NEW YORK — The Provincial Council has announced the dates of several important events this summer.
► Aug. 17: Affiliation of postulants at St. Anthony Shrine, Boston. At this welcoming service, the men will be presented with a Tau cross as a sign of their willingness to enter into their year of discernment, said Vocation Director Brian Smail, OFM.
The 2008 to 2009 postulant program will be held at St. Anthony Shrine in Boston.
► Aug. 23: Solemn profession of vows at Church of St. Francis of Assisi on West 31st Street in Manhattan. Provincial Minster John O’Connor, OFM, will preside.
Those expecting to profess their vows are:
- Kyle Haden, OFM
- Linh Ngoc Hoang, OFM
- Hugh Macsherry, OFM
- Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM
- Harry Monaco, OFM
- Juan de la Cruz Turcios, OFM
Also being solemnly professed with the six friars of Holy Name Province will be Fadi Azar, OFM, of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land. Fadi has lived at Holy Name College for two years, participating in the formation program there. Fadi, along with Stephen and Hugh, will return to Holy Name College in the fall to continue their studies at Washington Theological Union, said Francis Di Spigno, OFM, Holy Name’s director of post-novitiate formation.
The solemn vows profession is earlier this year because of the date of the diaconate ordination at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, according to Francis. “Since we need to solemnly profess our brothers before they can be admitted to Orders, the Provincial Minister and Council agreed to move the profession to Aug. 23.”
Solemn vows in late August was the standard practice in the Province for years, from 1954 to 1968 and 1975 to 1979, said Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, adding “the years in between tended to have small groups or even individual solemn professions.”
“In 1980, we began having Province solemn profession celebrations in June, about the time of the jubilee celebration now,” Dominic said. “We started having them in September only with the class of 1994. Scheduling them in late August, as we are doing in 2008, makes a lot of sense, especially if we can participate in the diaconate ordination in early September, thus assuring that our men will have a good diaconate experience of eight months.”
► Sept. 6: Diaconate ordination at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.
The friars approved to be ordained deacons are:
- Linh Ngoc Hoang, OFM
- Hugh Macsherry, OFM
- Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM
- Harry Monaco, OFM