In a morning full of ritual, ceremony and the 800 year history of the Order of Friars Minor, on 21 May the 126 voting members of the General Chapter gathered in Assisi re-elected Br. Michael Anthony Perry, OFM to become the 120th General Minister of the Order of Friars Minor and Successor of St. Francis of Assisi.
Br. Michael Anthony Perry, OFM, was born June 7, 1954 in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of James Richard Perry and Agnes J. Coffey, both of Irish origin. In 1976 he began his Postulancy in the Province of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (St. Louis, MO). On June 25, 1977, he received the Franciscan habit, beginning his novitiate, at the end of which he made his Temporary Profession on the Feast Day of St. Clare, August 11, 1978. After making his Solemn Profession on October 10, 1981, he was ordained a priest on June 2, 1984.
His intense interest for the missions ad gentes brought him to live as a missionary for about 10 years in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire).
He served in religious and theological formation and in Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation ministry. Returning from Africa to the U.S., he worked with Franciscans International, with Catholic Relief Services and with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Br. Michael was elected Provincial Minister of Sacred Heart Province in 2008. He was then elected as Vicar General of the Order during the last General Chapter of 2009. On May 22, 2013 he assumed the service of General Minister to complete the six-year term vacated by Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo who was elevated to the episcopacy at that time.
On May 21, 2015 the General Chapter currently in session elected him as the 120th successor of St. Francis.
We pray that the Spirit of the Lord may guide and sustain our brother as he continues his ministry among and for the friars and the People of God.
The Minister General receives flowers from children after his re-election.
Watch a short youtube of some events during the day of election.