Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Fr. Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. (2nd from left) and Fr. Timothy Kulbicki, OFM Conv. (far right) during a Wednesday, August 1, Day 9 Liturgy
One of 28 Minister Provincials from around the world, the Friar James McCurry, OFM Conv., our Minister Provincial is in attendance. (Friar Michael Zielke, OFM Conv. who is also of our province but serving as Minister Provincial for the St. Bonaventure Province is also in attendance.)
Our two Custos are included among the 18 Provincial Custos representing Provincial Custodies: Friar Ronaldo Gomes da Silva, OFM Conv. (Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M – Brazil) and Friar Ciprian Budau, OFM Conv. (Provincial Custody of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa – Great Britain/Ireland).
Serving as two of the 25 Provincial Delegates are Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. and Friar Timothy Kulbicki, OFM Conv. are on hand. Friar Tim also serves as Secretary General of the Chapter.
Two of the 12 Interpreters serving the friar participants are Friar Julio Martinez, OFM Conv. (ESP-ENG-ITA) and Friar Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. (ENG-ESP).
In addition, two friars from other provinces who serve in our province are also working as Interpreters, Friar Marek Wilk, OFM Conv. (POL-ESP) & Friar Piotr Tymko, OFM Conv. (POL-ENG), who are both of the of the Polish Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar.
Keep in your prayers these and all of the Franciscan Friars Conventual from around the world, who are spending these five weeks in prayerful fraternity, meeting to discuss the Constitutions of the Order, promoting the prophetic vision, the mission, and the significance of Conventual Franciscan religious life in the Church and in today’s world.
From the Event’s Liturgy of the Hours: Lord, strength of living things God immutable, eternal, you mark the rhythms of the world: the days, the centuries, the time. Fill the evening with your light, which rises beyond death, to the splendor of the heavens, to become a day without sunset. Praise be to the Father Most High to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, now and ever shall be. Amen
Friar James joins a few friars from around the world to find “home” on the globe.
Some of the Interpreters, including Our Lady of the Angels Province’s Friar Julio (center)
Friar Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. preparing for the next session.
Friar Jobe joyfully waiting to begin.
Beautiful Nemi, Italy
August 4th-5th: Friars James and Jobe, made an overnight trip to Assisi, where Friar James met with Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Fr. Martin Breski, OFM Conv. and Fr.Daniel Quakenbush, OFM Conv., as well as the three Novices of our Provincial Custody of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa (friar Osvaldo Lopez-Figueroa, OFM Conv. friar Joseph David Freeman, OFM Conv. and friar Kieran John Murphy, OFM Conv.)
Friar Martin, Friar James & Friar Dan outside of the Sacro Convento of the Basilica of St. Francis, Assisi
As the friars are entering the last week of the Extraordinary General Chapter, Friar James shares some more photos from the event, including some time they were able to spend with the friars and pilgrims participating in the 8th International Youth Toward Assisi Meeting (Giovani Verso).
Friar James is flanked by the two Custos serving our Province Custodies. At left is Friar Ciprian Budău, OFM Conv. of our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody in Great Britain & Ireland. At the right is Frei Ronaldo Gomes da Silva, OFM Conv. of our Immaculate Conception Custody in Brazil.
Friars preparing for Mass, including our own Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (on the isle-third row)
Our own Fr. Timothy Kulbicki, OFM Conv. busy at his duties.
Friar Vincent (left) in the tight cell he shared with some of the other friars serving as interpreters.
Friar Julio (right) enjoying a bit of a break from his interpreter duties.
August 22, 2018: Ministers Provincial, Custodes, Assistant General, Chapter Delegates and our friar Translators at the Extraordinary General Chapter, at the CFF (Conventual Franciscan Federation – Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, and the USA) outside of the “Ad Gentes Center,” in Nemi, Italy.
Hilbert College Names Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Sajda, OFM Conv., as Interim President Sept. 1, 2018 – Dec. 31, 2018, when a new permanent president is named. Friar Michael will continue to serve as President of St. Francis High School (Athol Springs, NY).
“I am both honored and humbled to be appointed to serve as Hilbert’s interim president, beginning for the fall semester. I look forward to having the opportunity to speak and work with Hilbert’s students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni and community partners.”
July 19, 2018 post on Fair Farms Maryland, by Shelby Kalm in collaboration with Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. ~ Province Chairman of the JPIC Commission.
During this summer, Our Lady of the Angels Province student friars served in several different ministries throughout our province. St. Paul Parish (Kensington CT) is one of our pastoral ministries and was the summer home of friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv. At the beginning of his summer assignment, the parish created a short video introduction for friar Franck that included a conversation with some of the parish school’s 8th grade students.
