On Saturday, the 11th May, the second day of the meeting of the Franciscan family gathered at the friary of the Holy Martyrs of Morocco in the city of Marrakech.
The day began with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by Br. Francisco Gómez, Secretary for Missions and Evangelization, who in his homily noted the contradiction of globalization as being more for economy and not so much the movement of people. The call for Franciscans is to globalize love and thus make transparent the dream of Jesus, which is the life and dignity of people as sons and daughters of God.
A poignant moment was given to listening to the projects that each of the participants carry out locally. In these presentations it was made clear that the Franciscan family in the Mediterranean has been working for many years with migrants and refugees in shelters, health care, soup kitchens, psychological care, legal and immigration advice, listening centres, job training, language schools, spaces for personal hygiene and laundering clothes, amongst other things.
Mr Blair Matheson, Executive Director of Franciscans International, explained the programmes they develop in different parts of the world and the advocacy they carry out with the United Nations (UN) and in contact with many embassies. The last programme which started a few months ago in Europe is led by Br. Eunan McMullan, OFM, who presented the lines of work of the programme which includes collaboration with the Franciscan Network of the Mediterranean.
Having listened to the various services of the brothers and sisters, a structure was designed that would allow the coordination of each of those presences of the Franciscan family in the Mediterranean that works with migrants and refugees. Short and medium-term objectives were proposed and four of the participants were chosen as responsible for defining the next steps. These members are: Pietro Buttita, María Eugenia Ríos, Alfonso Ramos and Natale Fiumano.
The day ended with a visit to some important places in the city.