Notable events for the month of August include:
One Year Ago
Aug. 3 to 6, 2014 — More than 60 friars representing the seven OFM provinces of the United States gathered in Racine, Wis., for a meeting that would result in a creation of a broad framework to examine and plan reconfiguration efforts. (The provincial administrations are meeting from Aug. 16 to 19 in Techny, Ill., to continue these discussions.)
10 Years Ago
August 2005 — St. Bonaventure University received a $2 million gift to expand the Friedsam Memorial Library for housing the university’s rare book collection. (The addition opened in 2008 and was renamed “Holy Name Library for the Franciscan Institute” in 2012 in recognition of the Province’s longstanding support of the institute’s scholarship and service.)
20 Years Ago
Aug. 27, 1995 — A celebration was held inaugurating the merger of Sts. Rita and Patrick Church with St. Monica’s Church in Buffalo, N.Y. (In December 2007, Sts. Rita & Patrick Parish merged with four other Catholic churches to form St. Clare Parish.)
Aug. 27, 1995 — The friars of the Ministry of the Word opened St. Anthony of Padua Friary in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. (In the 1996 Provincial Annals, Kevin Cronin, OFM, described the friary as “a very convenient location for travel, and a homey and peaceful place to come home to rest.”)
35 Years Ago
Aug. 19, 1980 — Anthony Moore, OFM, and Lillian Carter, mother of President Jimmy Carter, broke ground for the Holy Cross Church building in Callicoon, N.Y. The rural Sullivan County community celebrated the 30th anniversary of the building’s construction on July 23, 2010. (Founded in 1895, the parish worshipped in the chapel of the Province’s former St. Joseph Seraphic Seminary until it was sold in the late 1970s.)
40 Years Ago
Aug. 3, 1975 — A new church hall was dedicated at Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Kingston, Jamaica.
— Compiled by Maria Hayes
Related Links
- Franciscan Ministry of the Word website
- “Franciscans Launch Plan for Revitalization” — March 4, 2015, HNP Today