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, of Pompton Lakes, N.J., is co-hosting the last of a three-part series tonight called “A Journey to Bethlehem with St. Matthew and St. Luke.” The program begins at 7 p.m. in the Carnevale Center of St. Mary’s Church.
John Anglin, OFM, one of several HNP friars who blog, wrote recently in The Wandering Friar about Advent, about the gift of brothers, and about the new translation of the Mass texts.
Scott Brookbank, OFM, is meeting this week with the other members of the leadership team of the OFM North American Interprovincial Novitiate in Burlington, Wis.
On Dec. 11, St. Bonaventure University professor Michael Calabria, OFM, presented a talk on “Muslims, Christians and Jews: the Children of Abraham” at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown, N.Y. His other recent lectures include “Women in Islam” for the Newman Book Club of Salamanca, N.Y., and “Egypt after the Revolution” at the Wellsville Public Library.
F. Edward Coughlin, OFM, has launched a formal strategic planning process to outline a path for the future of St. Bonaventure University’s School of Franciscan Studies and the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University. Edward is interim dean of the school of Franciscan Studies and director of the Franciscan Institute. Details can be found in the winter 2011-2012 issue of Bonaventure magazine.
The solemn profession of Stephen DeWitt, OFM, and Daniel Horan, OFM, is the theme of the most recent photo album added to the HNP.org Our Events Photo Gallery. The gallery features photos from a variety of other Provincial events taken over the past few years.
Gregory Jakubowicz, OFM, chaplain at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., blessed students last week at the college’s annual “Blessing of the Brains.” According to a news release, “Students gather with the friars for some spiritual guidance before final exams begin.” The tradition gives students a chance to take a break from studying and to relax before the week of finals. After a Gospel reading, music from the chapel choir and a series of intercessions, each student receives a blessing from one of several Siena friars: “May God bless you and open your mind with wisdom and understanding.” Daniel Dwyer, OFM, and Dennis Tamburello, OFM, also participated in Siena’s blessing of the Brains. Photos can be viewed on Siena’s website.
Joseph Kotula, OFM, and Kevin Kriso, OFM, of Mt. Irenaeus were quoted in an article about the death of Harry Monaco, OFM, which appeared in the Dec. 9 issue of The Bona Venture, St. Bonaventure University’s student newspaper. BV copyeditor Maria Hayes also wrote about Harry on her blog in an entry titled “What Fr. Harry Did for Me.”
Cassian Miles, OFM, concluded on Dec. 19 a six-week film, “A.D.,” based on the Acts of the Apostles, for parishioners of St. Anthony Church in Butler, N.J.
Donnon Murray, OFM, of Tokyo, visited Norway recently to introduce the “Sons and Daughters Encounter.” He provides details in his 2011 Christmas letter in which he requests prayers “for the spread of the Encounters programs through a world that is in such great need of families in the Lord, which is the aim and effect of those programs.”
Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, is visiting the friars of Butler and Ringwood, N.J. on Dec. 21 and 22. Next week, he will be in Berryville, Va., for days of recollection.
A prayer for Christmas by Paul O’Keeffe, OFM, appeared in the Franciscan Mission Service blog earlier this month. On Jan. 9, Paul, who served as a lay missioner in Africa and Jamaica in the mid 1990s, will begin a position as the FMS development director.
In the Dec. 18 bulletin of the Church of St. Mary on Broadway in Providence, R.I., pastor Steven Patti, OFM, wrote of the many changes ongoing on at the parish and its affiliated Franciscan ministries.
Michael Putich, OFM, spoke on Dec. 12 at Hospice Buffalo telling of his experiences with veterans and their families in the palliative care settings. His stories spoke to the effects of PTSD and moral injury in the end of life process.
In the Dec. 18 bulletin of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Midtown Manhattan, Andrew Reitz, OFM, pastor, thanked people who contributed scarves, gloves and hats in a recent collection for the homeless clients of St. Francis Breadline. The bulletin also described the Dec. 8 “Evening of Thanks” that the parish held for its volunteers. The event was “one way of saying thank you for all that these volunteers do for St. Francis Church. The many Masses and ministries run so smoothly because these individuals have stepped forward to become part of what needs to be done.”
Daniel Riley, OFM, and the friars of Mt. Irenaeus in Western New York are planning a friar gathering called “Contemplative Days” for June 11 to 15, 2012. The event, open to all HNP friars, will include prayer, conversations, and shared meals. Detailed information will be provided to the friars in early January.
Kevin Tortorelli, OFM, director of adult education, is accepting registrations for an eight-week course on the Book of Revelation in San Damiano Hall on West 31st Street in New York City that begins Jan. 18. It is being taught by Joseph Nuzzi, director of evangelization at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 135 West 31st Street.
Juan de la Cruz Turcios, OFM, graduated from the University of South Florida, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in art history and studio art. Friars and friends from Sacred Heart Church, Tampa, Fla., joined Juan at the Dec. 9 graduation ceremony, said George Corrigan, OFM, guardian of Sacred Heart Friary, where Juan lives. “The friars took Juan out that evening for a celebration for all his hard work,” George said. “Juan donned his cap and gown while posing in the sacristy, prepared for the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”
Basil Valente, OFM, gave a faculty address at St. Bonaventure University’s December Recognition Ceremony for students completing degree requirements at the end of the fall semester. Basil is associate professor of journalism/mass communication and director of the Integrated Marketing Communications master’s degree program.
Thomas Vigliotta, OFM, reports that the blessing of the renovated chapel at the University of Georgia’s Catholic Center has been rescheduled for Jan. 8. He is director of the center.
Jud Weiksnar, OFM, participated in the demolition on Dec. 6 of Ron’s House, the abandoned house adjacent to St. Anthony of Padua School in Camden, N.J. “We had to work through over five years of red tape to get it torn down, even though it was just 28 feet away from our school,” said the pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church. “The demolition crew let me take the first ‘bite’ out of it with their excavator. Our plan is to put in a playground on the site. Pictures and photos are on our website.” A photo of Jud accompanied “Demolition of Ron’s House in Camden” in the Courier Post of Cherry Hill, N.J.
News for the next issue of HNP Today is requested by Dec. 28 (always the Wednesday before he newsletter’s publication date). Updates about the 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:
· commissioning of the 26th class of the Franciscan Mission Service
· the gathering of SPUFY friars (those solemnly professed under five years) in January
· recent activities of the HNP Ministry of the Word friars
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas