Friar News Briefs

HNP Communications Friar News

The updates below describe activities of Holy Name friars and feature celebrations, presentations, and ministry events. For more information, email the friars, contact the HNP Communications Office, or visit links to the parishes and organizations mentioned.

To provide news briefs for future articles, email information to communications director Jocelyn Thomas at communications@hnp.org.

From the Administration
Yesterday, an e-bulletin provided updates about the Revitalization and Restructuring Process and the fall English-speaking Conference meeting, as well as a flyer about the Oct. 30 showing of the movie “The Sultan and the Saint” in New York City. Friars who have not received the information may contact their guardians or the HNP Communications Office for assistance.

► Peter Fiore, OFM, was honored on Oct 12 at the 18th Annual Siena College Festa Vino Food and Wine Festival. According to an announcement on Siena’s website, a special birthday toast was extended to Peter for his 90th birthday, which was Sept. 8. More than 700 guests attended the food and wine benefit in the Marcelle Athletic Complex on the Loudonville, N.Y., campus, with proceeds going toward the Siena Saints! Alive Athletic Fund and other programs at the college. More than 60 friends and business partners of the college helped to underwrite the event. Photos of the event can be found on Siena’s website and on its Facebook page.

► Daniel Horan, OFM, is speaking on Thursday night at St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis. His Oct. 26 presentation is titled “Racism, White Privilege, and Thomas Merton on Transformative Spirituality and Justice.” This weekend, the Chicago resident is leading a public retreat at Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, Md. Information about Dan’s speaking schedule, as well as about his writing, is available on his website. Last week, Dan gave three talks at Padre Serra Parish in Camarillo, Calif., as part of a parish mission called “Discipleship: Becoming Fools for Christ.” Photos from these events can be found on his Facebook page.

► Edgardo Jara, OFM and Jim McIntosh, OFM, were among the more than 20 friars who attended this year’s Juntos Como Hermanos gathering for friars involved with Hispanic Ministry.

► Last week at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Triangle, Va., John O’Connor, OFM, hosted a gathering of donors from the mid-Atlantic region for the General Secretariat for the Franciscan Missions. The day began with a Mass, at which John preached and presided, which was followed by a luncheon. In addition to his role as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, John serves on a part-time basis as a fundraiser for the Order. “Fr. Andrew Brophy, OFM, the new executive director of GSFM, and members of the staff participated in the event at the Triangle parish. Approximately 40 people attended the Mass and luncheon,” said John. “Among those was a woman who gave a major financial gift to GSFM that made possible the construction of a new church on the Galapagos Islands. After lunch, Brother Andrew spoke about the work of the GSFM and the many ministries of the friars in the world that it supports. Following Br. Andrew’s talk, a family that had spent some time on the Galapagos Islands described their experience and the great ministry that our Franciscan friars are doing there. The population of the islands is 25,000, and 75 percent of them are Catholic.”

► On Oct. 22, Dennis Tamburello, OFM, a professor of religious studies at Siena College, gave a keynote address at a program in Albany that marked the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation. In a story titled “Catholic-Lutheran gathering will Commemorate Reformation,” the Oct. 12 issue of The Evangelist, the newspaper of the Albany, N.Y., diocese, said, “Fr. Tamburello sees the 1999 Joint Declaration as ‘a watershed document. It takes the approach of each side seeing the valid insights of the other.’ He explained the concept of justification as ‘being right with God. Christians believe that humans have alienated themselves from God, and the question is, how is that alienation overcome? Certainly, Christians would all agree that the answer is the grace of Christ. Where there has been some disagreement is, what is the role of the person being ‘saved?’”

► A photo of James Vacco, OFM, pastor of St. Bonaventure Parish in Allegany, N.Y., appears on a poster for Mercy Hospital Foundation. Jud Weiksnar, OFM, recently noticed the “poster featuring our own Jim Vacco” while walking down a hallway in Mercy Hospital and provided a photo.

► On the weekend of Oct. 23, Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham, N.C., hosted an art exhibit in the daily chapel by prominent local artist Florence Alva. Titled ‘Iridescent,’ “the artist has always been interested in architecture and geometry, and the magnificent lines of St Patrick’s Cathedral were an important inspiration for these works,” said Christopher VanHaight, OFM, pastor. “Throughout history, the Catholic Church has been by far the most important patron of the arts and we are glad to be able to support that tradition.”

Topics that will be included in future issues of this newsletter include

  • Franciscan Study Day on Nov. 4 in Chicago
  • A new ministry by Javier Del Angel De Los Santos, OFM, at Loyola University

— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas  

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