Notable events for the month of January include the following:
One Year Ago
Jan. 3, 2015 — Two friars — Ross Chamberland, OFM, and Jeffery Jordan, OFM — were ordained on the Province’s feast day by Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., in Boston. This year, Roberto González, OFM, bishop of San Juan, Puerto Rico, will ordain Michael Reyes, OFM, on Jan. 16 in New York City.
Five Years Ago
Jan. 3-7, 2011 — The Province held its largest Chapter in Cambridge, Md. More than 220 friars attended the gathering at which John O’Connor, OFM, and Dominic Monti, OFM, were re-elected provincial minister and vicar. The next Provincial Chapter is being held June 4 to 9, 2017 on the campus of Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y.
Jan. 31, 2011 — St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh, N.C., blessed the Siena Center for Lifelong Learning, the last of four buildings that opened the previous year. The buildings received recognition for their energy efficiency.
10 Years Ago
Jan. 8, 2006 — Andrew Reitz, OFM, was installed as the first Franciscan pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Tampa, Fla., which the Province began staffing the previous summer. In October 2015, the Sacred Heart community commemorated its 10 years as a Franciscan parish with a Mass of Belonging.
25 Years Ago
Jan. 13-15, 1991 — Prayer services for peace in the Persian Gulf were held in nearly every ministry of the Province. Today, Franciscans continue to urge their partners-in-ministry to pray for peace and for an end to violence.
Jan. 17, 1991— Project Create’s Youth Center was opened in Harlem, N.Y., as part of Create, Inc., founded in 1974 by Benedict Taylor, OFM, to confront the issues of poverty, chemical abuse and unemployment.
— Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas
Related Links
- “This Month in Provincial History” — December 2015, HNP Today