Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their celebrations, presentations and ministry events. More information can be obtained by visiting links to the parishes and organizations mentioned, by contacting the friars by phone or email and by connecting with the Communications Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, email information to communications director Jocelyn Thomas.
Lawrence Anderson, OFM, became a member of the fourth degree Knights of Columbus last month. He was congratulated by Marion Council 3801 in the April 29 bulletin of St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes, N.J., where he is stationed.
Brian Belanger, OFM director of international programs at Siena College, is hosting a group of 15 students from Brazil visiting the Loudonville, N.Y., school this later month. The group will arrive on May 14 and stay through May 22..
The 19th annual Evening of Roses was held on April 29. The event is a major fundraising vehicle for the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Jewish-Christian studies. The fund was born out of a conversation in the 1990s among Sr. Rose, David Bossman, OFM, and a group of friends who felt teachers needed to take more courses in Jewish-Christian studies. David remains on the board.
The most recent entry on Be A Franciscan: News and views from the Franciscan Vocation Ministry of Holy Name Province, is from postulant Casey Cole. In “The End As We Know It,” which originally appeared on Casey’s blog, Breaking in the Habit, he writes about the end of his nine months as part of the friar community in Wilmington, Del., and preparing to spend his summer studying at St. Bonaventure University.
Information about the April 27 Memorial Mass for Matthew Conlin, OFM, was posted on the website of Siena College, Loudonville, N.Y., where the Mass was celebrated.
George Corrigan, OFM, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Tampa, Fla., was featured in a video from Tampa’s News 10. The video, part of a “Why Do They Call It That?” series, explains the history of the parish.
An article about Xavier De La Huerta, OFM, is featured in the April issue of Phaith, magazine of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The article, “Brother in blue jeans,” highlighted how the 76-year-old friar has been committed to serving the poor in Philadelphia’s Kensington area with “the love of God and a sense of humor” for more than 30 years.
David Hyman, OFM, chair of the HNP African Ancestry Committee, has provided the first of several quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr., that the committee would like friars and other newsletter readers to keep in mind. This quote is from the 1967 sermon, “Where do we go from here?” The committee emphasized: “Forty-five years after this ringing challenge from Dr. King, the current political debate seems not to remember anything about it. Yet, millions of our sisters and brothers in the United States and billions more in other countries live in destitution. But we hear no mention of this ‘cruel and blind’ situation as our would-be leaders vie for positions of power at every level of our national life.” Joseph Nangle, OFM, the liaison between the committee and the Provincial Council, said that between now and the November election, the AAC will provide quotes from Dr. King that have relevance in today’s society.
A fire engine donated by a New Jersey fire department to Lima, Peru, cleared customs last week, according to Christopher Dunn, OFM. After some “bureaucratic snags in customs” and more than four months in storage, the fire pumper named after the late Mychal Judge, OFM, “started right up.” Chris said, “My battalion chief in Lima says it was a miracle from Fr. Mychal from heaven!”
St. Patrick-St Anthony Parish in Hartford, Conn., is holding a picnic to celebrate the ordination anniversary of Andrew Giardino, OFM. Information about the May 19 event, which will include a fire engine pizza truck, was distributed in the parish’s e-newsletter.
The Province’s fifth fraternal gathering was held this week in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Organized by Provincial Secretary Michael Harlan, OFM, the series’ locations have stretched from New England to the Carolinas.
Daniel Horan, OFM, visited St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Triangle, Va., last weekend to sign copies of his Dating God book after all weekend Masses. Dan, who will be ordained a priest on May 19, also preached at the Masses.
Robert Menard, OFM, was recently invited to be a member of the Ecumenical/Interreligious Commission of the Diocese of Charleston, S.C. Since arriving in the area, he has participated in two public events. Turkish journalist Mustafa Aykol delivered a lecture at Clemson University. The lecture, “Change Within Islam: Arguments for a Liberal Muslim Culture,” was sponsored by the South Carolina Dialogue Foundation and Clemson’s department of political science. Aykol’s latest book, Islam without Extremes: a Muslim Case for Liberty, was published in 2011. Bob then represented the diocese at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Muhammad Tahir ul Qadri, author of Fatwa against Suicide Bombings and Terrorism offered a lecture on “Islam and Peace.” Following the lecture, “several Pakestani Muslems approached me,” Bob said. “They went out of their way to express how happy they were to see a Franciscan in attendance. They had been taught by Christian Religious back home in Pakistan. Seeing a Franciscan habit made them homesick!”
A farewell message from John McDowell, OFM, appears in the May 5 St. Andrew Campus Ministry Weekly Update. In it, Jack writes: “There comes a time in all of our lives to step away for a time to recharge, reform and renew ourselves.” In his note, he expresses his time as a campus minister at Clemson University have been “two of my happiest years. You have kept me young and made me laugh as well as trusting me with your confidences. I will always be grateful for this.”
Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, is currently at the General Curia in Rome, where he is meeting with the General Council about the Province’s mission foundation in Peru.
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM is in York, Pa., on May 10 and 11 for a pastoral commitment. Earlier this week, he was in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., for the Province’s fifth spring fraternal gathering. News about his other recent travels and meetings can be found in a feature in this newsletter issue titled “From the Provincial Minister’s Desk” that will occasionally appear in future issues of HNP Today.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by May 16 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date). Updates about the friars and their ministries can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· Ordination of two friars on May 19
· Initiatives of the Province’s Development Office
· Summer assignments of Holy Name College friars
· Franciscan Institute news
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas and Rebecca Doel