Hail, O Lady,
Holy Queen, Mary, holy Mother of God, who are the Virgin made Church, chosen by the most Holy Father in heaven whom He consecrated with His most holy beloved Son and with the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, in whom there was and is
all fullness of grace and every good.
Hail His Palace! Hail His Tabernacle! Hail His Dwelling! Hail His Robe! Hail His Servant! Hail His Mother!
And hail, all You holy virtues which are poured into the hearts of the faithful through the grace and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, that from being unbelievers, You may make them faithful to God.
As we begin the month of May, a month especially dedicated to Our Lady, the faithful offer up fervent, loving prayer and veneration to the Blessed Mother. This observance of a “Marian Month” is set within the 50 Days of Easter, the longest Liturgical Season in the Roman Catholic Church. We are reminded of Our Lady’s participation in the Paschal mystery and in our Church beginning at Pentecost. Mary is the glorified Queen of Heaven; Our Lady of the Angels.
With praise and gratitude to the Most High God,
the Franciscan Friars Conventual of the Our Lady of the Angels Province
and the Custody of Our Lady of Coromoto
joyfully announce that their brothers
Friar Moises Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv. Friar Emanuel Ventura Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. Friar Milton Torres Albarran, OFM Conv. and Friar Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv.
will be ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood
through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
Friday, June 22, 2018 ~ 2:00 p.m.
Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church
780 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish – Danbury, CT honored the Conventual Franciscan Friars for 70 years of service, by dedicating the new Sacristy in our name, at a celebration on Sunday the 29th of April. Former pastors Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. and Fr. Dennis Mason, OFM Conv., along with our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. joined Rev. Peter Towsley, the current diocesan pastor, for a spirited Liturgy before a full Church, followed by a parish reception.
Friar Dennis, Friar James and Friar Gerry
Friar James with Vickey Hickey and Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Mark Curesky’s sister – Nancy.
Friday ~ April 20, 2018: The Minister General of our Order, the Most Reverend Fr. Marco Tasca, OFM Conv. {left} was welcomed to the Conservation and Technical Research Laboratory of the Walter’s Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland (USA) for a special viewing of the famed Assisi Missal (dubbed the St. Francis Missal by the Walter’s) which St. Francis opened three times in the Church of San Nicolò, finding the essential Gospel passages for the Rule of the Friars Minor. Just as St. Francis was accompanied by two Friar-companions at San Nicolò, so too his 119th successor (Friar Marco) was accompanied at the Walter’s by two friars, Fr. Ciprian Budău, OFM Conv., Custos of our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody – Great Britain & Ireland {right}, and our Minister Provincial, Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. {2nd from right}.
Even though the 12th-century manuscript is undergoing an extensive two-year restoration, Friar James was able to arrange a private examination of the text and a meeting with the curators.
Friar Marco closely examining the third passage which St. Francis opened, Mt. 16:24.
Our friars of Great Britain & Ireland, the Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody, are known as the “Greyfriars.” At Walsingham, England’s National Marian Shrine, on March 19, 2018 (The Feast of St. Joseph), the Minster General of our Order and the 119th Successor to St. Francis of Assisi, the Most Reverend Fr. Marco Tasca, OFM Conv., and our Assistant General, Friar Jude Winkler, OFM Conv., while on pilgrimage, took part in this EWTN Great Britain report.
A bit of history:
In September of 1224, St. Francis sent the first friars to establish a Franciscan presence in England. They were drawn to the Medieval Christian Shrine devoted to Mary, the Mother of God, known as Mary’s Dowry, Walsingham. They established friaries in Canterbury, London and Oxford. After already having established a Franciscan presence in Paris, Blessed Agnellus of Pisa was chosen by St. Francis to lead the effort, along with a group of his confreres. He became the first Minister Provincial of the newly established province. Blessed Agnellus died in the 1236 and his grave and the church in which he was buried were destroyed during the persecution of the Catholics in the reign of Henry VIII.
At the time of the English Reformation (1534), there were around 60 Conventual Franciscan (OFM Conv.) friaries and six Observant (O.F.M.) friaries, in England. Henry VIII suppressed Religious and all of the the Observant friaries were closed and the King ordered a general survey of all church revenues in the realm. In the next two years, 376 religious houses had been suppressed but the Conventual Franciscans assets were of little worth to the King. The friaries were poor, property was in disrepair and that had little possessions. However, by 1538, the King had suppress the Conventual Franciscans as well. Be that as it may, all Conventual Franciscan friaries were suppressed by 1538. Conventual Franciscans returned to England in 1906 and through tough missionary work reestablished their presence in by 1910, when invited by the bishop of the Southwark diocese to Rye, East Sussex, then Liverpool (1926) and Manchester (1929).
