The 4th European OFS/Youfra Congress was held in Barcelona from 14th-19th July 2025.
It was attended by 125 OFS & Youfra council members from 19 different countries from across Europe including 2 invited members from Lebanon!
The countries involved were: Great Britain including Gibraltar, Ireland, Belgium, Malta, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Lithuania, Germany, Croatia, Czech Republic, Russia, France, Poland, Cyprus, Hungary, Ukraine & Slovakia.
The motto of the congress was Creation & Fraternity: one family, one mission. The main theme of the congress was: Praising Creation with the Canticle of the Creatures.
Participants from each country were asked to present something typical from their countries in the form of a dance or song or presentation to all the other members attending. Great Britain presented a Morris dance with Kathy, Natasha, Nicole & Brigid dancing while John played percussion and Thelma the flute! Please see video below. Religious items from Our Lady of Walsingham were given out at the end.
We were also lucky enough to be able to visit our Lady of Montserrat, patron saint of Catalonia, where we celebrated mass & also celebrated mass with Cardinal Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona, at the Sagrada Familia, a church designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. It was consecrated by Pope Benedict 16th and proclaimed a minor basilica in 2010.
The Queen of the Franciscans icon was passed from Spain to Germany & next year it will be travelling through Great Britain and Gibraltar!
Sharing with all our other brothers and sisters across Europe was a wonderful experience, full of the love, joy and support that you get with fraternal friendship within the Franciscans. Here are some pics and clips for your perusal so please enjoy! Click on pics to enlarge
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what a wonderful time you all had! It speaks volumes of the value of pilgrimage as a shared activity. It is clear there was work to do, and fun to be had, but the backdrop to it all is faith and building faith. Joy to the world! God bless.
OFS Gibraltar