Pope Francis, in his encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti, states: “If the conviction that all human beings are brothers and sisters is not to remain an abstract idea but to find concrete embodiment, then numerous related issues emerge, forcing us to see things in a new light and to develop new responses…Complex challenges arise when our neighbor happens to be an immigrant…Our response to the arrival of migrating persons can be summarized by four words: welcome, protect, promote and integrate (Chapter 4). His Holiness often returns to the theme and to these four words in his homilies and presentations urging all the faithful especially religious communities to envision and create new ways of welcoming the stranger in our midst.
With that in mind, I want to let you know of a new program launched by the United States Government. On January 18, 2023, the Department of State initiated promotion of a new approved sponsorship program for refugees wishing to permanently resettle in the United States. The program is known as the Welcome Corps. The tenets of the program are like the resettlement program sponsored for many years by the Canadian Government and supported by the Catholic Church of Canada, notably the Archdiocese of Toronto, and our friars at the Franciscan Church at St. Bonaventure.
The program is designed to aid and assist pre-approved refugees, migrants, and immigrants for permanent life in the United States. This new private sponsorship program is designed to empower everyday Americans to play a leading role in welcoming refugees arriving through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) and supporting their resettlement and integration as they build new lives. Over many years and in this past year, the American people have extended an extraordinarily welcoming hand to our Afghan allies, Ukrainians displaced by war, and Venezuelans and others fleeing violence and oppression. The Welcome Corps will build on Americans’ generosity of spirit by creating a durable program for Americans in communities across the country to privately sponsor refugees from around the world.
Building on a long tradition of providing refuge, the Welcome Corps is designed to bring groups together (including church-based communities) to privately sponsor refugees. Through the Welcome Corps, Americans can apply to form Private Sponsor Groups (PSGs) to welcome refugees into local communities and directly assist refugee newcomers as they build new lives in the United States. As a private sponsor in the Welcome Corps, they will work with other members of the PSG to take on tasks like securing and furnishing initial housing, greeting the refugee newcomers at the airport, enrolling children in school, and helping adults to find employment. These shared acts of welcome make it easier for refugee newcomers to adjust to life in the United States and strengthen local communities. While welcoming refugees through private sponsorship is a significant responsibility, you already have the most important skill you need to succeed—knowledge of your local community—and you will receive support from the Welcome Corps team throughout your sponsorship journey.
Groups of at least five individual American citizens or permanent resident adults will be able to apply to the Welcome Corps to privately sponsor the resettlement of refugees in the United States. Private sponsors (which includes church-based groups) will be responsible for independently raising funds and directly providing essential assistance to refugees for their first 90 days in their new community. This assistance includes helping refugees find housing and employment, enrolling children in school, and connecting refugees to essential services in the community. For more information on the Welcome Corps or to become a private sponsor, visit the Welcome Corps website.
Pax et bonum…
Friar Paul Lininger, OFM Conv.
Franciscan Friars Conventual
Our Lady of the Angels Province – Director of JPIC jpic-cff@olaprovince.org
Following the success of our province’s first annual pilgrimage, to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. back in April 2022, Our Lady of the Angels Province friars will sponsor the Second Annual Franciscan Pilgrimage to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington D.C., on Saturday, April 29, 2023. We hope this will become an annual, fraternal gathering and celebration, looking forward to being together with you to honor the Immaculate Conception, patroness of the United States and our Order. Gather your family, friends or group and meet Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (pictured below) there, ready to begin the day together. Be sure to arrive well before the 11:00 a.m. WORDS OF WELCOME so you (or your group) will be able to find parking. (More info on the Basilica)
PROGRAM SCHEDULE
11.00 a.m. – WORDS OF WELCOME from the Very Rev. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province and Msgr. Vito Buonanno, Director of Pilgrimages at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
11.30 a.m. – LUNCH TIME
1.00 p.m. – CONFERENCE “Behold Your Mother” by Rev. James McCurry, OFM Conv.
2.00 p.m. – COMMUNAL PRAYER
2.30 p.m. – EUCHARISTIC LITURGY and CLOSING
3.30 p.m. – 4.30 p.m. – FREE TIME (There is a scheduled Vigil Mass at 4.30 p.m. The Basilica closes at 6.00 p.m.)
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During the Our Lady of the Angels 2022 Provincial Chapter, our friars elected Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. for another four-year term as Province Delegate for the Marian Apostolate. In that capacity, he hopes to continue promoting devotion to the Immaculate Conception by way of a number of initiatives.
