From Massachusetts to Florida, Province ministries are preparing to celebrate the feast of the founder of the Franciscan Order next month — St. Francis of Assisi.
In New York City, Francis Week 2010 at St. Francis of Assisi Church will include discussions of Paul Moses’ recent book The Saint and the Sultan, celebrations of the breadline’s 80th anniversary and film nights.
St. Bonaventure University in Western New York will spend the week exploring sustainability to honor the patron saint of ecology. Events will begin Sept. 27 and include a documentary viewing and discussion led by Sr. Mary Elizabeth Imer, OSF, vice president of Mission Integration Ministry at the University of St. Francis in Joliett, Ill.
At Sacred Heart Church in Tampa, Fla., Dominic Monti, OFM, will celebrate a special Mass at 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 3 as part of the parish’s 150th anniversary celebration. On Oct. 4, pastor Andrew Reitz, OFM, will present a talk on the spiritualities of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Ignatius, founder of the Jesuits — who administered the parish until 2005 when the Franciscans of Holy Name Province assumed responsibility for its care.
In addition, many Province parishes will celebrate the Transitus, which commemorates the last hours of Francis’ life. Some locations include St. Francis of Assisi in New York, St. Camillus Church, Silver Spring, Md., St. Mary’s Church, Providence, R.I., St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, and St. Bonaventure Church, Paterson, N.J.