan communities and people of goodwill to refuse single-use plastics, advocate for bold policy change, and raise awareness through education and prayer. At the international level, Franciscans International brings these grassroots experiences to the United Nations, where we advocate climate justice through the lens of human rights and dignity. 

In the words of Pope Francis: “Everything is connected.” (LS 91) The ecological crisis is a spiritual crisis. It invites us to a deeper conversion, a renewal of our relationship with God, with each other, and with creation. It asks us to live simply, walk humbly, and act justly.  

Let us mark these anniversaries not only with celebration, but with courage. Let us walk in the footsteps of St. Francis, embracing a spirituality that is joyful, embodied, and engaged with the cries of our time. Laudato Si’ is not just a document, it is a roadmap for a new way of being. As we look to the future, may our prayer become action, and our action become praise: “Praised be You, my Lord.” 

Brother Benedict Ayodi OFMCap

This article is part of a series of reflections written by our International Board of Directors to celebrate the 800 year anniversary of the Canticle of Creatures.

To this day the Canticle of the Creatures fascinates with its originality, its evocative creativity. In composing it, at first, Brother Francis follows the classic enumeration of the elements in the sequence with which his contemporaries are familiar: after the cosmic elements of sun, moon and stars, he mentions “brother wind” together with his allies “air, clouds, serene and all weather”; then follows “Sister Water” in the traditionally corresponding place. But immediately Brother Francis surrounds her with characteristics of particular poetic and spiritual density.  He states that Sister Water is “useful and humble and precious and chaste”. Harmonious consonance of usefulness, humility, preciousness, chastity – cadence of respectful service in favor of life in its beauty and fragility. She does not claim to be “life” herself, but without the discreet assistance of Sister Water, no form of life on our earth is possible. Her “useful, humble, precious, chaste” presence is only intended to help unfold the hidden powers of beauty in every living being. The “preciousness” of Sister Water is condensed in her generous and discreet service to beauty and life.

I would like to share a simple experience of how a small fountain, possibly the most mysterious and enchanting representation of our Sister Water, becomes an invitation to get in touch with the hidden sources of life and resilience in adolescent girls marked by unjust wounds/hurts.

The “Kawsay Network – Consecrated Life for a Society without Human Trafficking”, an initiative of Peruvian religious men and women, offers recreational and formative workshops for survivors of human trafficking and sexual violence. In one of our workshops, “Camino hacia la fuente, mi manantial interior” (path towards the wellspring, my inner fountain), we walk with teenage participants to visit a small spring in the town of Chucuito, Puno, in the surroundings of Lake Titicaca. The ascent is demanding, even though the view of the majestic lake that accompanies the path against the current gives us new strength with each step. Fascinating is the “contrast” between the splendorous Titicaca below and the humble stream that shows us the tortuous path upwards, towards its mysterious origin among the rocks at the foot of the “Atojja” mountain!

Upon arrival, we use a guiding text and shared questions to reflect on the enigmatic contrast between the multiplicity of forms of water. It is not only the small stream against the backdrop of the gigantic lake that helps us reflect on the unique essence of always being “water”; mist, waterfall, snow, ice, and ocean reveal this same precious beauty. Our girls immediately discover the parallels with their own lives: the multiplicity of our changing emotions; of our fears; reflections of abuses,  sufferings, and scorns that cannot erase the unique and indestructible dignity, the beauty, the desire to live that God has indelibly deposited in our souls.

There is a deeper truth here: the path “against the current” is not easy and the temptation to abandon the search for the “fountain” is sometimes almost insurmountable. After all, the demanding walk against the small stream running downhill turns into a symbol of the challenge to stand up to the dominant culture that frequently reduces people to objects of “use and disposal”.

On the other hand, the inner fountain, in spite of all the “contaminations” that may have accumulated during the course of the torrent, flows imperturbably faithful and clean, never tiring to offer its pure water to quench our thirst.

