The friars celebrating their silver and golden jubilees of profession this year.
NEW YORK — A new year has arrived, generating a sense of hope and of energy. For individuals and for the Church, it is an important year — the Jubilee Year of Mercy. As Pope Francis has written, this is a time when “we are called to gaze even more attentively on mercy so that we may become a more effective sign of the Father’s action in our lives.”
“Walking the path of mercy is to live according to reason, that is, according to the profound meaning of our being in the world — sisters and brothers in relation to each other, in communion with all creatures,” said the Order’s General Minister Fr. Michael Perry, OFM, in a letter last month.
“We walk as brothers and minors in our day in the sign of mercy,” said Fr. Michael. “It is on this road we will encounter the ‘One who was born for us along the path is laid in a manger, because there was no room at the inn.’”
“It is on this path that we receive new incentive, in which many of the brothers among us try and wish to give strength and light to our evangelical life as brothers minor. It is on this road that our humanity can grow and become capable of tenderness and tears, of proximity to the little ones and of conversion in charity. It is on this way that the joy of the Gospel can become contagious in the testimony of our lives, without quarrels and disputes and remaining subject to every human creature for the love of God.”
As 2016 begins, Holy Name Province’s members contemplate mercy and consecrated life, giving thanks for their brothers. The Province remembers the deceased and looks ahead to in gratitude to friars marking anniversaries of religious life.
Jubilarians
The Province congratulates 37 friars who are celebrating milestone anniversaries this year, giving thanks to God for their lives and their brotherhood and their gifts. The HNP members commemorating major anniversaries of profession and ordination are listed below. They live in the Northeast states as well as in Bolivia and Puerto Rico.
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25 Years as Friars |
50 Years as Friars |
60 Years as Friars |
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25 Years Ordained |
50 Years Ordained |
60 Years Ordained |
In June, the Province will honor those marking 25 and 50 years since their first profession of vows. Other anniversary celebrations are traditionally arranged by the individual classes and usually celebrated locally.
Memoriam
Last year, 11 members of Holy Name Province died. Among them were two former HNP communication directors as well as friars who had served at parishes, on campuses and in Provincial administration roles. With each friar’s name below is a link to his obituary published in HNP Today.
- James Czerwinski, OFM, died Jan. 2 in Boston
- Albert Aldrich, OFM, died Jan. 24 in Ringwood, N.J.
- Capistran Hanlon, OFM, died Feb. 5 in Ringwood
- Richard Biasiotto, OFM, died May 14 in Loudonville, N.Y.
- Robert Gavin, OFM, died May 19 in Ringwood
- Thomas Vigliotta, OFM, died July 4 in Ringwood
- Roy Gasnick, OFM, died July 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla.
- Cassian Miles, OFM, died Aug. 20 in Ringwood
- Rayner Williams, OFM, died Sept. 30 in Ringwood
- John Van Hook, OFM, died Nov. 5 in Ringwood
- Allen Weber, OFM, died Dec. 25 in Hackensack, N.J.
The Province wishes its members and its partners-in-ministry a new year filled with peace and all good.
— Jocelyn Thomas is director of communications for the Province.
Editor’s note: Please consider donating in honor of our deceased friars. Your donation will help us to care for our our sick and elderly Franciscan friars who have served so many for so long. These men, who have given their lives in service to so many are now in need of care themselves. Click here to donate.
Related Links
- “A Gift of Grace: Ministries Begin the Year of Mercy” — Dec. 21, 2015, HNP Today
- “Celebrating 750 Years of Witness and Service” — July 8, 2015, HNP Today
- “Province Congratulates 2015 Jubilarians” — Jan. 7, 2015, HNP Today