The Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial, celebrates Mass with the friars of Convento e Paróquia São Sebastião, in Araruama, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil (on March 31, 2016)

Friars, Postulants, and Apirants for whom Fr. James celebrated Mass in Portuguese at our Church of Saint Sebastian in Araruama

Over 100 lay associations of Catholic families, living in voluntary poverty, engage themselves in the Church’s social mission. In Araruama, Friar James visited with Anderson and his wife Aparacida (pictured with their six daughters and neighbors) who oversee a therapeutic farm for the rehabilitation of youth with alcohol and drug abuse problems.

Fr. Cláudio Vieira Pereira, OFM Conv. and Fr. James at the cloister of the Poor Clares of Rio de Janeiro, whom they visited on Divine Mercy Sunday.

On Divine Mercy Sunday, the Minister Provincial celebrated Mass in Portuguese for the nine postulants and aspirants at our Custody’s St. Bonaventure Formation House (Convento e Casa de Formação São Boaventura) in Petrópolis, Brazil. He was joined by the Custos (Custódio Vicar), Fr. Ronaldo Gomes da Silva Pároco, OFM Conv.

Excerpt from an April 6, 2016 letter to the friars, by Fr. James:
Having returned yesterday from our Custody in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I can happily report that Our Lord’s Easter Rising is being mirrored in the upbeat accomplishments of Rio’s new Vicar-Custos (Ronaldo Gomes da Silva Pároco) and his administration… My week with the Rio friars affirmed their resilience on several levels – fraternal, economical, formational, canonical, administrative, and apostolic.  A spirit of optimism prevails, as next year’s Custodial Chapter looms.
The year 2016 marks the 70^th Anniversary of the Order’s presence in Brazil… Rio stands as the first implantatio Ordinis in all of South and Central America, where we now have fraternities in 15 countries.  The Order will convoke a Congress in July to commemorate the Order’s 70^th Anniversary on this continent.  Preparations for the Congress are well underway.  The Custos and his Definitory are working with the Assistant General for FALC (Federación Conventuales America Latina) to cover every detail.  There will be 80 invited friars from all over the world converging on Rio, including the Minister General and his General Definitory.  The friars took me to the Regina Coeli Spirituality Centre, where we shall be hosting the Congress.  The facility is simple and homey, with a welcoming Mother Superior (“Irma Aparecida”) whose heart is as big as herself.  Our Franciscan Congress will take place less than a month before the Rio Olympics.
…Since the friars were celebrating the Easter Octave, they organized a fraternal day of relaxation at “Leisure Island,” a resort owned by one of the parishioners in Araruama.  We had the whole park to ourselves for swimming, boating, enjoying the small zoo replete with flamingos, black swans, toucans, araras (macaws), ostriches, and peacocks.
…After years with a dearth of vocations, the Custody is now enjoying a resurgence of new vocations.  The recent decision of the new Vicar-Custos and his Definitory to re-open the formation house in Petrópolis is proving to be farsighted.  We now have 9 aspirants and postulants in Petrópolis.  I celebrated Mass for them on Divine Mercy Sunday.  During their one year of aspirancy and three years of postulancy, our students attend the Catholic University in Petrópolis,… the former “Imperial City” of Brazil… the students often use the formation community’s single computer to access websites of the Order.  Among their favorite discoveries was a photo of Bishop Gregory Hartmayer (of Savannah) throwing out the pitch at a Georgia baseball match.  (Bishop) Gregory now has rock-star and sports icon status among our Brazilian aspirants and postulants!
At one point during my visit, (Friar) Ronaldo took me to meet a gentleman named Anderson who founded a lay Catholic community.  The commune, named “Divina Cruz,” comprises several families, who live in voluntary poverty, and engage in farmwork and therapeutic care for young adults fighting addictions.  Anderson and his wife Aparecida have six daughters.  Prayer, work, community, charity, service, and poverty are the hallmark of their Catholic lives. Joy radiates.
…In terms of future development and financial solidarity, the friars have been seeking ways to exercise good stewardship under the careful scrutiny of the Custodial Bursar (Pároco e Ecônomo Cust), Friar Ariel who has a fine working relationship with the Province Treasurer.  One of our financial initiatives includes the Order’s property in Andrelandia, where we now have paying tenants renting some of the facility of our former St. Bonaventure College and Seminary.  For some years the friars were absent from Andrelandia.  In the past three months, we have undertaken the re-establishment of our presence at the site, with an experimental “hermitage” fraternity.  The local folks in Andrelandia have been thrilled to welcome back the friars.  They have an enormous esteem for the late missionary friar from Massachusetts, Fr. Martin de Porres Ward, OFM Conv.  I had no time to visit Andrelandia on this trip, but heard all about it, and shall stop there during my canonical visitation later this year.
…On my last day in Rio, two of the friars and I visited with a benefactor businessman, to discuss future development projects that have some realistic possibilities.  The friars are trying to work towards financial self-reliance at the same time as they are discerning the needs of the local Church, and ways in which our Franciscan charism can be put at the service of the greater community.  To say that I was impressed by this visionary outlook would be an understatement.
No visit with the Brazilian friars would be complete without their taking the Minister Provincial to visit the Poor Clare nuns in Rio.  The legendary Mother Pacifica has been the Abbess there for 46 years.  She still rules the roost, albeit with a velvet glove… Before I left, the nuns said a prayer together – and sang – for all of the friars of the Custody and Province.  With the likes of Mother Pacifica and the Poor Clares supporting us, is it any wonder that the Friars of Rio are on the upswing?
Your brother James ~ 6^th April 2016

Friar Nicholas Swiatek, OFM Conv, and his Kindergarten teachers at the End of Year party.

Fr. Nicholas Swiatek, OFM Conv. is currently serving the parishioners of Our lady of the Assumption, the Akabane Catholic Church, in Kita-ku, Tokyo-to, Japan. He recently send a “Happy Easter” letter to one of our friars, with a few updates on his ministry there. He speaks of his pastoral duties, such as marriage preparation, Religious Education classes and talks such as the Saint of the Month presentations to the women’s club, a talk on the Year of Mercy, St. Maximilian’s origination of the Militia of the Immaculata, as well as writing articles for the parish newspaper. He spoke of the March 11th, 5th Anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that hit the Fukushima area of Japan and how there is till a very long road to recovery for the people of the area. Anniversaries are very important to the Japanese people and often the news is filled with memorials and Buddhist prayer services or the Prime Minister offering perspective, speaking of politics and current events. US political election drama is often in the news, as well but mostly it is news of the severe and sometimes tragic weather of the area. He is strengthened by the presence of about 15 “hardy parishioners” at the 6:30 a.m. Mass each day, which he concludes with the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer of the Church before heading to his breakfast. Another source of great joy are the students. He has 45 kindergartners headed to 1st grade on April 8th with 125 of them moving onto the next level of kindergarten. Periodically he gets to teach the older students some English, as well. He says that Tokyo is gearing up for the 2020 Olympics with lots of preparations for logistics as well as for the athletes. He finds it interesting that they are refurbishing many old buildings and the landscape is always changing.
At the parish Easter Vigil, they celebrated 15 baptisms and on Easter Sunday, 8 children received their First Eucharist. Just as we on the East Coast celebrate the revelry that surrounds the Springtime National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., (commemorating the March 27, 1912, gift of Japanese cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo City to the city of Washington), so do the people of Tokyo look forward to each April and not only those beautiful blossoms but all of the bounty of their gardens. It is a great joy for Friar Nicholas to see his garden blossoming bounty of sweet peas, leeks and leaf lettuce. He will come visit the US in May and extends his thanks to all of his confreres who remember him on his Names Day. Prayers are always helpful and forever needed.
Please keep Friar Nicholas and all of our friars serving over seas, in your continued prayers.

Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. celebrated the Holy Triduum and Paschal Feast with the Roman Catholic student community at Syracuse University. In all 1000 students (with some visiting family members) celebrated at two Easter Sunday Masses. Our Lady of the Angels Province Friar, Br. Ed Falsey, OFM Conv., who serves as the Guardian of the St. Francis Friary in Syracuse (NY), joined Maggie Byrne – Pastoral Assistant, and Ashley – Student Lector, to complete the ministry team with Fr. James.

“The Christ on the Campus” is the crucifix designed and painted by students that hangs in the St. Thomas More Campus Ministry – John G. Albrandi Catholic Center – Syracuse University Chapel. The shape and corpus are from the San Damiano Cross that St. Francis of Assisi prayed before as he sought direction for his life and career. The cross depicts contemporary scenes from campus life and is meant to remind students that Christ is present in all of life’s activities. The flags that make up the border of the cross point to the salvation Christ won for all people of all nations, by His glorious Passion and Resurrection.

Good Friday at The Franciscan Church of the Assumption: Fr. Brennan-Joseph, OFM Conv. asks us all to reflect on what role we think we would have played in the #Passion. What role are we playing today? Are we being kind to all that we meet?

