1. Eastern Africa Capuchin Conference (EACC) is the association of the Major Superiors of the Capuchin Friars Minor living in the Regions of Northeastern, Eastern, Southern Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius.

2. Members of EACC are: Provinces of Eritrea, Tanzania, Madagascar and Ethiopia; Custodies of Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe; Houses of Presence of Namibia, Sudan, South Sudan, Seychelles and Mauritius and any other circumscription that may be established in the future.

3. The Conference shall act in accordance with this Statute, which shall be issued by the plenary meeting of the EACC and approved by the Minister General with the consent of his Council (Const. 144.1). 4. It is the responsibility of the plenary meeting to draw up the Statute and to amend it, both of which must be approved by the Minister General with the consent of his Council.

5. The purposes/finality of the conference are those laid down in No. 144 of our present Constitutions and in No. 8/31 of the Ordinances of the General Chapter of the Order. These are:

1§ to carry out the functions entrusted to it by the Constitutions, by the Ordinances of the General Chapters, by its own Statutes or by the Minister General;

2§ to promote and strengthen the collaboration and cooperation of the Capuchin Provinces/Custodies in the territory within the competence of the Conference, among themselves and with the other Conferences of the Order, with the other Franciscan Families and, as far as possible, with the Episcopal Conference and the Conference of Major Superiors;

3§ to consider questions concerning the life of the Order in the territory of the Conference, to coordinate activities, to facilitate the solution of common problems and to promote unity of government;

4§ to provide for the common good of the Order and to issue specific norms (general and particular) for the territory within the competence of the Conference, in the manner provided for in the Constitutions (Const. 144.5);

5§ to promote solidarity among the circumscriptions of the Conference by identifying “contemporary” forms of witness as a prophetic sign of the renewal of Christian life and the promotion of peace, justice and the integrity of creation;

6§ to continue the inculturation of the Capuchin-Franciscan charism in their own territory, respecting our particular historical and cultural context;

7§ to be a concrete and effective instrument of dialogue and collaboration between the Provinces/Custodies of the Conference and the Central Government of the Order;

8§ to promote the exchange of personnel between the Provinces/Custodies of the EACC and, as far as possible, with the other Circumscriptions and Conferences, bearing in mind the common good of the Order.