And there are also people from whom flow living fountains (Jn. 4, 14), from whose waters we are allowed to draw new strength! If we look around us we can identify them and be grateful for their presence. And what if we ourselves, according to the Lord’s promise, can one day become sources of hope for others because our wounds have healed and become an inspiration?

Our workshop ends with a simple exercise of silence and interiorization. We listen to the verse of the Canticle of the Creatures referring to Sister Water. Her preciousness reflects our own. Her humility is truly stronger than the destructive presumption of the abusers. Her chastity refers us to our unrenounceable dignity. Her usefulness is humble service in favor of life.

Fr. Vicente Imhof OFMConv

“God gives the people strength and blesses them with peace”

– Psalm 29:11

By Blair Matheson TSSF

We daily watch the cycle of inhumane wars and environmental abuse, leading to human suffering, conflict, and migration at unheard-of levels across the planet.

Our hearts cry for peace. However, external peace comes from places where justice prevails, where God-given strength overrules the human desire for power, control, and riches.

Internal peace is a personal place where no “one size fits all,” but a key is being open to creating space for peace to grow within oneself. Curiosity and listening help us understand what peace can become for us. This space allows for understanding and forgiveness, meaning we have listened to, acted, and embraced someone else’s perspective. This is a pathway for peace, through exploration and the willingness to be challenged.

As Franciscan servants, we face difficult challenges like anyone does. Being Franciscan is about living through Franciscan values, accompanying those who seek ways to bring justice and peace into their lives. It is about being accompanied; about being mentored by those who society pushes to the margins. In the same way as St. Francis allowed the leper to mentor him and open his eyes to the world of the excluded.

Our prayer, study, and work are woven together not only by the interconnectedness of all we do daily, but through our relationships with those we work, pray, and study with. These relationships allow us to receive from others and give into their lives and situations, working together for peace and the planet.

The “Franciscan economy” is a current topic of discussion in relation to peace. By moving community economies from buying and selling to giving and receiving, it can be a tool to build a future that is more inclusive and just. This takes the courage to change but also asks us to consider lowering our standard of living to reduce personal consumption, reducing the level of income required and our reliance on corporate and big business products.

These are some of the challenges we face to bring peace into a world seeking hope and an example of ways forward to greater equality, justice, peace, and care for the environments we live in.

The day before this World Day of Peace was the first-ever UN World Cleanup Day. Its message goes beyond environmental cleanup: to the clean-up of our world from inequality and injustice to practically bring peace to the people.

This year we are celebrating the anniversaries of two ‘sets of rules’ that are of great importance to us as a Franciscan Family. On 29 November 1223, the Rule of the Franciscan Order was approved by Pope Honorius III. On 10 December 1948, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Although both dates – 29 November and 10 December – are very close to each other on the calendar, they are also separated by just over seven centuries. And it is not only the number of years that initially distinguishes the texts. While the Franciscan Rule was written only for a very small number of men who belonged to the Catholic Church and made the conscious choice to live in community without marriage and family, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to all people who live and will live on this earth, regardless of their religious, ethnic, or national affiliation.

Another essential and fundamental difference is the character of the texts: one is a rule – that is, it establishes rules and obligations for those who accept it. The other enshrines rights that belong to every individual, by virtue of being a human being.

Yet, of course, rights and duties go hand in hand: my rights always include the duty to bestow the same right on others and to respect it.

Gospel and human dignity

So, beyond the date, what is the unifying factor of these two texts and what is their meaning to us as a Franciscan family?

If we try to boil down the respective texts to just a few key words, we can discover their commonality and the meaning and demands that they place on us as Franciscans. Those key words are ‘Gospel’ and ‘human dignity’. The Rule of the Franciscan Order is about “observing the Gospel”. The Declaration of Human Rights is about “respecting the dignity” of every person. Human dignity and the Gospel are intimately intertwined and thus fundamental to the Franciscan spirituality and way of life.

In his ‘first sermon’ in his home synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus explains what his mission is. He does this by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free …” (Luke 4:18).

