On Sunday, October 5, in the convent of Saint Savior in Jerusalem, five friars made their solemn profession in the Order of Friars Minor, promising to live forever in obedience, without anything of their own, and in chastity, according to the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The celebration was presided over by the custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, in the presence of numerous confreres, family members, friends, and faithful.

During the homily, Fr. Ielpo shared with the five brothers three key words drawn from the day’s liturgy: faith, service, and rekindle.

"The promise you make today," said the custos, "is humanly impossible if there is no faith. For this reason, I invite you every day to pray: Lord, increase our faith. Only those who trustfully in God can live consecration with joy and freedom."

He then added: "The disciple does not serve to gain something, but because he has discovered the beauty of being a beloved child. Service is the way that makes us resemble Jesus." Finally, he invited the whole fraternity to "rekindle the gift received," not to let routine extinguish the fire of vocation.

The five new solemnly professed friars

The protagonists of this day of grace are five friars from different countries of the world, a sign of the universal dimension of the Franciscan Order:

• Br. Joseph Lakra, 30 years old, originally from India. He arrived in the Holy Land in 2023 to continue his theological studies: "For me it is a great grace to live in the City of God and be able to study here," he said.
• Br. Sylvester Chukwuma Ndubueze, born in 1989 in Nigeria. After a vocational journey thatbegan in 2017, he lived the stages of postulancy and novitiate between 2018 and 2020. Today he is a theology student in Jerusalem.
• Br. Leomax Thesong, also Indian, from the Province of Saint Thomas the Apostle. He made his first vows in May 2018 and arrived in the Holy Land in 2023, where he continues his theological formation.
• Br. Diab Roshrosh, a Galilean of the Melkite rite, born in 1991. He entered the Order in 2016, did his postulancy in Montefalco and the novitiate in La Verna, where he made his first vows in 2020.
• Br. Manuel Tchincocolo Ramos, born in 1985 in Cabinda, Angola. He came to the Holy Land in December 2018, continuing his path of faith and service in the Franciscan fraternity.

A living Church in the heart of the Holy Land

The celebration, animated by the renewed choir of the Schola Cantorum, expressed the beauty of a universal and living Church that speaks with the voice of many peoples and cultures.
At the end of the Mass, the new friars received the fraternal embrace of their confreres and the applause of the assembly, as a sign of joy and gratitude for their definitive "yes" to the Lord.

As Fr. Francesco Ielpo recalled in his final words:
"Today the Church and our fraternity receive a great gift. May your life be a sign of living faith, humble service, and ever rekindled love for Christ and for your brothers."