Featured News Assumption Church Celebrates 175th Anniversary of Parish Founding Our friars serving at Assumption Church welcomed Bishop Douglas Lucia, Bishop of the Diocese of Syracuse, to celebrate the 175th ... Read More Outdoor (Garage) Mass at Duke DURHAM - Lawn chairs, blankets and music might describe a picnic setting, but on a fall Sunday, during a pandemic, ... Read More 103rd Anniversary of the Founding of the M.I. As we are about to celebrate the 103rd anniversary of the founding of the Militia of the Immaculate by our ... Read More Transitus & Blessing of Animals 2020 Due to this year's various COVID-19 Protocols, our annual Blessing of Animals may look a bit different at each of ... Read More Annual Linda's Walk ~ October 17, 2020 Every Year, St. Clare Inn (Toronto, ON) hosts two major fundraisers to help with operating costs. Since St. Clare Inn ... Read More Reprint - Bless Us O Lord for These Thy Gifts Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Br. Brian Newbigging, OFM Conv. has received permission to reprint, "Bless Us O ... Read More Tau Talks: Real. Catholic Friar Rick Riccioli, OFM Conv. hosted  Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. - Vocations Director for our province, as they share ... Read More St. Francis of Assisi Bore the Stigmata September 17th - Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi Excerpt from the January 27, 2010 General Audience with ... Read More Priesthood Sunday ~ September 27th Each year, the Church celebrates Priesthood Sunday on the last Sunday in September. Priesthood Sunday is a time set aside ... Read More Woodworking Worship with Friar Peter This summer, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Peter Tremblay, OFM Conv., Associate Chaplain for Catholic Life at ... Read More Students Serving Senior Friars   After working with our senior friars and the other residents at Our Lady of the Angels Care Center (Enfield, CT), ... Read More JPIC News - Farm Focus The farm has been firing on all cylinders lately! In the past month we have planted fall or winter crops ... Read More Vocations News Our Lady of the Angels Province Director of Vocations, Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. visited our friars of St. Francis ... Read More Duke Catholic Center Newsletter - Summer 2020 Includes a Memorial for Fr. Brad Heckathorne, OFM Conv. (JULY 11, 2020) Read More Summer 2020 Edition of The St. Anthony Companion During this age of the Corona virus pandemic, the Friars of the Our Lady of the Angels Province have been ... Read More Province Delegation Vocations Our province includes the Province Delegation of St. Francis of Assisi (Canada). The Provincial Delegate, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM  Conv. ... Read More Our Friars Welcome New Aux Bishop of Baltimore Ten friars of our province were in attendance at the Monday, August 17, 2020 - 6:30 p.m. Vespers Service held ... Read More August 2020 Celebrations The friars of our province include several milestone dates joyfully celebrated throughout the year. Of course our friars love to ... Read More St. Maximilian Kolbe Prayer Amidst hate and imprisonment, you brought love into the lives of fellow captives and sowed the seeds of hope amidst despair. You bore ... Read More Prayers for Beirut Friar Andrew Hochstedler, OFM Conv. of the Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land of the Province of ... Read More JPIC - Farm Focus Little Portion Farm (JPIC Ministry) is featured in Religious Sightings section of the Vision Vocation Guide (Vision 2021). Read More Prayers for a New School Year A Message from Most Reverend Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., Archbishop of Atlanta & a friar of our province. Read More Apostolic Year 2020-2021 Three simply professed student friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province are in the Apostolic Year stage of Formation. ... Read More Student Presentation by Friar Rijo Friar Rijo Mulavarickal Polachan, OFM Conv., of the Province of St. Maximilian Kolbe (INDIA) has been living and serving in ... Read More Congratulations Curley Class of 2020! Taken from the Archbishop Curley High School Facebook Page: SENIORS GRADUATE AT 56th COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES After an unusual senior year, the Class ... Read More

We, Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv.) are members of a worldwide Roman Catholic fraternity following the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit of our founder, St. Francis of Assisi. We invite you to take some time to explore our website to learn about us and our various ministries.

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Hope Amidst the Thorns (Spes inter Spinas)

Statement of the Four Ministers Provincial of the Franciscan Friars Conventual in the USA: The Franciscan Friars Conventual raise our voices in solidarity with all people of good will in grieving the death of George Floyd. In the wake of his killing, we echo humanity’s plea for justice, reconciliation, unity, and peace. May God fire our hearts these days with new hope.
At the Last Supper, Jesus Christ prayed for unity “that all may be one” (Jn. 17:21). After He took His last breath amidst the violence of Calvary, Jesus rose on the third day with an urgent message of hope for the world: “Peace be with you”! Empowered by the Risen Christ’s Gospel message of peace and hope, St. Francis of Assisi sent his followers to become instruments of peace and healing in the broken, fragile world of the Middle Ages.
Now in modern times, the message of Jesus and the mission of St. Francis are as crucial as ever for our country and world. As Franciscans, we friars understand the frustration and outrage of our African American brothers and sisters. St. Francis walked gently into tense situations of discord, seeking paths to peaceful reconciliation. He dialogued with the Sultan of Egypt during the divisive animosity of the crusades. He knelt to reverence society’s poor, and he stood to challenge society’s wolves and powerbrokers.
We friars reaffirm the words of the Second Vatican Council: “Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights, on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design” (Gaudium et Spes #29.2). There can be no peace without justice. Ever since the first Africans were brought to Virginia as slaves in 1619, a long history of systemic racism has existed in our country.
We Franciscan Friars pledge ourselves to prayer and witness in actions of solidarity for the ending of racial injustice and for peace in our streets. Prayer alone is not enough. We call for genuine dialogue among our country’s diverse peoples – the courageous seeking of ways to change disordered systems of human, economic, political, and ecclesial interaction which exclude and demean “the other.” We embrace a Gospel of Hope for the inclusion, equality, and unity of everyone in America “from sea to shining sea.” While we have time, let us do good.

Fr. Victor Abegg, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of St. Joseph of Cupertino Province
Fr. Wayne Hellmann, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of Our Lady of Consolation Province
Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province
Fr. Michael Zielke, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of St. Bonaventure Province

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