The following descriptions summarize recent news from the Order of Friars Minor. Additional details can be found by visiting the links to the news items mentioned as well as by following the Order of Friars Minor on Facebook and Twitter for information throughout the month.
►The Order has created a website for news and information about the Plenary Council being held from June 12 to 28 in Narobi, Kenya. During this time, the friars “will reflect on contemporary realities in the world, the Church, and the Order, spending time in prayer, study, discussion, and decision-making. As we more towards the eighth centenary of the meeting of St. Francis with the Sultan al-Malik al Kamil in 1219, this gathering is an invitation to embody a life of dialogue by seeking concrete ways of listening, discerning and putting into action.”
►The latest issue of Contact, the quarterly bulletin of the Order’s Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, is available on the Order’s website. This issue focuses on ecology, migration and peace-focused events from around the world. Mentioned is a report by Jud Weiksnar, OFM, a member of the Order’s JPIC animation committee, on activities related to the four priorities of HNP’s JPIC Office – immigration, climate, racism and white privilege, and nonviolent peacemaking – as well as a report on the integration of RCIA and Catholic Social Teaching/JPIC themes at Ss. Columba-Brigid Parish in Buffalo, N.Y., where he is pastor.
►Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Luis Antonio Scozzina, OFM, coordinator of the St. Thomas of Aquinas Institute of the Rosario Campus of the Catholic University of Argentina, as bishop of the Diocese of Orán, Argentina.
►The Order is mourning the death of Bishop Henry Howaniec, OFM, of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Prior to his appointment as bishop, he was a member of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Province, headquartered in Wisconsin. He worked in the General Curia in the offices of the General Secretary, Protocal, and Translations before serving as a missionary in Kazakhstan.
►An ongoing formation course on ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue will be offered by the international fraternities in Istanbul and Smyrna, Turkey and the General Secretariat for Missions and Evangelization from Oct. 14 to 28 in Istanbul. The course is open to Friars Minor and members of the Franciscan family and will be conducted in French, English, Italian and Spanish. During the course, there will be a three-day visit to historical sites in Cappadocia. More information is available on the Order’s website.
— Maria Hayes is communications coordinator for Holy Name Province.
Related Links
- “Order Update: General Minister Shares Easter Message” – April 3, 2018, HNP Today
- “ESC Update: Friar Who Co-organized Greenwood Movement Remembered, Other News” – April 18, 2018, HNP Today