Now that his summer assignment is coming to an end, he shared with us a reflection:
“Pace e bene” “I am ending my summer assignment here at St. Paul Parish by visiting some of the ‘Giants’ of the Order. I asked Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv. if he could take me to Enflield CT, so that I could visit our friars. It was an amazing experience. I was able to meet and talk to all the friars in residence. With a big smile Fr. Lucjan Krolikowski, OFM Conv.* said to me, ‘next year I will be 99 and I plan to make it to my 100 birthday.’ As I leaned over to give him a hug, he grabbed my hands and gave me a blessing (in Latin). His Latin is still sharp as a tack. It is a blessing to have so many wonderful ‘Giants’ in the Franciscan Order, and by giants I am referring to a quote by Sir Isaac Newton who said, ‘If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.'”
With every good wish;
And a gratefully heart,
Your Brother Franck Lino S. OFM Conv
Keep me in your Prayers
*Friar Lucjan is the oldest friar of our province.
His 1st Profession was in 1939 – a week before his 20th birthday.
His Solemn Profession was in 1945.
In 2016, he celebrated his 70th Jubilee of his Ordination to the Priesthood.
Our province has eight senior friars living in a care facility in Enfield, run by the Felician Sisters.
On October 17, 2018, from 6-9:00 p.m., our Saint Kateri National Shrine and Historic Site (Fonda, NY) will hold an 80th Anniversary Celebration at the River Stone Manor (Glenville, NY). The Most Reverend Edward B. Scharfenberger, Bishop of Albany will be the honoree of the event and the proceeds will benefit the Shrine. Those in attendance will enjoy hors d’oeuvres, desserts and a cash bar. The evening will also include a Silent Auction. Purchase Tickets
One of two shrine and historic site ministries of our friars, this site is dedicated to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th-century Mohawk woman born in present-day Auriesville and sits on the land where St. Kateri lived for a decade. In 1938, Fr. Thomas Grassman, OFM Conv., a Franciscan Friar Conventual, a historian and an archaeologist founded the Fonda Memorial of Catherine Tekakwitha near Fonda, New York, in the vicinity of the Mohawk settlement Caughnawaga, where Catholic convert Kateri Tekakwitha lived from 1656-1680, and been baptized at Catherine. In 1950, Friar Thomas led a six year dig discovering a fortified, gated wooden double stockade (the castle) and 12 elm bark covered long houses inhabited by the Turtle Clan of the Mohawk from 1666-1693. The Caughnawaga Castle Site was declared a National Historical Place in 1973. In 1980, (Saint) Pope John Paul II declared Kateri as “Blessed” and the site became an official Shrine. Canonized in 2012, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the “Lily of the Mohawks” is considered a patron saint of peace and ecology.
Under the current Direction of Rita Gullion, with Spiritual Direction of Shrine Chaplain, Fr. Timothy Lyons, OFM Conv., the main building, an 18th century barn, houses the St. Peter’s Chapel on the second floor with a Native American Museum below. The Shrine grounds offer multiple walking trails, visits to the site of the village and the baptismal place of St. Kateri, as well as a gift shop.
In mid-July, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Associate Chaplain for Catholic Life of the Catholic Campus Ministry at Elon University, Fr. Peter Tremblay, OFM Conv. led a group of 17 students as participants in Passages Israel.
Through the Christian organization, Passages, Christian college students are offered the opportunity to see the Holy Land, visiting the Biblical sites in Galilee and Jerusalem. Participants were introduced to the contemporary political situation in Israel, while being afforded the opportunity to visit notable locations such as Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, the Dead Sea where they were able to take a swim, the Jordan River where they rededicated their baptism, and the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Friar Peter even had the opportunity to celebrate a Sunday Liturgy for the students at the Franciscan Chapel of the Apparition, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher during this powerful and memorable trip.
Learn more about the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, with a focus on the Franciscan Chapel of the Apparition starting at 4:39, in this video created by JerusalemExperience.com.
Marking the Centenary of St. Maximilian’s Ordination and First Mass
Before leaving Rome for Nemi, the site of the Extraordinary General Chapter of our Order, Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. and our Province Delegate to the Militia of the Immaculata, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. made an afternoon pilgrimage to the churches where St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. was ordained a priest 100 years ago, by Cardinal Basilio Pompilj, on April 28, 1918 (Minor Basilica Sant’Andrea della Valle) and where he celebrated his first Mass on April 29, 1918 (Basilica di Sant’Andrea delle Fratte). Their pilgrimage started at the feet of the Immaculate at the Spanish Steps and then they continued on to the Basilica di Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, at the altar of St. Maximilian’s first Mass, where the Immaculata had appeared to Alfons Ratisbonne in 1842, and where the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima was being venerated. They then proceeded to the minor basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, whose magnificence surely reflected the solemnity of St. Maximilan’s ordination. Their common prayer was to recommend our Chapter deliberations to Our Lady and St. Maximilian and, once again, to ask their intercessory help and blessing upon the new quadrennium of Our Lady of the Angels Province.
