a Friar Minor of the Porziuncola and one of the organizers of the meeting
“Assisi awaits us” — Three questions for Brother Luca!
Brother Luca, there are only two months to go… what’s the atmosphere like in Assisi?
Brother Luca: So much anticipation! Assisi is preparing to welcome young people from all over Europe, and it’s not just an organizational issue. You can feel that something beautiful is coming.
For months, we’ve been preparing meetings, workshops, laboratories, spaces for fellowship, evening events, prayer… and, of course, the great celebration with Pope Leo XIV.
GO! It was born in the year of the 800th anniversary of the Transit of Saint Francis and aims to revive something very distant… and surprisingly current: the spirit of the Chapter of Mats.
What is the Chapter of Mats?
Brother Luca: Imagine this. The year is 1221. No smartphones, no trains, no WhatsApp groups… And yet… thousands of friars flock to Assisi from all over Europe.
They sleep on the floor, on simple mats, sharing bread, questions, and life. They pray, discuss, listen to Francis, and seek together how to live the Gospel in their time… It is said there were almost two five thousand of them! It was there that important decisions were made and new missions were born.
But the most beautiful thing was something else: it was fraternity! We gathered to listen, share, and then set out again.
That’s why GO! focuses on that very moment.
Why does it still make sense today to gather in the name of Francis?
Brother Luca:
Because Francis still speaks to our time. Even today, we carry so many questions within us: who we are, where we are going, how to build peace, how not to feel alone.
His message has not faded. Indeed, perhaps today it is even more necessary.
We live in times marked by wars, misunderstandings, and polarization. Francis, however, continues to show us another path: encounter, fraternity, listening, peace.
GO! means precisely this. Saying yes to fraternity together. Gathering together in the places of Francis with a new spirit and the desire to build something real.
So: see you in two months. Bring your story, your questions, and your desire to be there.
Assisi awaits you. And so do we.