With this, Jesus makes it clear to whom this good news is addressed: the ‘poor’. Today, we would perhaps also say, “those who are marginalized and discriminated against by society.” At the United Nations, we often speak about those who are “particularly vulnerable” or “at risk”.

He also makes it clear what this good news consists of: the release of the prisoners, sight for the blind, and freedom for the oppressed.

Furthermore, Jesus makes it clear that this Gospel – this good news – is happening today. “Today” means during the life and work of Jesus. “Today” also means during the time of Francis and Clare – in their work and life, the Gospel happened. And “today” also means today – in our days. Everywhere where we proclaim the Gospel in word and deed.

The good news of today

The list of examples in Jesus’ sermon, and also in the words of the prophet Isiah, are only examples of all the ways it is possible to stand up for justice and against exclusion. Certainly, we can say that they are examples that stand for all human rights.

In the defense of human rights and human dignity through the work of the United Nations and the work of countless human rights organizations, the “today” of the Gospel is also taking place. That is why we see it as our duty and as a way of living our Franciscan vocation – the defense of human rights at the UN.

When the Franciscan family decided to get involved at the UN and applied for accreditation, Robert Muller, the UN Assistant General Secretary at the time, remarked, “What took you so long? We were waiting for you.” As Brother Michael Perry, former Minister General of the Friars Minor and current President of our International Board of Directors, remarked during the 30^th anniversary of FI, “The core values enshrined in the founding document of the United Nations reflect Francis and Clare’s commitment to peace, to the poor, and to the planet. It’s a commitment that holds us accountable.”

So it’s more than just the date that brings these two foundational rule texts close together. It is their fundamental message and mission: to proclaim the Gospel through the defense of human dignity and human rights. May these two anniversaries motivate and inspire us anew.

By Markus Heinze OFM, August 2023.

This article was originally published in ITE Magazine.

On 8 November, friends, partners, and colleagues of Franciscans International gathered in Geneva to say goodbye to outgoing Executive Director Markus Heinze OFM and welcome Blair Matheson TSSF as his successor.

Reflecting on the change Brother Michael Perry OFM, as President of FI’s International Board of Directors, delivered the following address exploring leadership in a Franciscan context.

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One of the most striking things about leadership in the ‘Franciscan’ world – if such a world really exists – is the intuitive sense that true authority is derived from the bottom, from being among the least, sharing their experience, and engaging with them, rather than seeking to occupy a place at the top of society. This approach is reflected in the lifelong evangelical project of St. Francis of Assisi who at age 44, when nearing death, invited the followers of his fledgling movement to gather close to him and listen to a story about servant leadership revealed in the life and service of a Palestinian-born rabbi named Jesus of Nazareth.

The text that St. Francis requested be read aloud is found in Chapter 13 of the Gospel of St. John in the Christian scriptures. Written after 90 A.D., it reflects a vision of leadership that in recent times has gained traction as essential to the promotion of an effective, engaging, and transformative approach to management and performance. I am, of course, speaking about servant leadership. In the 13th Chapter of gospel of St. John, we meet Jesus and his followers gathered around a table to share fraternity and prepare themselves for what was coming: rejection of Jesus as a religious leader, a rejection that would precipitate his death.

During the meal, Jesus rose from table, stripped his outer garments, bowed down, and began to wash the feet of his disciples. Peter, one of the first and most respected of his followers, protested that he would never allow the one who was his rabbi and leader to wash his feet. Jesus reasons with him and manages to convince him and the others to allow him to wash their feet. At the end of this humble act, Jesus invites them to reflect on the true nature of leadership: service, the washing of the feet of others, placing others in the center, and stepping out of the limelight in order that others might come to discover their authentic self-worth, their capacities and gifts, gifts from the Creator to be placed in service of others.

This is the message about leadership that St. Francis of Assisi wanted to impart to his fellow sojourners, the brothers, to all who sought to follow his example, and to all those who exercise roles of leadership: political, economic, social/cultural, and religious, inviting them to embrace the way of servant leadership.

It is worth noting that one of the first public acts of Cardinal Bergoglio who became Pope Francis was to go to the central prison in Rome and there, at a special religious celebration, bend down and wash the feet of prisoners, including those of a Muslim woman, signaling to the world his understanding of the nature of authentic leadership. He repeated this gesture in the at the Vatican in the presence of two leaders in open conflict with one another, provoking tremendous suffering among their people. I am speaking about President Salva Kiir and Vice-President Riek Machar of South Sudan.

But one might ask: “What has talk about servant leadership to do with the work of Franciscans International, its trusted and beloved partner NGOs, or the U.N. for that matter?”  My response: How else might the actions of defending human rights, placing the needs and legitimate concerns of others front and center, seeking to promote care for the environment and for all sectors of the global human community be defined, except through the lens of servant leadership.

Servant leadership, in the context of our work at the U.N., is about promoting the dignity of all people, of all living reality. It is about celebrating fundamental human rights that all people enjoy irrespective of their religious, economic, socio-cultural, geographical or other origins and identity. Servant leadership is about doing all in one’s capacity to promote and defend universal freedom, justice, and peace. We have known for a very long time the deep cry of human suffering in so many parts of the world, cries oftentimes left unanswered. More recent events now oblige us to take up with renewed resolve the mantle of freedom, justice, and lasting peace, and to do so with profound humility and with the conviction that good will win over evil, love over hatred, and mercy over vengeance.

Servant Leadership in a Franciscan mode recognizes and celebrates beauty: the beauty of each creature – human, and all other creatures inhabiting this tiny, fragile planet Earth. Franciscan leadership does not promote the path of self-advancement. Rather, it seeks to engage in the mutual act of raising up each person in a way that is empowering, that engages the person whose rights and dignity have been denied or limited, allowing them to assume their rightful place as principal agents and protagonists of their lives, their local communities, and, ultimately, of the world community.

Franciscan leadership – indeed, our work in human rights – is about living out the ideal of servant leadership. We are called to be experts in understanding the legal mechanisms related to national and international law, the mechanisms of the UN Charter, the Human Rights Council, and those of the Security Council with the goal of encouraging all nations to respect and promote the well-being of their citizens. At the same time, we also are called to be experts in listening, capable of engendering trust, building relationships of mutual respect and collaboration, valuing the ideas and contributions of every person, not only because of their technical or other contributions to our work but because of their inherent dignity and value.

Franciscan servant leadership never runs away from difficult challenges but faces them with faith, hope, and loving attention. Franciscan leadership is about accompaniment: accompanying those who seek conditions that render their lives more humane, allowing them to achieve their full potential. It is about being accompanied: allowing ourselves to be mentored by those who by all standards are not counted by society, that “throw-away” people, just as St. Francis allowed the leper to mentor him and open his eyes to a much larger world, the world of the excluded.

In closing, I am reminded of a servant leader who worked at the U.N. promoting active engagement of all peoples in pursuit of the dream of a new world order. He not only ‘dreamed’ about this new world order; he used his position and energy to help begin to set in motion all the necessary actors and means favoring its construction. This servant leader is the former and now deceased Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

He enjoyed a level of global recognition and respect most national leaders could only envy. This was due in large measure to the decency and care he showed towards all whom he met. His was an instinctive respect shown toward others, even those who disagreed with him. His leadership style brought out the best in others, especially his colleagues. He could laugh with them and at himself, and cry with them, cry with all of humanity suffering the consequences of conflicts, war, disease, and human loss.

Such servant leaders as St. Francis of Assisi and Kofi Annan inspire others to act in selfless ways, placing the needs of others at the center, promoting an integral vision of the unity of all of humanity. To each of their credits, their visions of servant leadership has served to inspire young people – and those not so young- to once again believe in life, in the goodness of others, and in the hope that a new world is possible if people come together and work for the common good.