This year marks the 800 Anniversary of the August 2nd Portiuncula Indulgence. You will notice that our province logo incorporates the Portiuncula graphic. This is because the Portiuncula (the small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels nicknamed “Little Portion” by St. Francis of Assisi) is located within Assisi’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. All Franciscans around the world celebrate August 2nd Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels but we friars who are members of a province named in her honor, hold the day in high regard. There are many celebrations throughout our province and we encourage all to join us in those celebrations. To find a location nearest to you, please visit our ministry locations page. We hope to see you there.

More on the Feast Day and the Portiuncula Indulgence:
August 2nd – Feast of Our Lady of the Angels (aka the Feast of the Portiuncula). The small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (Our Lady of the Angels) was very dear to St. Francis of Assisi. He referred to it as the Portiucula (or the Little Portion) and it is considered the cradle of the Franciscan Order. In 1209, as the quarters of Rivo Torto became too small for the newly forming religious order, St. Francis obtained from the Benedictines the use of the Portiuncula, for which he paid a basket of fish. The church and the surrounding small parcel of land were is disrepair. Just as he did at San Damiano, St. Francis rebuilt it, adding small huts (cells) and enclosing it all in a protective hedge. It was there that St. Francis gained a more vivid understanding of his own vocation. He held the annual meetings of the friars (Chapters) there and it is where he desired to spend his final earthly moments; dying in his nearby cell October 3, 1226.
St. Francis felt that the Portiuncula was a place filled with God’s grace. In 1216, at the request of St. Francis, the Pope granted special privilege (plenary indulgence – a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins) to all those who would visit the little chapel.
Although limited to noon on August 1st to midnight on August 2nd, the privilege continues to be granted to this day; not only to those who visit the Portiuncula, but to anyone who visits any church where the friars live and minister. To receive this privilege (for yourself or for someone else – living or deceased), in addition to the visit, one must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation within several weeks of the feast, go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, recite the Our Father and Apostles Creed, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
The beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli that now surrounds the Portiuncula chapel was begun in 1569 (completed in 1684) by decree of Pius V. It was meant to accommodate the huge crowds of pilgrims who came on August 2nd for Il Perdono (Portiuncula Indulgence). This is an important feast day for all Franciscans and is celebrated in Franciscan churches throughout the world. As the friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, this Feast Day has singular significance.

Congratulations friar Roberson Lubin, OFM Conv. (St. Joseph of Cupertino Province), friar Jacob Minjarez, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of Consolation Province) friar Brian Mary Tougher, OFM Conv. (Blessed Agnellus of Pisa – Custody), friar Jaime Zaragoza, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of Consolation Province), friar Timothy Blanchard, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province), {bottom row} friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province) and friar Marco Antonio Didden, OFM Conv. (Blessed Agnellus of Pisa – Custody). They are flanked by their Conventual Franciscan Novitiate Formators; Fr. Giles Zakowicz, OFM Conv. (Director – far left, back), and Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. (Assistant Director – far right, back) ~ both friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province.

July 21, 2016: The friars of the CFF (all Franciscan Friars Conventual Provinces of North America) celebrated the joy of the Profession of Simple Vows (also known as First or Temporary) as Franciscan Friars Conventual, of seven Novices, at St. Paul’s Church, in Pismo Beach, California. Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lexington (a friar from the Province of Our Lady of Consolation) presided at the Mass. Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. preached and presided over the Profession.

Br. Daniel Geary (Formation Director of our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody), friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province), friar Brian Mary Tougher, OFM Conv. (Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody), the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province of which Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody is a part), friar Marco Antonio Didden, OFM Conv. (Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody) and friar Timothy Blanchard, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province).

Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv. (front center) pictured with the Ministers Provincial of the four North American Provinces, the Assistant General and the Newly Professed

Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial receives the Simple Vows of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv., witnessed by Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. – Assistant Director of the Novitiate

Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial receives the Simple Vows of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custoday friar Marco Antonio Didden, OFM Conv., witnessed by Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. – Assistant Director of the Novitiate

Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial receives the Simple Vows of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar Timothy Blanchard, OFM Conv., witnessed by Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. – Assistant Director of the Novitiate

Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial receives the Simple Vows of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custoday friar Brian Mary Tougher, OFM Conv., witnessed by Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. – Assistant Director of the Novitiate

After their Simple Profession of Vows in St. Paul’s Church, Pismo Beach, California, the newly professed carried two large bouquets of flowers to the altar of the Blessed Mother, then sang the “Salve Regina.”

