NEW YORK — Below are updates about some of the many activities of Holy Name friars, including their outreach, celebrations, and presentations. More information can be obtained by visiting links to the parishes and organizations mentioned, by contacting the friars by phone or e-mail and by connecting with the Communications Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, e-mail communications director Jocelyn Thomas.
For his September meditation, Russell Becker, OFM, wrote about Cardinal John Newman, who will be beatified by Pope Benedict on Sept. 19 during the papal visit to Great Britain. Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) was “a great theologian, spiritual writer and poet who came into the full communion of the Catholic Church from the Anglican communion,” said Russell in the monthly meditation that appears on the website of the Province’s Franciscan Missionary Union.
Robert Gavin, OFM, will be leading “Testing Our Spiritual Growth,” an adult religious education course being offered this fall at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York City. According to a brochure, the course will present helpful signs from other traditions to help discern if attendees are progressing or regressing in their spiritual lives.
In his September appeal letter, St. Anthony’s Guild director Joseph Hertel, OFM, described the May 22 ordination of Lawrence Anderson, OFM, and David Phan, OFM.
Daniel Horan, OFM, and Kenneth Paulli, OFM, are mentioned in the Alumni Class Notes section of the Aug. 15 issue of ePistle, e-newsletter of the Washington Theological Union.
Thomas Kelly, OFM, is leading a weekend retreat for separated and divorced Catholics, scheduled for Oct. 15 to 17 in Newton, N.J. Information is available by contacting Tom at 973-985-9736.
A photo of Christopher Keenan, OFM, appears in a poster being distributed by the Fire Department of New York. Since 2001, Christopher has been a chaplain of the FDNY.
Vincent Laviano, OFM, and Jerome Massimino, OFM, of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Midtown Manhattan, are in Korea this week visiting the friars of the Province of Korea on the occasion of the episcopal ordination of Bishop Francis Xavier Yu Soo-il, OFM.
On Friday, Sept. 3, Tony LoGalbo, OFM, gave a presentation on St. Francis and Franciscan Spirituality to the new group of volunteers for Covenant House Faith communities. Volunteers serve at the Manhattan facility and other residences throughout the U.S. Covenant House ministry was founded by the late Fr. Bruce Ritter, OFM Conv.
Kevin Mackin, OFM, participated in a celebration earlier this month dedicating the dining hall at Mt. St. Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y, where he is president. Reza Rafizadeh (left in photo), vice president of operations for Sodexo food services, and joined by students at a celebration and blessing of the newly-renovated Aquinas Dining Hall. Sodexo gifted the college with $2.7 million for enhancements that include an expanded main dining hall with 9,500 square feet seating 335 comfortably. Upgraded furnishings such as soft seat booths and semi-circular banquettes create a more elegant and fresh dining experience. Large windows overlook the Hudson River.
Six friars from southern HNP ministries joined John McDowell, OFM, at his new ministry — the Clemson University campus ministry — for a dinner on Labor Day. They included Henry Fulmer , OFM, of Columbia, S.C.,David Hyman, OFM, and Thomas Vigliotta, OFM, of Athens, Ga., Aubrey McNeil, OFM, of Anderson, S.C.,Patrick Tuttle, OFM, and Khoa Nguyen, OFM, of Greenville, S.C.
Anthony Moore, OFM, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Yulan, N.Y., commemorated his 85th birthday earlier this month.
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, led the monthly meeting of the HNP Provincial Council on Sept. 13 and 14. Tomorrow, he is participating in a meeting of the Washington Theological Union board of trustees. Last week, he was in Western New York for a meeting of the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees.
Daniel Riley, OFM, will deliver the keynote address at the tenth anniversary lecture of the Corpus Christi Chapter of the International Thomas Merton society at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 25. Dan, director of the Mt. Irenaeus Franciscan Mountain Retreat, will celebrate Mass on Sept. 23 at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Manhattan.
Vocation director Brian Smail, OFM, attended a meeting on Sept. 8 at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, N.Y., with other religious order vocation directors. He submitted a photo showing Sr. Deanna Sabetta, CND, the vocation director for Religious Life for the Archdiocese of New York. She is giving opening remarks at the meeting. Vocation directors representing both men’s and women’s communities met to share information, ideas, and visions for the future of vocation ministry. Hosted by Sr. Deanna Sabetta, CND, vocation director for religious life for the archdiocese, the meeting stressed the need for more collaboration among various religious communities. In an entry posted on his blog “Be a Franciscan” last week, Brian said, “Plans were made to collaborate on projects such as young adult retreats, evenings of recollection, discernment days, online retreats, family vocation days, and other gatherings to attract men and women who may have an interest in religious life.”
Franciscan Volunteer Ministers at St. Anthony Padua Church in Camden, N.J., where Jud Weiksnar, OFM, is pastor, were included in an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer titled “Young college graduates try to help make Camden a better place.”
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Sept. 22 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date).
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas