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.
Raphael Bonanno, OFM, will be leading a pilgrimage to Fatima and Lourdes next fall. Details are available in the Oct. 16 bulletin of St. Anthony Shrine, where Raphael is based, or by phone (617-542-6440).
HNP’s Franciscan Missionary Union director Thomas Cole, OFM, traveled to Africa this summer to visit to a number of communities that receive support from FMU. He was present for the beginning of the first term of studies of the St. Anthony of Padua Institute of Africa. “The institute has been in the planning stages — with the support of St. Bonaventure University’s Franciscan Institute — for well over 10 years, so this first term is an historic moment for the Franciscan Family in East Africa, he said. “There has long been a desire for a solid program of Franciscan studies for friars, sisters and secular Franciscans in the region.” Sponsored by the Franciscan Family Association of East Africa, SAPIA is housed at The Portiuncula Center in Nairobi. The first class of students is composed of friars (Order of Friars Minor along with Franciscan Missionaries of Hope and Order of Servant Franciscans), Sisters and Secular Franciscans. “Most of the teachers are graduates of The Franciscan Institute,” Tom noted. While in Nairobi, Tom visited the Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor. There, “I had the great joy of meeting up with a resident and sister I had sat with at one of the events for the canonization of Jeanne Jugan two years earlier,” he said.
In the All Souls Day 2011 mailing of St. Anthony’s Guild, David Convertino, OFM, introduced a new program called November Faith. It is a period of 29 days of special prayer for deceased loved ones, beginning Nov. 2, All Souls Day, and continuing until Nov. 30. He also introduced a new St. Anthony’s Book of Remembrance during the month of November. “It is a special way of entrusting your beloved dead into the care of St. Anthony.” David said. “Their names will be inscribed into this new Book of Remembrance which will be placed in the Shrine Tomb of St. Anthony at our church in New York City.”
Kevin Daly, OFM, reports that the busy season of St. Francis of Assisi Parish on Long Beach Island, N.J., ended the weekend of Oct. 8 with an annual 18-mile run co-sponsored by the parish. “From July 4 through Columbus Day, the parish is very busy with many activities,” he said. “Now things calm down.”
A photo of Michael Duffy, OFM, with the 2011-12 Franciscan Volunteer Ministers appears on the cover of the October 2011 issue of The Pilgrim, the monthly newsletter of the St. Francis Inn Ministries. Back issues of the publication can be found on its website.
Henry Fulmer, OFM, and Paul Williams, OFM, of St. Joseph Church in Anderson, S.C., are pictured in the Oct 23 issue of The Carpenter, the parish and school newsletter. The photo accompanies an article that describes a recent brunch that welcoming seven new families to the parish.
Provincial Secretary Michael Harlan, OFM, is collecting registrations for the 2011 guardians’ meeting. A recent email to the guardians and directors of HNP offices reminded attendees to submit their registration forms by Oct. 24. On Oct.14, Michael gave the invocation at the annual awards dinner of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, N.Y.
Kenneth Himes, OFM, of Boston College, spoke on Oct. 20 at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in Hartford, Conn. His lecture, part of the parish’s faith formation program, was titled “The Conscience of a Disciple.” St. Patrick-St. Anthony staff member Pat Curtis provided a photo.
Daniel Horan, OFM, recently directed a retreat for the 20s/30s Boston group of young adults. “The Lesser-Known Stories of Francis: Lessons of Franciscan Spirituality for Today” was held at the Benedictine Glastonbury Abbey in Hingham, Mass., and focused on six infrequently cited narratives found in the early Franciscan sources that reveal hagiographical insight and spiritual wisdom about St. Francis and the early followers of his movement, Dan said. “The theme of the weekend led the retreatants to reflect on what this insight and wisdom offers young Catholics today on their spiritual journey.” More information is available on Dan’s website and blog.
Cidouane Joseph, OFM, traveled to Haiti last month with parishioners of St. Anthony-St Patrick Church, Hartford, Conn., to visit the sister parish, St. Genevieve, in Zoranje. “They received a wonderful welcome, reviewed our covenant and got the latest information on the dynamism and energy of the present experience of life in Haiti,” said pastor Thomas Gallagher, OFM, in the Oct. 16 parish bulletin.
Kevin Mackin, OFM, president of Mount St. Mary College, welcomed visiting scholar William Carroll to the Newburgh, N.Y., campus on Oct. 5. The event — hosted by the Catholic and Dominican Institute at Mount St. Mary College along with the natural sciences department — was part of Founders Week, which celebrates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary on Oct. 7 and the Dominican sisters (Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary) who helped found the college.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish, in Raleigh, N.C., where Mark Reamer, OFM, is pastor, held a Fair Trade Gift fair on Oct. 21. This year’s “Gift It Up” included presentations from vendors on how the alternative business strategy had changed their lives.
Stephen Mimnaugh, OFM, is coordinating Habitat for Humanity projects at St. Francis of Assisi Church in New York City. The Oct. 23 parish bulletin publicized the need for five volunteers to serve on Oct. 29 with helping to construct new affordable housing at a construction site in Brooklyn. It also described the second annual School for Faith in Action training program for Habitat volunteers. The training, being coordinated by Stephen, runs Oct. 31 to Dec. 12.
Provincial Vicar Dominic Monti, OFM, participated in the Oct. 21 meeting in Wilmington, Del., of the board members of the Franciscan Volunteer Ministry. His other upcoming activities include a meeting of the Board of the Academny of American Franciscan History on Nov. 4 and 5 in Berkeley, Calif.
Jacek Orzechowski, OFM, of Silver Spring, Md., delivered remarks at the Oct. 7 U.S. State Department hearing on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline. On behalf of the Franciscan Action Network and the National Interfaith Power and Light, Jacek said, “I urge the State Department and President Obama to deny the permit of the tar sands pipeline. Prolonging our deadline addition to dirty fossil fuels will be devastating: for life on our plant, for people and economy. This is immoral and not in the national interest of the United States.” A video of Jacek’s presentation can be viewed on FAN’s blog, Acting Franciscan.
Daniel Riley, OFM, and Basil Valente, OFM, were among the attendees of St. Bonaventure University’s annual Hellinger Awards dinner on Oct. 6. This year’s event, held in Buffalo, honored Lee Coppola who was retiring as dean of SBU’s Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The night, “filled with playful jabs and the occasional roundhouse wisecrack, ended with a touching tribute from a professor who couldn’t bring himself to poke fun at the man he called boss for 15 years,” according to a report on SBU’s website.
Vocation director Brian Smail, OFM, hosted five men at last week’s Come and See weekend in New York City. On Nov. 3, Brian will be speaking on “Who Am I Called to Be?” as part of a young adult speaker series being offered by the Archdiocese of New York at St. Francis of Assisi Church on West 31st Street. Details appeared in a recent issue of Catholic New York.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Nov. 2 (always the Wednesday before the newsletter’s publication date). Updates about friars and their ministries can be found on the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province Facebook page.
Topics planned for future issues of this newsletter include:
· the annual guardians meeting, Nov. 15 to 17
· 25th anniversary celebration of the Assisi Community in Washington
· University of Georgia’s Catholic Center
· Recent Francis Medal presentations
· 2012 pilgrimages
· St. Bonaventure University’s Fr. Mychal Judge OFM Center
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas