Fr. Jose Rodriguez Carballo OFM, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, will visit the Maltese Franciscan Province of Saint Paul the Apostle from 21 to 25 September 2005. This is the first time that Fr. Jose Rodriguez, who hails from the Province of Santiago de Compostella, in Spain, and who was elected in June 2003, will visit Malta as Minister General.

Fr. Jose Rodriguez arrives on Wednesday 21 September from Rome and will reside at Porziuncola Retreat House, Bahar ic-Caghaq. That same evening he will meet all the friars of the Maltese Franciscan Province and celebrate the Eucharist with them. Then he will share the evening meal with all the friars of the Province.

On Thursday 22 September in the morning the Minister General will visit the Poor Clares at their monastery in Saint Julians, and celebrate the Eucharist in the monastery chapel. After the meeting he will meet the members of the Provincial Definitory and the Guardians at Porziuncola Retreat House. He will then share lunch with Fr. Paul Galea OFM, Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor, and with the other Franciscan Ministers Provincial, namely Fr. Alfred Calleja OFMConv, Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor Conventuals, and Fr. Joe Alessandro OFMCap, Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor Capuchins. The Provincial Prior of the Dominicans, Fr. Paul Gatt OP, will also be invited. In the afternoon the Minister General will meet the Franciscan Sisters of the three Congregations present in Malta, namely the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the Franciscan Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus. The meeting will include Evening Prayer and a fraternal meal. In the evening the Minister General will meet the members of the Secular Franciscan Order and the Franciscan Youths.

On Friday 23 September Fr. Jose Rodriguez will have a free morning for courtesy visits and sightseeing. In the afternoon he leaves for the Libya Mission, which juridically depends upon the Maltese Franciscan Province. He will go directly to Benghazi, where on Saturday 23 September he will meet the friars and the Franciscan Maltese Bishop Mgr. Sylvester Carmel Magro OFM. The following day, Sunday 25 September the Minister General will be in Tripoli, the headquarters of the Mission, where he will meet with the friars and sisters present in various houses, as well as with the Franciscan Bishop Mgr. Giovanni Martinelli OFM. From Tripoli the Minister General will fly back to the General Curia OFM in Rome.