With the guided visit to the city of Assisi led by Fr. Pietro Messa, the 2026 International JPIC Course, “From the Canticle of the Creatures to the Pasch of Saint Francis of Assisi,” organized by the General Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of the Order of Friars Minor, in collaboration with the Pontifical Antonianum University, came to a close.
The final day gave participants the opportunity to celebrate the Solemnity of Pentecost and to visit Saint Mary of the Angels and the Basilica of Saint Francis as emblematic places of the Franciscan Centenary of the Pasch of the Saint of Assisi.
During Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the course explored various contemporary challenges of the Franciscan mission from the perspective of justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. Guided by Fr. Cesare Vaiani and Fr. Giuseppe Buffon, participants were offered a contemplative reflection on the paschal journey of Saint Francis, highlighting the connection between the Canticle of the Creatures and the experience of suffering, reconciliation, praise, and restitution lived by Francis during the final years of his life.
Likewise, Fr. Francisco Gómez, General Secretary for Missions and Evangelization, presented the Ratio Evangelizationis. Ite in Mundum as a Franciscan path of integral evangelization, emphasizing that JPIC is not an isolated sector, but rather a fundamental dimension of Franciscan missionary identity.
For his part, Fr. Taucen Girsang, Vice Director of the General JPIC Office, addressed JPIC animation from the perspective of Franciscan spirituality, insisting that justice, peace, and the integrity of creation are transversal values of the Franciscan charism and a concrete way of living the Gospel today.
Dr. Juan Blanco also reflected on the “decolonial turn” as a critical invitation to recognize the historical and present-day dynamics of exclusion, domination, and exploitation affecting peoples, cultures, and territories, proposing paths of dignity, resistance, and transformation from the human and cultural peripheries.
On the final day, Miguel Ángel Jaimes shared pastoral and methodological tools to strengthen the service of JPIC animators in the fraternities and entities of the Order, including social impact models and instruments for the development of transformative pastoral projects aimed at responding concretely to situations of exclusion, violence, and environmental degradation through the Gospel and the Franciscan charism.
