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 HNP Communications Office.
To provide news briefs for future issues of HNP Today, email information to communications director Jocelyn Thomas at communications@hnp.org.
John Anglin, OFM, was interviewed last week by CatholicTV.com about his book, The Wandering Friar. “The Church is the people of God, it’s the body of Christ, it’s everybody,” said the St. Petersburg, Fla., resident in the interview, which begins at the 16:20 mark in this video. John also celebrated the television network’s daily Mass on Oct. 15.
On Oct. 7, Brian Belanger, OFM, gave the opening remarks at the Intercultural Horizons Conference in Siena, Italy, an event cosponsored by Siena College, where Brian is director of international programs.
The friars of St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, where Thomas Conway, OFM, is director, hosted a volunteer appreciation dinner on Sept. 28. More than 150 people attended the festivities that began with a celebration of the Eucharist and ended with an Italian dinner. Maribeth McDonald, the Shrine’s director of development, provided photos of the friars blessing volunteers and staff members.
Kevin Daly, OFM, of St. Francis of Assisi Parish volunteered his services at the annual 18-mile run on Long Beach Island, N.J. He and others affiliated with St. Francis Community Center, which the event benefits, worked at a water station on the route of the Oct. 13 race.
Kenneth Himes, OFM, of Boston College, will be one of three speakers at Siena College’s academic symposium in honor of Bishop Howard Hubbard of Albany, N.Y. The Oct. 29 event, taking place at 7:30 p.m. on the Loudonville, N.Y., campus, is titled “Social Justice, Lay Leadership and Interfaith Dialogue.” The symposium is free and open to the public.
Daniel Horan, OFM, was the keynote speaker for the National Chapter of the Secular Franciscan Order held in Kansas City, Kan., on Oct. 16. Earlier this month, Dan spoke on “Dating God and Franciscan Spirituality,” and was the presider and homilist at the feast of St. Francis liturgy at the Franciscan Center in Tampa, Fla. During the weekend of Oct. 11, Dan led a retreat titled “The Franciscan Spirituality of Thomas Merton: Changing Hearts, Living Faith,” at the Benedictine Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Mass., for St. Anthony Shrine’s 20s/30s Boston group. Dan is the author of three chapters in the new book, Naked, And You Clothed Me, a collection of reflections on the Sunday scripture readings for Year A. A fundraising project for four charities in the New Jersey area, all proceeds benefit nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless. Other contributors include Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, Fr. James Martin, SJ, Rob Bell, and Sr. Simone Campbell, SSS. The book can be ordered directly from Clear Faith Publishing.
Julian Jagudilla, OFM, invites all to a public forum on immigration, being held Nov. 2 from 1 to 4 p.m. in San Damiano Hall on West 31st Street, New York City. The program, which marks the launch of the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, will include a panel of immigration lawyers who will speak on the state of the immigration system, immigration reform bills, and other related topics. Julian’s work at the Migrant Center at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, along with ways that volunteers can help the center, was featured in the Oct. 6 bulletin of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Information about the center, founded in October 1999 by Brian Jordan, OFM, and originally called the Immigration Center, can be found on the organization’s website.
Cidouane Joseph, OFM, returned last week from Haiti, where he traveled with a group of parishioners from St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, Hartford, Conn. During the Sept. 16 to 24 immersion trip, the group visited St. Patrick-St. Anthony’s sister parish, St. Genevieve, in Zoranje, as well as ministries such as Madame Samson’s Children Feeding Program, the Dr. Wilkin clinic, and the Jane Wynn Farm in Kenskoff. “Each day began with an early Mass and ended with a reflection on the day’s activities, followed by rosary and night prayer,” said Cid, a native of Haiti. “It seemed that everyone enjoyed the experience.”
A photo of Daniel Kenna, OFM, pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Parish in New York City, blessing animals in observance of the feast of St. Francis appeared in the Oct. 17 issue of Catholic New York.
A photo of Louis McCormick, OFM, appears in the October 2013 edition of the Making All Things New newsletter of Mt. Irenaeus with a story titled “What is a Secular Franciscan?” Kevin Kriso, OFM, shared insights on the four seasons of vegetable growing and “joining with Jesus Christ to make all things new” in a reflection he wrote for the newsletter.
Kevin McGoff, OFM, said he is thankful that emergency personnel responded “so quickly and completely” to a fire earlier this month at Santa Sophia Church in Spring Valley, Calif., where he is music director. The fires were discovered by a security worker about 7:45 p.m. on Oct. 8, said Kevin who said he was summoned back to Santa Sophia Church when it was discovered that a break-in had occurred and the perpetrator had set three interior fires. The church was closed when the arson occurred. “Once the fire was reported, sheriff’s department personnel and the San Miguel Fire District were on hand in great force and saved the church from total destruction,” Kevin said. “The fire investigator remarked that if the alarm had been turned in five minutes later the entire structure would likely have been lost.” The costliest damage will likely be from smoke and water. “We are so thankful that no one was injured. As director of music, I am mostly concerned with the state of the instruments in the church,” he said. “Both grand pianos and the digital organ console were heavily blanketed with soot. Even our choral library, located in a very remote interior room, is covered with soot. The entire parish responded to the crisis with grace and faithfulness. The church was moved to the parish hall and as items were cleaned by the restoration team, statues, altar appointments, and liturgical necessities were moved to our temporary locale across the parking lot. Our entire staff worked tirelessly throughout the week to make sure that our weekend of worship went off without a hitch and it did. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department arrested a suspect on Friday afternoon, when he was discovered walking in the neighborhood of the church. No information has been released as to a motive.”
Cassian Miles, OFM, provided a memory to the HNP Communications Office about a drive while on vacation through the South with his brother Joe before entering St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary, Callicoon, N.Y., in the summer of 1951. En route home, they decided to visit Holy Name College in Washington, D.C., considering this would be Cassian’s future home for theological studies. A front doorbell ring brought a theology student friar to welcome them for a brief tour and a cup of coffee. Sixty two years later, Casey found that friar at his side in the dining room at Butler, N.J., earlier this week, offering him congrats on his 84th birthday. “Yes, Stephen Lynch, OFM, and I now reside in adjacent third floor rooms at the friary,” said Cassian.
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, and Sr. Margaret Carney, OFM, president of St. Bonaventure University, speak about board service as ministry in the current issue of In Trust, an educational journal published by an organization representing more than 200 seminaries and schools of theology. Both took part in a program given this summer by the Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities titled “Trusteeship as Ministry.”
Details about the initiatives of the Order’s Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation in Rome, where Joseph Rozansky, OFM, is director, are included in the October 2013 issue of Contact, the office’s newsletter. The issue includes information about JPIC efforts of Franciscans in Central America, Indonesia and Mexico, the effects of climate change on the war in Syria, and the extension of the deadline for submissions to the logo content for the JPIC Office.
Patrick Tuttle, OFM, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Greenville, S.C., appears in a promotional video for the parish school that is featured on the school’s new website.
James Vacco, OFM, departed for Italy on Oct. 15 with a group from St. Bonaventure Parish, Allegany, N.Y., where he is pastor. The travelers will visit several cities, including Assisi, Bagnoregio, Florence, Perugia and Rome.
Provincial Treasurer Dennis Wilson, OFM, reports that the Provincial Office is continuing to use its temporary phone number — 646-582-2879. He expects the standard number to be back in service at the end of this month.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Oct. 30, always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date. Updates about the friars and their ministries can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
• Attendance by two friars at PowerShift
• St. Anthony Shrine’s Oct. 24 event
• Ordination of Paul Keenan, OFM, on Nov. 9
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas