During this week Fr. Albert Micallef is attending a Congress of Spiritual Assistants of the PFF (Piccola Famiglia Francescana) which is being held in Brescia, Italy. This meeting is held annually for the Franciscan Spiritual Assistants.

The PFF is a Secular Institute in the Roman Catholic Church, the first one to be officially recognised as such, during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. A Secular Institute is a way of Christian life in which persons consecrate themselves to God by taking the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, but without the obligation to live in community. They normally live in their own homes. The PFF had its beginning in Brescia, Italy in 1929, through the initiative of Fr. Ireneo Mazzotti OFM, who founded the first fraternity of Piccola Famiglia sisters. The first sisters were Secular Franciscans, or Tertiaries.

Nowadays it has spread far and wide and is numerous in such countries as Italy and Brasil. In Malta it was founded in the 1950’s through the initiative of Fr. Serafino Scerri OFM. The PFF follows the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order.