Last month, members of the national Vocation Office visited the friar fraternity in Puerto Rico to discuss the revitalization of vocation ministry in the region. But the four-day trip to San Juan evolved into far more than brainstorming sessions, according to Basil Valente, OFM, national vocation director. The trip was fraternally enriching for the visitors and their hosts. “We are …
Vocation Director Extends His Gratitude to HNP Friars for Vocation Ministry
Editor’s Note… As the vocation offices of the US-6 provinces have transitioned to the new national Vocation Office ahead of the completion of the unification process later this year, Basil Valente, OFM, national vocation director, extends his gratitude in this letter to Holy Name Province friars who supported the Province vocation ministry as regional vocation directors and as participants in …
HNP Friar Appointed Eastern Region Vocation Director
Jeffery Jordan, OFM, has been appointed Eastern Region Vocation Director for the new U.S. Franciscan province. As the newest addition to a dynamic vocation team assembled by the national Vocation Office, Jeffery joins Basil Valente, OFM, National Vocation Director; Gregory Plata, OFM, Central Region Vocation Director; Sebastian Sandoval, Western Region Vocation Director, and more than 70 other friars across the …
Friars Are Asked to Share The Franciscan Challenge
Ruth is a single mother of two from the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. Cynthia is a homeless woman in New York City. Stephanie and George are parents who lost their son to a drug overdose. Alexandria and her family made the treacherous journey from Ecuador on foot and hitching rides from strangers. Different backgrounds of people who have never met, …
Province Celebrates Jubilee Anniversaries of 14 Friars
Dozens of friars, family members, friends and parishioners turned out for the Jubilee Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York City last month when Holy Name Province honored 14 friars for their 50th and 25th anniversaries of first profession. The May 16 Mass was steeped in Franciscan tradition and ceremony, which included the jubilarians renewing their commitment …
Clink, Clink, Clink… With the New Province in Sight, No Turning Back from This Roller Coaster Ride
Each time I ride a roller coaster, there comes that decisive moment when the safety bar of the car is lowered into a locked position. It signals that there is no longer a way out of the ride. No turning back. Then begins the clink, clink, clink sound as the car slowly ascends the steep climb towards the first gut-wrenching …
Essay
Reflecting on the Legacy of Holy Name Province
by Walter Liss, OFM “We’re called to be brothers and you’re going to spend the rest of your friar life figuring out what that means.” So said then-provincial John Felice, OFM, at a gathering of formation friars when I was an affiliate (postulant). It’s one of those things that stuck in my head for some reason. On the surface, it …
Annual Good Friday Protest Outside World’s Largest Weapons Manufacturer Coincides with MLK’s 55th Anniversary of His Death
This year, Holy Week coincided with the 55th anniversary of the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Exactly one year prior, on April 4, 1967, Dr. King delivered his Beyond Vietnam, A Time to Break Silence speech at Riverside Church in New York City. Patrick Sieber, OFM, says it is well past time for us to truly live …
John O’Connor Among Four Priests Honored by Virginia Diocese for Golden, Silver Jubilees of Ordination
The Diocese of Arlington in Virginia honored four priests for their golden and silver jubilees of ordination. Among them was John O’Connor, OFM, who is pastor of the Arlington Parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle. John is celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. Bishop Michael Burbidge and Bishop Emeritus Paul Loverde presided at a special …
Parishioner of Virginia Parish Has Military Base Named After Him
Since 2004, retired Lieutenant General Arthur Gregg, the first African American in the United States Army to be named a three-star general, has blended unassumingly into the congregation, worshipping from the pews with his fellow parishioners at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle, Virginia. His close friends and some long-time parishioners are aware of the 95-year-old’s impressive background. But …
Care for Creation Is on Full Display at Durham Parish’s Annual Earth Day Festival
Making backyard birdfeeders, planting seeds, learning about composting and reusable household items, and playing a quiz game based on Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ encyclical were just some of the interactive activities at this year’s annual Earth Day Festival of Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham, North Carolina, according to Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, pastor. The event, he said, was designed to raise …
Holy Bones! A Parish Ministry That Has Bark – And Bite
Developmentally Challenged Baking Dog Bones in a Church’s Kitchen Basement Receive Support from Holy Name Province
Make no bones about it. This ministry program at a New Jersey parish is all bark – and bite! Four days a week, a team of bakers of the Holy Bones initiative at St. Mary’s Parish in Pompton Lakes can be found in their workspace: the commercial kitchen in the church basement. But they aren’t just any bakers, and you …