ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province have begun a series of regional gatherings to prepare them for their 2014 chapter. As the spring fraternal gatherings are doing for Holy Name Province, these meetings provide an opportunity for discussing ideas for the future of the province and of the ministries of the friars.
According to the newsletter, the first round of meetings, held earlier this month, was meant for the Southwest province to “see and hear,” and at the second round of meetings — being held in March — they “will judge” in order to “act” at the Provincial Chapter June 1 to 6.
In this round of meetings, the OLG Province friars learned about the current state of the province in an update by Provincial Minister Fr. Gino Correa, OFM. He provided “what is happening on the national level” in a summary of the Interprovincial Commission Report presented last October. An article by Fr. Jack Clark Robinson, OFM, in the March 2014 issue of The Padres Trail provided this update.
The current OLG newsletter also reports on the Jan. 28 to 29 meeting of the provincial archivists in which Provincial Treasurer Dennis Wilson, OFM, participated. An announcement about the March 27 to 30 Franciscan Forum X in Colorado, with a message from F. Edward Coughlin, OFM, of St. Bonaventure University, Allegany, N.Y., is also included there.
The January-February 2014 issue of Padres Trail also contains a presentation by the Franciscan School of Theology to the OLG Provincial Council. Photos are provided of last month’s interprovincial retreat in New Mexico, the most well-attended in the event’s history.
The previous issue of Padres Trail reported the Nov. 16 diaconate ordination of Br. Chris Kersteins, OFM; the participation of Provincial Minister Fr. Gino Correa, OFM, at the Order’s Plenary Council meeting in Poland last fall; and a mission conference whose theme was “Social Media: a New Language for Mission.” The November-December Padres Trial also includes photos of “Thanksgiving at the Curia” taken by Glenn Humphrey, OFM, who has been stationed in Arizona since 2012.
— Jocelyn Thomas is director of communications for Holy Name Province.