The following updates summarize news from the English-speaking Conference of the Order of Friars Minor, comprised of provinces and custodies from Canada, England, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, and the United States. Follow the ESC on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-date information throughout the month.
►The spring meeting of the provincial ministers of the English-speaking Conference was held from April 9 to 13 at the Domus Mariae Conference Center outside of London. Among the items discussed were the union of the two Canadian provinces, which will occur on Oct. 23, and the Extraordinary Chapter being held May 30 by six United States provinces to vote on possible unification. A complete summary of the meeting was posted on the Order’s website.
►Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, was recently honored with the Lumen Ecclesiae Award by the Dominican Ecclesial Institute. The “Light of the Church” is a lifetime achievement award that honors an extraordinary individual leader, long outstanding in adult faith formation. More than 300 people attended the Lumen Awards ceremony, held at the Hotel Albuquerque.
►Religious communities around the country are using innovative ways of communicating to reach young Americans who are discerning their call to religious life. Several – including Casey Cole, OFM, and St. John the Baptist Province’s Fr. Richard Goodin, OFM – were mentioned in a National Catholic Register article titled “Religious Orders Use Social Media to Draw Millennials to Vocations.”
►Sr. Margaret Carney, OSF, former president of St. Bonaventure University in Western New York, spoke month at Immaculate Conception Province’s Duns Scotus Library in New York City. Nearly 30 people attended the presentation titled “Why were the Franciscans a Success?” Upcoming lectures of this series are scheduled for Nov. 10 with Br. Damian Novello, OSF, and on April 6, 2019 with Sr. Kathleen Osbelt, OSF.
►The spring issue of The Way of St. Francis magazine, published three times a year by St. Barbara Province, is now available online. Its theme is “Pilgrimage: Path and Passage to the Spiritual.”
►The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C., broke ground on its greenhouse restoration project on May 7. The goal of the project is to make the more than 100-year-old building functional, something that it has not been for the past 38 years. The restored greenhouse will allow the monastery’s garden guild – which provides fresh produce to local food back sand religious communities – to harvest produce year-round. The monastery donated 8,000 pounds of food last year.
— Maria Hayes is communications coordinator for Holy Name Province.
Related Links
- “ESC Update: Friar Who Co-organized Greenwood Movement Remembered, Other News” – April 18, 2018, HNP Today
- “Order Creates Website for June Plenary Council” – May 1, 2018, HNP Today
- “Margaret Carney to Speak in New York City on April 14” – March 22, 2018 HNP Today