Missions
Go, preach the Gospel to every creature
Christ, the first and greatest preacher of the Gospel, sent his apostles to preach this Gospel to all nations. Seeking to be ever more conformed to Christ, Saint Francis, in his own day, renewed this missionary spirit by the example of his life and the force of his Rule. Heeding his call today the Capuchins place great value on missionary work and see it as one of the principal apostolic obligations, and as a contribution to the renewal and building up of the Body of Christ.
Let the brothers proclaim the word of God when they see it pleases God in order that the people might believe in God the almighty Father.
— cf. Earlier Rule of St Francis, Ch 16
The Missionary Call
Every brother is called to be missionary in whatever continent or region he may find himself. Indeed there are many regions in need of new evangelisation because the lives of entire groups of people are no longer informed by the gospel and many baptised people have lost a sense of faith, either partially or totally.
An indispensable part of the Capuchin missionary spirit, however, are those brothers who, leaving their own countries of origin, are sent to exercise their ministry in different social and cultural contexts where the Gospel is unknown and service to the young Church is required. These brothers, impelled by the desire to serve and build up the particular Churches in distant parts of the world, offer a witness of minority and fraternity: they are called to live “subject to every creature for God’s sake” (1 Pt. 2:13; see Earlier Rule of St Francis, Ch 16), and to bring the great treasure of the Gospel to the people with whom they live.