More Province Marian Apostolate News:
~ August 19-29, 2023, the friars will again lead a pilgrimage to Marian Shrines in Europe. This year we will travel to the most important Holy Shrines in England and Scotland, including attending a performance of the renowned Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The well-planned program promises to be an unforgettable experience. Information and Registration Flier.
~ Finally, in the Fall of 2023 and continuing for three years, Friar Jobe will be carrying out a tour of all the pastoral sites of Our Lady of the Angels Province. He will be highlighting and comparing the lives of three contemporary Polish saints in relation to the Immaculate Mother of God: St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., St. Faustina Kowalska, OLM and Pope St. John Paul II. Invoking their intercession and blessing for the tour, he will be accompanied by first-class relics of these saints. The schedule of dates for the ministry site visits will be finalized over the next few months. More information will follow.
The Church celebrates the annual World Day for Consecrated Life on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, each February 2nd. This year, it will be recognized in parishes over the weekend of February 4-5, 2023. Take this time to encourage the young people you know, to consider life as a consecrated religious, in the Church? Tell them what gifts you believe they are gifted to bring to that life, and what gifts they will receive as a member in that life. Keep them, and their discernment in your prayers., as well as an increase in vocations.
Please pray for ALL those who have made commitments in the consecrated life and be sure to thank them on this World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.
“For those consecrated to God by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience that they may seek to live their baptismal promises more intensely and have the grace to persevere in their commitment to the Lord and serve with open hearts and willing spirits. We pray to the Lord…“
For more information on life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual in North America, visit FranciscanVoice.org. If you live on the East Coast of North America and you would like more information on Our Lady of the Angels Province, email our Province Vocation Office at vocations@olaprovince.org.
The Postulants of our Inter-Province Postulancy in Chicago, IL, spent some time back with their families over the Christmas holiday, followed by touring of each of their provinces. Our own Province’s Postulant, Cesar Perez spent most of January touring several locations throughout our province and our ministries. The Postulants have now returned to the St. Bonaventure Friary (Chicago) to begin the second half of their Postulancy experience. Please continue praying for the Postulants and their Friar Formators.
Visiting with our friars of St. Paul Friary (Kensington, CT), who serve in pastoral ministry at St. Paul Catholic Church: Fr. Joseph Benicewicz, OFM Conv. (Pastor), Cesar Perez (Our Lady of the Angels Province Postulant), Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv. (Mass Assistance), Fr. Michael Englert, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar) and Fr. Martin Kobos, OFM Conv (Parochial Vicar).
On his visit with the friars of Most Holy Trinity Friary (Brooklyn, NY), home to five of our friars who serve our pastoral ministry at the Roman Catholic Church of Most Holy Trinity – St. Mary, Cesar helped prep dinner with Br. Tom Purcell, OFM Conv. (Friary Guardian). One of the friars there also serves as a Psychotherapist at a Brooklyn based counseling center.
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Click HEREfor more information on vocations and the formation process.
Spend some time learning more about the life of a Franciscan Friar Conventual by visiting FranciscanVoice.org.
Contact our Vocation Office via vocations@olaprovince.org.
The friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province Vocations Office have been involved in a fair amount of travel these last few months. Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. and Fr. Manny Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. have traveled together to several events for young people, and it’s been good to have the witness value of both a friar-brother and friar-priest on these occasions. They have also traveled separately, which has given them the opportunity to cover more ground.
While Br. Nick was participating in the 2023 Meeting with the New Ministers Provincial, Custodes and Secretaries, in Rome, Fr. Manny was in St. Louis, MO for SEEK23. It was good to be present among those college students! About 17,000 people were at this yearly event, and Fr. Manny was able to have some meaningful conversations about Franciscan life and history with young men and women. He told the young women that while they themselves couldn’t join us, they probably know someone who would make a good friar.
With FrancisCorps, and student friar Joe Krondon, OFM Conv., also present at this event, it was a great chance to direct college students to the idea of a year-long service experience, if that felt more approachable to them.
The days ahead are marked with even more travel, as we continue the conversation with a number of men in various stages of interest. Br. Nick will be at some vocation fairs, as well as offering reflections to high school guys on retreat. Fr. Manny will be making Lenten Mission visits to some of our ministries and preparing for a World Youth Day experience in Lisbon this August, with our friars in initial formation!
Keep us in prayer as we continue going out into the vineyard. Learn More about vocations with Franciscan Friars Conventual, at FranciscanVoice.org
The feast day of Santo Niño de Cebú is celebrated on the third Sunday in January in the Philippines, and by Filipino communities around the world. The devotion incorporates an image of the Christ Child, as a representation of a vision of St. Teresa of Avila, in remembrance of the conversion of the Philippines to Christianity. The annual Sinulog Festival often includes a novena, the rosary and other prayers, as well as Mass.
