The Constitutions of the Capuchin Friars Minor tell us: “St. Francis, the herald of Christ, confirmed by the authority of the Church, sowed the seeds of the Gospel everywhere as he went from place to place announcing the mystery of Christ in few and simple words. Therefore, docile to the command of the Divine Master and following Saint Francis’ example and the tradition of our Order, let us preach the Word of god in clear language, adhering faithfully to the Sacred Scriptures”.

The Capuchins down history entered into this ministry from the very inception of our Order, and the early friars along with a simple and austere life began to preach to all creatures, the Gospel of the good news proclaimed by Jesus himself. Their first ministry was preaching in the parishes. Friar Matteo di Bascio was the first one to begin a reform in the Observants, and later he was elected Vicar General of the Order, but soon he resigned from this post for the sake of devoting his entire time to the ministry of preaching.

Capuchin friars were known as preachers of the Gospel all over Europe. St. Lawrence of Brindisi is one of the best-known preachers of his time with his depth of knowledge and fluency in many languages. The early Capuchin Friars of Kerala who started the Parish retreats throughout Kerala were Brs. Leo, Hippolytus, Grecian, Wilfred etc…, which eventually took the shape of ‘mission retreats.’ These retreats have a definite pattern. The entire parish community can get involved in it by the way they are conducted.

Modus operandi: Mission retreats are generally conducted in two different seasons of the year. The first season begins around February to the previous day of Palm Sunday. The second season begins in August after the monsoon season till Christmas. When a parish is requests a mission retreat a leaflet containing specific instructions is sent regarding our mission retreat along with a questionnaire to be filled in by the Vicar of the parish. If he is willing to comply with these requirements, the animator prepares a list of persons for each parish. In case, he is transferred two months before the scheduled date of the retreat it will be cancelled. The number of friars for each parish depends on the number of families in the parish. Generally, one priest is assigned to 100 families. If there are 400 families four persons will be sent to that parish. However, if the parish is extensive then one more priest will be added. The vicar is expected to bring to the notice of the Mission Retreat Team the specific problems of the parish and each family so that, they could be handled and brought to an amicable solution during the retreat. The friars will visit every family and listen carefully to all what they have to say about anything and will be personally guided with appropriate suggestions…

A thorough preparation of the people of the parish is a basic requirement to conduct the retreat. For this, the vicar of the parish should initiate a few members of the parish to give sufficient publicity for the retreat, motivate everyone in the parish to take part in it and make arrangements for transportation back and forth if the families are sufficiently away from the parish church. If the parish is very extensive and the number is more, two sessions of the retreat will be arranged, one in the afternoon around 01.30 p.m. and the second towards the evening by 05.30 p.m. Every person above the age of 15 should take part in the retreat.
Generally speaking, Capuchin Mission Retreats in the parishes are highly beneficial to the families of the parish and the pastors of the parish appreciate very much, the good we do by these means.