Christmas Letter 2025 and New year

Posted on by — Leave a reply

“For to us a child is born… and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace'” (cf. Isaiah 9:6)

Dear brothers,

In this Advent season, as we prepare our hearts, our minds, and our lives to welcome the Child God at Christmas, I write you this short letter.

It is the Christmas of Jesus, a celebration of joy, a celebration of hope, and a celebration of light!

Let us look at the Nativity scene! What do we see? A simple scene, but full of meaning: a manger with the baby Jesus lying in it; Mary and Joseph admiring and caring for the baby Jesus with great love, but also keeping in their hearts what they saw, heard, and even what they did not understand; the angels singing, praising God, and announcing the presence of the Child God in our midst; in this joy we also see the poor shepherds and the Magi, and along with them the animals, the stars, and all of nature with the exuberance of life, but hidden.

In this beautiful scene of songs and joy, there is something that is not spoken of, but it is there: there is an exchange between heaven and earth. It is the greatness of the mystery of God-Love who became incarnate, making himself small and humble, in the simplicity lived by the poor who are in the lowest places.

The manger in Bethlehem was the beginning of closeness to the simplest and most marginalized. The grotto on the outskirts of Bethlehem, in the midst of the poor, was the place where the Son of God chose to be born. And there he reveals that no one is excluded from His love and His grace.

We are all invited to contemplate, meditate and pray about this mystery. Brother Charles, surely, amidst the silence, work and daily tasks, found in the life of Jesus from the manger, the true path to service, imitation and holiness. From his birth, his Beloved Jesus identified himself with the poor and suffering, and he, Brother Charles, did everything possible to imitate Him.

Brothers, Bethlehem is here, where we are currently living: in our parishes; in our liturgical celebrations, in the various pastoral works in which we are involved; in the multitude of migrants who leave their country leaving everything behind, seeking a place to live with dignity; in the victims of wars sponsored by power and greed; in the massacre of peoples by ideologies of death.

That light that shone in the manger there in Bethlehem, still shines today in the struggle to eradicate these situations of death: hunger in the world; to defend human rights, promote justice, responsibility in caring for the marginalized and oppressed, challenging systems that perpetuate injustice.

Dear brothers and sisters, as we celebrate the birth of the Child God, our Beloved, I wish that He may reign in our hearts, in our thoughts, and inspire us to be instruments of peace and goodness in this new year that is approaching.

Inspired by Saint Charles de Foucauld, on behalf of myself and the entire international team, I wish everyone a Merry and Holy Christmas and a blessed New Year 2026.

Pe. Carlos Roberto dos Santos
International Responsible

PDF: Christmas Letter 2025 and New year en

Italia fraternity, exercises 2025

Posted on by — Leave a reply

On Friday, November 21st, with Mass in the “Porziuncola” and lunch, the spiritual exercises of our priestly fraternity concluded.

From November 17th to 21st, in Assisi, we were accompanied by Brother Emiliano Biadene of the monastic community of Cellole, on the theme of the Letter to the Philippians: “For to me, to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21).

These were precious days for our spiritual growth in the footsteps of Saint Charles de Foucauld.

An experience of reflection and fraternal sharing on a Pauline text of extraordinary depth for our priestly life.

Brother Emiliano will provide us with the text of his meditations, which we will publish in our next “Diary” for further reflection.

Let us thank the Lord together for this gift received, as we prepare to experience the season of Advent.

We wish each and every one of us to await the Lord’s coming!

D Giovanni, D Enzo, Fr Andrea

📃 PDF: Italia fraternity, exercises 2025 en

Delivery of the Statutes and Directoy to de Dicastery for the Clergy

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Dear brothers of the Fraternity.

Peace and good!

I want to share with you all the joy of being in Rome to deliver the Fraternity’s documents to the Dicastery for the Clergy.

I was very well received by Brother Fr. Andrea Mandonico and stayed at his house, the “Society of African Missions”.

On the first day, I wanted to have a moment of solitude and prayer. Therefore, I went to the Mother House of the Little Sisters of Jesus in Tre Fontane. I spent a good amount of time in the chapel, in silent prayer. I went down to the tomb of Little Sister Madeleine of Jesus and stayed there in silence, praying for our Fraternity and for each one of you. Although the General Superior, Sister Eugeniya-Kubwimana, was not present that day, I had a good and pleasant conversation with the head of the Mother House in Tre Fontane, Sister Luigina, and two counselors, Sister Goneswary and Sister Najiba. We talked about the joys and concerns of our fraternities around the world, about our needs, resources, the lack of vocations and, above all, our docility to the Holy Spirit of God.

On October 7, 2025, I had an audience with Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, prefect of the dicastery for the clergy, to personally deliver to him the fruit of the work of the Priestly Fraternity Jesus Caritas. Fathers Andrea Mandonico and Giovanni Naoom, responsible for the Fraternity in Italy, who spoke Italian, accompanied me. This audience with the Cardinal was very important and significant for us.

The Cardinal presented himself in a simple manner, accompanied by his secretary, Bishop Andrés Gabriel Ferrada Moreira, and an Indian priest as translator. They asked me to speak in Portuguese, and both translated my conversations with Cardinal Lazarus. They were welcoming and fraternal, making us feel at ease. The Cardinal told us a little about his life and how he came to Rome after many years as a bishop in South Korea. We were surprised and delighted to discover that he is very familiar with the spirituality of Saint Charles de Foucauld, as he had a Little Brother of Jesus as his confessor for many years. So our conversation was simple, yet profound, in keeping with our spirituality.

In a few words, I recounted to the Cardinal the history of the pontifical recognition of the Priestly Fraternity Jesus Caritas. I reminded him that the Dicastery asked us to simplify and update our Statutes and our Directory, and that, in a synodal effort, the previous international team, coordinated by Fr. Eric Lozada from the Philippines, carried out this work over the past six years, listening to brothers from all over the world, national leaders, and continental leaders. And finally, during the assembly in Buenos Aires last May, these two texts were approved, which we are now submitting to the Cardinal, requesting his approval of them as a renewal of the pontifical recognition of the Priestly Fraternity Jesus Caritas. The Cardinal received the texts and is now in the process of reading and analyzing them. We were told that they can be approved in their entirety, or with suggestions for changes made by the Dicastery.

I asked the Cardinal for a word for the brothers of the Fraternity throughout the world. He asks us to live, like Saint Charles, with simplicity, dialogue with everyone, without prejudice, and to show special attention and openness to our Muslim brothers and sisters. He also asks us to bear witness to evangelical poverty, to be humble in reaching out to the poor, and above all, to witness to the Gospel through our lives, following in the footsteps of Saint Charles de Foucauld.

I couldn’t miss visiting the tomb of our beloved Pope Francis. There I prayed for all of us in the Fraternity throughout the world, and asked for his intercession for the work of this new international team, in which I am a small and humble servant.

In the name of Jesus, a big hug with all my affection.

Goiás, November 20, 2025

Fr. Carlos Roberto dos Santos
International Responsible

📃 PDF: Delivery of the Statutes and Directoy to de Dicastery for the Clergy en