Fr. Eric de Pena, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar) and Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar and Province Delegate of the Marian Apostolate) join in the procession at St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church, Elmhurst, NY. (See more photos)
Above photos: At our Elmhurst, NY ministry ~ Saint Adalbert Parish, their annual Santo Niño (Holy Child Jesus) Sinulog Festival was celebrated on Sunday, January 29, 2023. Open to all, the festival began with the Rosary and Prayers to the Santo Niño, followed by 2:00 p.m. Mass. They also enjoyed fellowship and food reception after Mass, in the school cafeteria. Those in attendance were encouraged to bring their Santo Niño images to be blessed during the festival. In preparation for the feast day, they held a special Santo Niño Triduum of prayer and reflection, in their lower church, Friday and Saturday, as prayer moments of inspiration for living a devotion to the Holy Child Jesus.
Enjoy this video of one of the dances at St. Adalbert’s taken by Friar Eric:
While at the festival, friar Marvin even found relatives in California! (More photos)
On Saturday, January 28, 2023, one of our Province’s Novices, friar Marvin Paul Fernandez, OFM Conv. attended the Feast Day of Santo Niño with the parishioners of Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Church, (near our Novitiate in Arroyo Grande, CA), hosted by the Filipino Community of San Luis Obispo County and Vicinity.
Friar Deacon Emmanuel Wenke, OFM Conv. administered his first Baptism, on January 28th, as Logan (the son of two FrancisCorps11 volunteer alums: Anthony and Kathy) was baptized, at our Syracuse, NY pastoral ministry ~ The Franciscan Church of the Assumption.
May God bless Logan and his family … and Friar Manny too!
January 27 1945: The Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp complex’s 7,000 remaining ill and dying prisoners were liberated, a few days after nearly 60,000 prisoners were forced to evacuate the camp, during which many thousands lost their lives. 60 years later – November 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 60/7 to designate January 27th as the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to mark and remember the Holocaust and its victims. It is estimated that around 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz alone, during the less than 5 years of its existence. As many as 15-20 million people may have been killed in the various 42,500 Nazi camps and ghettoes between 1933 and 1945.
Nazi hatred also included a vast array of religions, ethnicities and cultures. By 1945 at least five million gentiles had also fallen victim to it. Among those who were also killed are the 108 Martyrs of World War II, including the friars known as the Blessed Martyrs of Niepokalanów, who were declared blessed by the Saint Pope John-Paul II, on June 13, 1999, all sharing June 12th as their Feast Day. On August 14th, we honor and remember the most well-known Franciscan Conventual Friar Martyr of the Holocaust is St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., who was canonized in 1982 by Saint Pope John Paul II, and declared a Martyr of Charity.
Prayer
Loving God, You care for each and every human life.
All people are cherished as Your beloved children,
no matter how ordinary or extraordinary their stories are.
Today we come before You
to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
We lament the loss of the six million Jews
who were killed in the Holocaust,
the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution,
and victims of all genocides.
May our minds be clear and attentive to their memory,
and our hearts be moved to bear witness to their lives.
Help us all to turn away from hatred and division,
and to build a world where genocide is no more.
Strengthen us so that we,
in our own ordinary ways,
may show extraordinary love in the world today.
Amen
January 23-25, 2022: Our Minister Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. was in attendance at the annual Winter Leadership Gathering for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM). The major superiors in attendance participated in deep conversation around a variety of leadership issues. “CMSM is the national organization representing leaders of Catholic religious institutes for men, monasteries, and societies of apostolic life in the United States. CMSM is both a common voice for male religious and an advocate for their individual charisms.”
Blessed Mother, Protector of Religious ~ Pray for Us.
With that in mind, I want to let you know of a new program launched by the United States Government. On January 18, 2023, the Department of State initiated promotion of a new approved sponsorship program for refugees wishing to permanently resettle in the United States. The program is known as the Welcome Corps. The tenets of the program are like the resettlement program sponsored for many years by the Canadian Government and supported by the Catholic Church of Canada, notably the Archdiocese of Toronto, and our friars at the Franciscan Church at St. Bonaventure.
During the Our Lady of the Angels 2022 Provincial Chapter, our friars elected Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. for another four-year term as Province Delegate for the Marian Apostolate. In that capacity, he hopes to continue promoting devotion to the Immaculate Conception by way of a number of initiatives.
The friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province Vocations Office have been involved in a fair amount of travel these last few months. Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. and Fr. Manny Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. have traveled together to several events for young people, and it’s been good to have the witness value of both a friar-brother and friar-priest on these occasions. They have also traveled separately, which has given them the opportunity to cover more ground.
