The religious congregation affiliated with the Catholic Church has denied any expulsion from Morocco, clarifying that their departure from the Holy Spirit monastery in Tangier is the result of a planned transfer to another church in the same city.
Stéphane Delavelle, guardian of the Franciscans in Morocco, has assured that the members of this community have in no way been expelled by the Archbishop of Tangier, Emilio Rocha. In a published statement, he specified that in April 2022, the Franciscans of the Custody of the Martyrs in Morocco had decided to transfer their community from the Holy Spirit monastery, under the bishopric of Tangier, to the French-speaking Notre-Dame de l'Assomption church. This move in no way alters their pastoral commitments within the diocese.
Following this agreement, it was estimated that the renovation work on the new site would take between three and six months. Consequently, the Franciscans had informed the archbishop that they would leave the Holy Spirit monastery no later than 1 January 2025.
However, delays in the design of the plans and in the preparation of the work hindered the start of the renovations. At the same time, the community destined to move into the Holy Spirit monastery was preparing to arrive.
Stéphane Delavelle stated: "After considering cohabitation with the new community during the renovation work at Notre-Dame de l'Assomption, the Franciscans felt it was fairer to cede the space to the new community".
Faced with these circumstances, the congregation chose to move temporarily, at the end of January, to the Carmel monastery in Tangier, thus accepting the invitation of the sisters present on site.
Stéphane Delavelle concluded that "the Archbishop of Tangier has at no time expelled the Franciscans from the Holy Spirit monastery or the cathedral. This departure is a voluntary initiative by the Franciscans, motivated by several constraints, notably the delays in the work, the imminent arrival of the new community and the impossibility of sharing the premises".
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