April 17-19, 2018: During a visit from three Polish Friars from the Krakow Province; The Very Reverend Fr. Marian Gołąb, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial of the St. Anthony of Padua and B. James of Strepa Province, in Kraków), Fr. Piotr Sarnicki, OFM Conv. (Coordinator of Kraków Friars in USA) and Fr. Bronisław Staworowski, OFM Conv. (Ekonom Prowincji – Provincial Economist), our own Minister Provincial, The Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. renewed the contracts for the six Kraków Friars who live and minister in Our Lady of the Angels Province, as well as the two Kraków Friars who live and minister in our Provincial Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody, in Great Britain and Ireland.
On the 18th, Friar James accompanied the three Polish Friars to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Washington, DC, where they met at length with the Honorable Piotr Wilczek (center bottom), the Polish Ambassador to the United States and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.
April 15, 2018: Our friars of Holy Cross Friary (Atlanta, GA) held an informal ‘open friary’ evening which began with Mass at Holy Cross Catholic Church, followed by Evening Prayer in the friary, pizza and time to talk. There were eight young men present from the two ministries served by the friars of Holy Cross Friary: the parish and Blessed Trinity Catholic High School. One of the students returned for his third evening with the friars. It was a blessing to share this time with them. Our friars residing in the Holy Cross Friary are Fr. Jude Michael Krill, OFM Conv. (at left) who serves as Guardian of the Friary and Pastor of the Parish and Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. (third from right) who serves as Parochial Vicar of the Parish along with Fr. Abelardo Huanca Martinez, OFM Conv. (not pictured) and Fr. Reto Davatz, OFM Conv. (not pictured) who serves as Campus Minister at the High School.
A “Thank You” to the friars of our province, from the Assistant Campus Minister for Mission Trips and Community Service, at The Catholic University of America:
“I wanted to write you again to say thank you so much for the donation that the Friars made to the Catholic University of America Mission Trip program this year. It was really a gift to our students to be able to make these experiences more accessible to those who don’t have the luxury of having a lot of available money. We were able to provide scholarships to several students who needed them, as well as subsidize the costs of all of the trips, which really impacted the amount of interest we had across campus. … Thank you for all of the help and your investment in our students. It’s truly appreciated.”
Taken after a Mass attended at Stella Maris Parish in Kingston, Jamaica. The parishioners dressed in pink put on a wonderful dramatic interpretation of the gospel story of the Samaritan Woman at the well, with Jesus.
In March 2018, throughout our Campus Ministry at The Catholic University of America, students visited communities in the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, West Virginia, and the USA/Mexico Border. In May 2018 a few more groups of students will be going to Belize, as well as southern Philadelphia. You too can “Accompany a Missioner” by praying for the Missioner, attending the Commissioning Mass, sending a Letter of Encouragement or donating to Mission Teams.
Last week, the Franciscan Friars Conventual from Our Lady of the Angels Province invited the Franciscan Action Network and the DC/MD/VA chapter of Interfaith Power and Light to join in a Forum and Symposium on Environmental Justice and Service to Vulnerable Populations (held at our Shine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, MD). The goal for the gathering was to bring together peoples of various faiths, government officials, and other interested parties to discuss greater coordination and collaboration on issues pertinent to the protection of the environment, public health and other quality of life concerns which were elevated by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home.”
At Wednesday’s (April 11, 2018) interfaith St. Francis Forum, participants listened to faith leaders from the Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu traditions as well as from the Lutheran, Methodist, Quaker, Evangelical, and Catholic/Franciscan traditions. (Pictured at left are Christopher Fici – writer/minister/teacher of the Hindu Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition; Sr. Joan Brown, OSF – Executive Director of the New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light; Rabbi Fred Dobb – Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, serving on the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, Shalom Center, Religious Witness for the Earth, and Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light) Each half hour presentation included ample time for a larger group discussion, which often demonstrated the many similarities within our traditions while nuancing differences in approach to environmental justice issues. Each presenter was then partnered with a friar of the province and other participants to continue the discussions in small groups. (Pictured at right) These groups will eventually put forward pastoral applications as to how interfaith cooperation might bring about practical pastoral applications in our various communities. The fruits of these discussions will be shared later this summer.
