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, Frank Critch, OFM, and Kevin Downey, OFM, were pictured in the May 12 issue of The Beacon, newspaper of the Diocese of Paterson, N.J., in an article about the establishment of a Stephen Ministry at St. Mary’s Parish in Pompton Lakes, N.J. The article is titled “Stephen Ministry lends people in emotional crisis a compassionate ear.”
Brian Belanger, OFM, director of international programs at Siena College, gave the opening address at the Intercultural Horizons Conference. The conference, held May 6 to 8 in Siena, Italy, was sponsored by the college’s Siena Italian Studies program and the Center for Intercultural Exchange. Brian’s address, “Medieval Saints Speak to Millennial Scholars,” used saints Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Siena as models of cross-cultural communication in a contemporary context.
Friars planning to participate in the June 7 to 9 pastoral leadership workshop at Holy Name College are reminded to contact Thomas Conway, OFM, HNC guardian, to reserve a guest room, and Mark Reamer, OFM, to register for the program (919-847-8205).
Among the participants in Siena College’s recent pilgrimage to Italy led by F. Edward Coughlin, OFM, wereKevin Mullen, OFM, and Kenneth Paulli, OFM. Photos and information about the May 19 to 30 pilgrimage appear on a travelogue, hosted by the Times Union of Albany, which appears on the Siena’s website.
Brian Cullinane, OFM, Paul Sinnema, OFM, Richard Mucowski, OFM, Richard Husted, OFM, and Cassian Miles, OFM, concelebrated a May 21 Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., at which 35 candidates were ordained to the permanent diaconate. Brian vested Deacon Frank Materia, who was ordained to serve at Assumption of Our Blessed Lady Church in Wood-Ridge. Deacon Anthony Liguori, a former member of that parish staff, was among those ordained. He was assigned to St. Elizabeth’s Church in Wyckoff, formerly served by Holy Name Province. Richard, the newly appointed pastor at Assumption, will now have two deacons available, as Deacon Nicholas Valdez has ministered at the parish for the past few years. Deacon Materia served his first Mass at 11 a.m. the next day.
Julian Davies, OFM, is accepting written reports for use in the next edition of the Provincial Annals. Submissions can be emailed to Julian by friars and ministry staff members through June 11.
A church in western Canada is seeking summer assistance from a friar. According to Dwayne Fernandez, OFM, Fr. Paul Smith, OFM, based in Vancouver, B.C., has “asked if any friar priest from HNP would like to look after a Franciscan parish from mid-July to end of August for six weeks or less.” Interested friars should contact Fr. Paul by phone at (02) 9369 9300 or online.
Daniel Horan, OFM, presented on “Who Do You Say That I Am? Human Dignity and the True Self According to John Duns Scotus” at The Catholic Worker in New York City on May 27. Daniel, who frequently updates his blog, Dating God, was recently elected to the board of directors of the International Thomas Merton Society for a two-year term, which begins with the June 2011 board meeting in Chicago. Dan had also recently been honored by the ITMS, receiving one of two William H. Shannon Research Fellowships for the 2010-2011 academic year. This month, he will be presenting an academic paper titled “Seeds of De(con)struction: Insights from Thomas Merton for a Postmodern World,” at the ITMS conference at Loyola University in Chicago.
After the closing of Rice High School in Harlem, N.Y., was announced last week, Glenn Humphrey, OFM, who has worked there six years, said, “It is very, very sad. I have had kids come into my office and start to talk, and then quickly leave saying, ‘I can’t talk about this or I’ll start crying.’ A freshman in the computer lab asked me if I could help him find a new school on the Internet. Yes, this is so tragic.” Glenn is a psychologist for the school.
On May 19, Christopher Keenan, OFM, chaplain of the Fire Department of New York, accompanied the family of Shannon Hickey, co-founder of Mychal’s Message, to the annual Christophers Awards dinner in New York City. Hickey, a student at Millersville University in Pennsylvania, was presented with the James Keller Award for her service work. Photos of Christophers, as well as Hickey’s mother, Kelly Ann Lynch, and grandmother Sharon Hickey, appear on the Facebook page of Mychal’s Message.
Vincent Laviano, OFM, submitted a photo of a May 23 farewell dinner for Fr. Pio Kim, OFM, of Korea, who had been based at St. Francis Friary in Midtown Manhattan for several years while studying for his doctorate at Fordham University. The previous day, the parish’s Korean community held its 13th annual street fair and bazaar to benefit North Korean refugees and the homeless.
Tony LoGalbo, OFM, reports that at the May 16 evening prayer service at Holy Name College, the following friars were installed in the ministry of reader: Mario Gomez, OFM, Edgardo Zea, OFM, Jeffery Jordan, OFM, and Br. Geoffrey Muga, a Franciscan Missionary of Hope, Kenya. Mario, Edgardo and Br. Geoffrey, along with Br. Damian Park, OFM, of the Korean Province, were installed in the ministry of acolyte.
An expansion of Mount St. Mary College, Newburgh, N.Y., where Kevin Mackin, OFM, is president, was announced May 24. The college is acquiring the Dominican Center, which for years housed the offices and residences of the Dominican Sisters who founded the college. “I think it is going to transform the campus,” said Kevin in a recent article in the Times Herald Record. In other MSMC news, a blog about Kevin is being developed for the college’s website, according to Janet Gianopoulos, assistant to the president for community relations. It is called “Fr. Kevin’s Corner.”
Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM, is participating in the June 1 Blessed Night Out, the 26th annual Interfaith assembly on homelessness and housing in New York City. It includes a convocation walk and overnight vigil for housing justice. Donations to the initiative can be made online at BlessedNightOut.org.
Guy Morgan, OFM, of St. Petersburg, Fla., commemorated his 85th birthday yesterday. Last week, another friar celebrated a milestone birthday. Michael Jones, OFM, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Butler, N.J., turned 50 on May 26.
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, met this week with members of the Provincial Council. Highlights of the May 31 to June 1 meeting will be provided in a future issue of this newsletter.
Parishioners of St. Clare Parish in Buffalo, N.Y., and their pastor Michael Putich, OFM, were among the crowd on May 29 cheering on Buffalo Marathon runners. They rang bells and held signs at mile marker nine, in the historic Valley Neighborhood. Michael said, “5,000 marathoners were greeted with cheers and prayers as they passed by St. Clare Parish. The winners pounded by at 7:50 a.m. and a few stragglers walked by at 9:15. The runners responded with high fives, low fives, knuckle butts, even hugs. Many enjoyed the lawn sprinkler. There were a lot of smiles and thank you’s to the parishioners.” Michael was greeted by his former students at Bishop Timon High School, colleagues from the Veterans Administration Medical Center, scouts, and friends from throughout Buffalo.
Space for participants is available on the autumn pilgrimage to Italy being led by Andrew Reitz, OFM, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Tampa., Fla. Information appears in the May 29 bulletin of St. Francis Church, New York City, where Andrew will become pastor on July 1.
Ignatius Smith, OFM, reports that a May 15 Mass of Thanksgiving at Holy Cross Church in Callicoon, N.Y., forJoseph Trunk, OFM, who died in April, was well attended. “He is so well loved in Callicoon, after so many years,” said Ignatius, pastor of Holy Cross.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by June 8 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date). Updates about Province ministries and friars can be found on the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province Facebook page.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· A farewell reception for David Convertino, OFM, who is ending his term as director of St. Anthony Shrine
· Jubilee celebration at Holy Name Friary in Ringwood, N.J., on June 25
· A farewell Mass at St. Joseph Church in East Rutherford, N.J.
· A new office space for the Province’s Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation staff members
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas