Below are highlights of notable September events that took place around Holy Name Province:
One Year Ago
Sept. 27, 2009 — New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan joined Provincial Minister John O’Connor, OFM, friars and parishioners at a Mass celebrating the 100th anniversary of St. Francis Church in Youngsville, N.Y., a parish formerly served by Holy Name friars.
Five Years Ago
Sept. 14, 2005 — A new age of HNP Today began with the first online issue of the then-weekly newsletter under the direction of Jim McIntosh, OFM. The cover of the Sept. 14 issue included a photo of Poor Clares from new Orleans and Breham, Texas, at a temporary shelter as a result of Hurricane Katrina.
Sept. 15, 2005 — A celebration was held at St. Bonaventure University to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the friars in Western New York.
10 Years Ago
Sept. 11, 2000 — Benedict Taylor, OFM, received the Good Samaritan Award, conferred by the National Catholic Development Conference, for his work with CREATE, Inc. The award, established in 1968, is given to someone who exemplifies concern for others through exceptional service according to the NCDC’s website.
15 Years Ago
Sept. 23, 1995 — The new “House of Peace” was dedicated at Mt. Irenaeus Franciscan Mountain Retreat, West Clarksville, N.Y. (Today, the House of Peace serves as a place for visitors to the mountain to gather for meals, conversation and relaxation.)
25 Years Ago
Sept. 17, 1985 — The new Holy Name College in Silver Spring, Md., was dedicated 16 months after vacating its Washington, D.C., predecessor. “So far, the new Holy Name College has more than fulfilled its planners’ hopes that it would foster a sense of community despite an institutional setting,” wrote Dominic Monti, OFM, in the 1986 Provincial Annals. Dominic, now Provincial Vicar, was then vicar for the Holy Name College community. (Today, Holy Name College is home to 15 HNP friars and nine from other provinces. Many study at the Washington Theological Union in nearby Washington, D.C.)
35 Years Ago
Sept. 5, 1975 — Mathias Doyle, OFM, was appointed the 17th president of St. Bonaventure University. Mathias served as president for 15 years, during which he saw the construction of the Mecom Center (now Murphy Hall), the Garden apartments and addition to Plassmann Hall. (Mathias is now director of the Franciscan Center for Service and Advocacy at Siena College.)
40 Years Ago
Sept. 20, 1970 — A new parish hall was dedicated at St. Anthony Church in Butler, N.J. Bishop Lawrence Casey of Paterson presided at the liturgy, assisted by the parish’s new pastor, Bernardine Kessing, OFM, and retiring pastor, Peter Biasiotto, OFM. (Today, Bernardine resides at St. Anthony Residence in Boston.)
45 Years Ago
Sept. 5, 1965 — Boniface Hanley, OFM, and then HNP friars Gabriel Shaw and Andrew Darrigan welcomed six friars from the Byzantine Holy Protection Monastery of New Canaan, Conn., to St. Francis College in Rye Beach, N.H. In an article from the fall 1965 Provincial Annals, Br. Luke Mihaylo wrote about a pleasant surprise from guardian Reginald Redlon, OFM. “On our way to chapel … Fr. Reginald intercepted us and asked us to follow him. He led us to what we later learned was the door to the infirmary chapel, and opened it. To our utter amazement and delight, there stood our little bit of heaven, a Byzantine chapel. ‘This is a gift from our community,’ Fr. Reginald said. … The gift has become for us a symbol of the openness with which we have been received.” (One of the Byzantine student friars was Richard Mucowski, OFM, who subsequently transferred to Holy Name Province. Today, Richard is clinical director of FrancisCare, a New Jersey counseling service.)
— Compiled by Rebecca Doel