The St. Clare Inn operates under the direction of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Executive Director, Friar Tom Purcell, OFM Conv. He and all of our friars thank you for your support.
August 18, 2018 ~ 9th Linda’s Walk
The Annual Linda’s Walk began in 2010 and is the largest fund raiser supporting St. Clare Inn, a transitional housing program helping homeless women with mental health challenges rebuild their lives. These homeless women (aged 30-60) find community, care, shelter, and support in their healing journey. The walk is named in honor of Linda Houston, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and who died of a heart attack, alone and homeless, in 1997. The people and the friars of the Franciscan Church of St. Bonaventure, who often helped her out with some money and food, were moved by her tragic life circumstance and her resulting death. In 2007, St. Clare Inn was established by the Friends of Saint Francis, a group of dedicated professional lay men and women, along with our area friars. St. Clare Inn’s also holds an Annual Soirée. You don’t have to be in Ontario to support the fundraising efforts for St. Clare Inn. Visit the “How You Can Help!” page on their website for more information.
If you are in the area, we encourage you to actively participate. Now in its 9th year, Linda’s Walk 2018, an easy 5k walk through the Don Mills, Toronto, ON neighborhood that is more of a fun get together than a physical labor. Walkers are encouraged to exercise with the supporters of St. Clare Inn and raise funds. The pledges collected allow St. Clare Inn to continue supporting homeless women in crisis and to provide them with a “safe” place where they can start to rebuild their lives. They rely on the generosity of people like you for continued support and crucial fundraising dollars. Photos from last year’s walk.
Register and Fundraise Online. Set your goals and create a personal fundraising page. Request donations from your contacts (friends, family, coworkers, etc.). You’ll be surprised by the number of people who will want to support you when they are asked. A prize will be awarded to the person who raises the most money. The more you raise, the better your chance to win!
During this year’s annual Saint Kateri’s Feast Day Celebration and Native American Weekend, at our St. Kateri National Shrine and Historic Site ministry (Fonda, NY), Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and former Shrine Director & Chaplain, Fr. Mark Steed, OFM Conv. (at right) was welcomed with great joy as he celebrated Masses with the pilgrims to the shrine and was presented with the Sarah Hassenplug Award. The weekend also included the Traditional Purification Rite and Solemn Blessing with the relic of Saint Kateri, Prayer and Healing circle with Deacon Ron Boyer and Terry Steele, Mass with Our Lady of the Angels Province Vicar Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (at left), Solemn Offering and Burning of Prayer Petitions, and the honoring of Fran Knowlton who during his life dedicated so much of his free time to Kateri Shrine.
St. Kateri Prayer
Kateri, favored child and Lily of the Mohawks,
I come to seek your intercession in my present need: (mention it here).
I admire the virtures which adorned your soul:
love of God and neighbor, humility, obedience,
patience, purity and the spirit of sacrifice.
Help me to imitate your example in my state of life.
Through the goodness and mercy of God,
Who has blessed you with so many graces
which led you to the true faith and to a high degree of holiness,
pray to God for me and help me. Obtain for me a very fervent devotion to the Holy Eucharist
so that I may love Holy Mass as you did
and receive Holy Communion as often as I can.
Teach me also to be devoted to my crucified Savior as you were,
that I may cheerfully bear my daily crosses for love of Him
Who suffered so much for love of me.
Most of all I beg you to pray for me that I may avoid sin,
lead a holy life and save my soul. Amen.
In thanksgiving to God for the graces bestowed upon Kateri:
one Our Father, Hail Mary and three Glory Be’s.
Kateri, Lily of the Mohawks, pray for me.
Hilbert College Names Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Sajda, OFM Conv., as Interim President Sept. 1, 2018 – Dec. 31, 2018, when a new permanent president is named. Friar Michael will continue to serve as President of St. Francis High School (Athol Springs, NY).
“I am ending my summer assignment here at St. Paul Parish by visiting some of the ‘Giants’ of the Order. I asked Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv. if he could take me to Enflield CT, so that I could visit our friars. It was an amazing experience. I was able to meet and talk to all the friars in residence. With a big smile 
In mid-July, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Associate Chaplain for Catholic Life of the 