Brazil – Mission Congress Official Photo – July 15, 2016

July 13-17, 2016 ~ Brazil:  The goal of the Mission Congress of the Federación Conventuales America Latina (FALC), was to deepen the reflection of the scenarios and the missionary and evangelizing practice of Franciscan Friars Conventual. This year marked a 70 year presence in Latin America and the Caribbean and it was a cause for great celebration and reflection. Read More in this article from the CNNB site. (Original text)

Read about the April 2016 Provincial Visit to Brazil

The North American Friars on hand at the Congress (the Very Reverend Jim Kent, OFM Conv – Minister Provincial of the Our Lady of Consolation Province ~ Fr. Justin Biase, OFM Conv. – former Minister Provincial of Immaculate Conception Province that is now part of Our Lady of the Angels Province ~ the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. – Minister Provincial of our province of Our Lady of the Angels) take a photo with Bishop Elias James Manning, O.F.M. Conv. ~ Bishop Emeritus of Valença, Rio de Janeiro, Frei Ronaldo Gomes da Silva Pároco – Custódio Vicar of our Immaculate Conception Custody, Frei Ilson Fontenelle Júnior – Pároco (formation director in Petropolis) and Friar Isidoro (Custos of Honduras), along with two of the Postulants

1st Order friars represented by the Assistant General of the FALC – Friar Carlos A. Trovarelli, OFM Conv. (far right), Friar James (far left) and Friar Ronaldo (center). 2nd Order represented by the Poor Clares of Rio de Janeiro (cloistered sisters who had special permission to attend). 3rd Order represented by the Leaders of the Region’s OFS (Ordo Franciscanus Sæcularis aka Secular Franciscans)

Joey Dziok, former director of the youth music program at our pastoral ministry at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr (Chicopee, MA) now works for NBC News and is in Brazil covering the Olympics. He has a moment to take a picture with our Friar James and Friar Justin.

While participating in the Order’s Mission Congress in Brazil, our Province’s own native brother, Bishop Elias James Manning, O.F.M. Conv. (Bishop Emeritus of Valença, Rio de Janeiro) presented to our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., with two gifts for the Province Archives – the pectoral cross presented him by his home parish of St. Michael in Troy, New York on the occasion of his episcopal ordination in 1990, and a newly published collection of some of his spiritual writings during the years of his active ministry as Bishop of Valença, Brazil.  He retired in 2014, but remains a very active Bishop Emeritus.

Kevin Gordon’s 54″ by 39″ oil portrait of St. Kateri was the featured altar piece at the canonization ceremony at the 10,000 seat shrine of Our Lady of the Martyrs, Auriesville, NY

Saint Kateri Weekend at the National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

07-14-2016 (Thursday)
8:30 a.m.  Saint Kateri Feast Day Mass (USA) Celebration – Solemn Blessing with Relic

07-16-2016 (Saturday)
4:30 p.m. Vigil Mass – Solemn Blessing with Relic
Native American (Akwesasne & Kahnawake) Traditional Purification Rite
7:00 p.m.  Prayer and Healing Circle with Terry Steele

07-17-2016 (Sunday)
10:30 p.m.  Mass – Solemn Blessing with Relic
Native American (Akwesasne & Kahnawake) Traditional Purification Rite

Follow Up Message from:
Mr Bill Jacobs, Shrine Director
National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
“A Sacred Place of Peace and Healing”
3636 State Hwy 5, PO Box 627
Fonda, NY 12068-0627 USA

National Shrine Celebrates Saint Kateri Feast Day Weekend
Fonda, NY, July 18, 2016 – The National Shrine of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha in Fonda, NY held a Saint Kateri feast day celebration on July 14, 16, and 17. More than 400 people attended Masses on Saturday and Sunday to honor St. Kateri Tekakwitha and to celebrate the Gospel of Jesus. Participants included our Native American and First Nations friends, including a choir comprised of members of the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne and renowned Algonquin member Terry Steele
Masses were celebrated by Friar Mark Steed, Shrine Chaplain, and Father Edmund, a missionary from Peru. Cub Scout Pack 233 from the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Irondequoit, NY participated in the procession with a first-class relic of St. Kateri. The scouts camped at the shrine on Friday and Saturday nights.
Participants in celebrating Masses contributed $2,300 toward the operation and preservation of the Shrine. A buffet on Saturday night for Native American and First Nations friends was provided by the Winner’s Circle in Fonda. Flowers were provided by Damianos Flowers in Amsterdam.
[Photos by Bill Jacobs]

Mass celebrated by Friar Mark Steed, OFM Conv. – Shrine Chaplain & Father Edmund, Missionary – Peru.