Thursday’s (April 12, 2018) Spirit of Assisi Symposium brought together the faith-based community with federal agencies for three panel discussions on environmental justice and service to vulnerable communities. We discussed ways of enhancing collaboration and finding new avenues of partnership in service to at risk communities. The federal government, sent representatives from the US Department of Agriculture, General Services Administration, Department of Labor, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Justice, Department of Interior, Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Energy.
The symposium ended with an interfaith blessing of the fields and Little Portion Farm. The friars were joined by the farmers of Mary’s Land Farm, representatives of the Franciscan Center in Baltimore, interfaith leaders, members of federal agencies and the faithful who attended the 12 noon Mass at the shrine, as well as the shrine staff and other visitors.
A special thank you to Friars Michael Heine (pictured here), Julio Martinez, Dennis Mason, Gary Johnson, Ed Falsey, Michael Lorentson, James McCurry, Douglas McMillan, Donald Grzymski, and Eric de LaPeña; as well as Joseph Hamilton (Lay Mission Advancement Director – Franciscan Mission Association) for their participation in these days. In addition, much appreciation is owed to Friar Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv. who sketched the logo (above) of St. Francis used for the events.
On the following Sunday Friar Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. (Chairman of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission for our province) traveled to Shamokin, PA with a representative of the EPA for a stakeholder’s dinner organized by the local friars, in relation to the projects of sustainable development in partnership with Bucknell University.
Over the past several days many notes of thanks have been received, commending the friars for envisioning such interfaith gatherings and including government representatives. Many expressed how their long-held hopes for such a gathering were finally realized through our efforts in a productive and practical manner. One Daughter of Charity even mentioned how the symposium inspired her to go home and see what her local government in Prince Georges County (Maryland) is doing in relation to environmental justice and service to vulnerable communities. She has a meeting already set up with local government officials next month.
A special thanks to the staff of the shrine for hosting the event. Mr. Munjed Murad, our Muslim presenter who is a doctoral student of Islamic and Christian Studies at Harvard, offered this thought on the event and its location at the shrine. “This [building] is a place where great things happen, and I am honored to be a part of so great a gathering.”
On March 28, 2018, Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. and OLA Friar, Fr. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv. met for an hour and a half with the President of The Catholic University of America, Dr. John Garvey, who express the highest esteem for the ministry of our Friars at CUA. Friar Jude serves as University Chaplain & Director of Campus Ministry. At the conclusion of the meeting, Friar James signed the contract renewing our Friars’ commitment for four more years.
Cool Side Note: The desk on which the signing took place, in the President’s Office, is the famous “Lincoln Desk” – used by Abraham Lincoln at his law office in Springfield, Illinois. The heirloom eventually became the property of President Garvey’s grandfather, who owned the Lincoln estate in Springfield.
Excerpt from a January 2013 online article referencing the desk: “During the Depression, Garvey’s grandfather (a Lincoln buff) had purchased all the land surrounding Lincoln’s childhood home in Springfield. Fast forward to the 1960s, and the U.S. Park Service condemned the land to take it over and turn the house into a museum.
(At that time, the desk had come into the Garvey family through just three previous owners since it was sold following Lincoln’s assassination.)
Garvey’s father, a lawyer, helped defend his grandfather during the condemnation proceedings so he could get a fair price on the land. He wouldn’t accept payment, of course, since it was all in the family. So instead of monetary compensation, Garvey’s grandfather gave the desk to his father. Today, Garvey still doesn’t know how he managed to beat out his seven siblings to inherit the desk, but he suspects it might be because he’s the oldest of the bunch, and he’s also a lawyer.”
Hail, O Lady,
Last week, the Franciscan Friars Conventual from Our Lady of the Angels Province invited the 
At Wednesday’s (April 11, 2018) interfaith St. Francis Forum, participants listened to faith leaders from the Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu traditions as well as from the Lutheran, Methodist, Quaker, Evangelical, and Catholic/Franciscan traditions. (Pictured at left are Christopher Fici – 
Each presenter was then partnered with a friar of the province and other participants to continue the discussions in small groups. (Pictured at right) These groups will eventually put forward pastoral applications as to how interfaith cooperation might bring about practical pastoral applications in our various communities. The fruits of these discussions will be shared later this summer.
Cool Side Note: The desk on which the signing took place, in the President’s Office, is the famous “Lincoln Desk” – used by Abraham Lincoln at his law office in Springfield, Illinois. The heirloom eventually became the property of President Garvey’s grandfather, who owned the Lincoln estate in Springfield.