Choir of the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne and renowned Algonquin member Terry Steele

Friar Mark, Shrine Chaplain, with First Nations friends from the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne and Cub Scout Pack 233 from Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Irondequoit, NY.

Friar Mark Steed with First Nations friends from the Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne and renowned Algonquin member Terry Steele

July 8, 2016 ~ Syracuse, NY: The FrancisCorps – FC17 Volunteers (Erin, Brady, Caroline, & Johanna – Costa Rica / Blake, Marie, Corrinne, Ana, & Joe – Syracuse, NY ) have grown through their experiences. They see the world a bit differently, with a matured awareness of the complexity of living with others, of the poverty found at sites, and of their own spirituality.

Mr. A.J. LaPoint, Director of FrancisCorps spoke to those in attendance, while the 9 volunteers from FC17 were presented to those in attendance.

FrancisCorps Pride!!!!

Representing the next generation of FrancisCorps volunteers!

July 13-17, 2016 ~ Rio de Janeiro: A Congress of the Order will take place in Brazil to celebrate the 70Year presence of our Conventual Franciscans in Latin America. The meeting’s focus will be based on a reflection on the missionary efforts of the friars in Latin America and the Caribbean, since the founding of the Immaculate Conception Custody (a Custody of Our Lady of the Angels Province) in 1946. Those in attendance will take on the challenges of the New Evangelization. Participants include friars of our Order as well as those outside of the Order; Brazilian lay people ~ men, women and youth and members of other Franciscan Orders, including the Poor Clare Sisters.
A special graphic was created to commemorate these past 70 years. It takes the form of the TAU. St. Francis of Assisi had an affinity for the sign of the Tau. He spoke of it often and even used it to sign correspondence. Early Christian students of the Old Testament would have used a Greek version called “Septuagint,” in which the tau (last letter of the alphabet) was written as a T. The natural transition from the TAU was to a T representing the cross of Christ as a fulfillment of Old Testament promises. Saint Francis of Assisi was very familiar with this symbol, as it was used as an amulet by a Religious Community that cared for lepers in the area of Assisi; a service he took close to his heart upon his conversion. Today, Religious and Lay followers of Francis wear the tau cross as an exterior symbol of a remembrance of the victory of Christ.
Within the body of the TAU is a map of Latin America & the Caribbean. The color band within the body reflects historical struggle, violence and torture, while the red of the map indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the land. Look close and you will see a friar dressed in the grey of our habit, with his arms outstretched, as a welcoming presence and fullness of service.

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A bit of history (Taken from the International Missionary Congress OFM Conv. of January, 2006,  in Cochin, India: “Lights and Shadows” pg 7, Completed by former Secretary General for Missions, Fr. Enrique Montero, OFM Conv., a friar from our province – Bishop Gabriel Enrique Montero Umaña, O.F.M. Conv., of the Diocese of San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica)

The 1940’s-1960’s: the first Latin American frontier
This new phase opens in 1946 with the opening of the first friaries in Brazil by the American Province of the Immaculate Conception: a Province that experiences a great missionary boost both in Brazil as well as in Central America, with friaries in Costa Rica (1946), followed later in Honduras (in 1968) by the American Province of Our Lady of Consolation, already engaged in New Mexico with the Hispanics.
A year later, in 1947, the South-American season of the Paduan Province of St. Anthony had its beginning, with the opening of the first houses in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil: a commitment in gratitude to the memory of St. Anthony, proclaimed doctor of the Church in 1946 and possibly thanks also to the exuberance and vitality of many young friars. It was also an answer to the expressed requirements of the Church that was asking a serious commitment in the South-American continent, that had always lacked an adequately prepared clergy, despite its wide-spread Catholicity. Some twenty years later, in 1968, these two Provinces are joined by the Province of Rome with the opening of a mission in the heart of Brazil, in the region of Maranhão. With the 1960’s the Order is present in four countries. Card. Canali, then protector of the Order, in his speech to the General Chapter of 1960 (which would elect Fr. Basil Heiser as Minister general) expressed the satisfaction of the Holy See for the response that the Conventual Franciscans had given to the request of the Church for a missionary commitment: “It is consoling to realise that in only 15 years the number of friars who work in Latin America has reached a hundred and with that the Order has answered generously to further appeals of the Holy See, that holds dear the apostolate in that vast continent.”