Easter Vigil at The Franciscan Church of the Assumption: Fr. Rick Riccioli, OFM Conv. lights the Easter fire for the blessing and lighting of the 2016 Easter Candle

Good Friday’s Way of the Cross at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community (Pastor: Fr. Paul Lininger, OFM Conv.)

Good Friday Passion Play at Holy Cross Catholic Church: (pictured – Parochial Vicar, Fr. Abelardo Huanca Martinez, OFM Conv.)

Holy Cross (Atlanta) Breakfast with the Easter Bunny and Egg Hunt. Breakfast provided by the Knights of Columbus and many more volunteers helped to make the event a great success. (pictured: Pastor, Fr. Jude Michael Krill, OFM Conv. and Parochial Vicar Fr. Abelardo Huanca Martinez, OFM Conv.

Easter Sunday Reflection by Duke Catholic Center Director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Michael Martin, OFM Conv.

Easter Vigil at St. Lucie Catholic Church (Pastor – Fr. Mark Szanyi, OFM Conv & Parochial Vicars – Fr. Curt Kreml, OFM Conv., Fr. Paul Gabriel, OFM Conv. and Fr. Daniel Pal, OFM Conv.

Blessing of the Food, St. Paul Catholic Church (Fr. Raymond Borkowski, OFM Conv.)

Holy Saturday Easter Egg Hunt at the Shrine of St. Anthony: Young Max (age 2) and his family enjoyed visiting the friars and taking part in the morning egg Hunt fun. He was really excited when he saw the small Shrine of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., on the grounds during the hunt. He ran up to his patron saint’s statue and said, “That’s me! That’s Max!”

Easter Sunday Sunrise Mass at the Shrine of St. Anthony (on the front lawn of Carrollton Hall Historic Site) with Shrine and Hall Director, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv.

The Easter Fire at San Damiano Mission

(Note Friar Nicholas processing just behind Archbishop Lori near the bottom of the picture. You can recognize him by the hood of his habit over his vestments.)

2016 Palm Sunday Vigil – St. Casimir sanctuary photo taken by a pilgrim from the youth program of our pastoral ministry of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer (Baltimore)

Each year, at the start of Holy Week, our pastoral ministry of St. Casimir Church (Baltimore, MD) is home to the Closing Mass of the Archdiocesan Youth & Young Adult Pilgrimage, a tradition in the Archdiocese of Baltimore since its inception in 1993 by His Eminence Cardinal William H. Keeler (Retired). The pilgrims (which include members of several of our pastoral ministries in the Archdiocese of Baltimore) begin the day with the opportunity to participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (clergy from all over the Archdiocese participated, including Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Matt Foley, OFM Conv., who serves the students of our high school ministry, Archbishop Curley High School. Check out the link at the bottom of this article for a picture of Friar Matt and a young pilgrim at Confession.) and an encouraging rally led by the Archbishop, who then leads a Eucharistic Procession to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary for Adoration. The group moves onto Baltimore City’s War Memorial Plaza to eat an outdoor lunch and pray the Rosary together, then onto the Stations of the Cross and some spiritual music before joining their bishops (Archbishop William E. Lori and Bishop Denis J. Madden) for the last hour of the walk through the streets of Baltimore, as an act of prayer, with the hope of encountering God both along the way, as well as at the end of their journey. The bishops and pilgrims share in the burden of bearing a large cross on their shoulders as they process through the streets, going from place to place, learning a little more about your faith at each stop. The final destination is a Palm Sunday Vigil Mass Celebration with the parishioners of St. Casimir Church, concelebrated by the pastor, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Dennis Grumsey.
This year, Friar Nicholas Rokitka, OFM Conv. served the Archbishop as Deacon during the Mass. Please keep him in your prayers during these final months of formation. His Ordination to the Priesthood is planned for June 25, 2016, to be held at St. Casimir Church.
Catholic Review Article & More from the Catholic Review

St. Joseph is the patron saint of husbands, unborn children, fathers, workers, travelers, immigrants, accountants, attorneys, barristers, bursars, cabinetmakers, carpenters, cemetery workers, children, civil engineers, confectioners, craftsmen, the dying – doubtful – hesitant, educators, exiles, families, furniture makers, house hunters & sellers, marriage, orphans, social justice and a happy death. In addition to the Universal Church, there are continents, countries, regions and cities which also hold him as patron, such as the Americas, Philippines, Vatican City, Vietnam, China, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Peru, Vietnam, Bavaria, Allahabad, Anchorage, Baton Rouge, Buffalo, Cologne, Carinthia, Styria, Turin, Tyrol, Sicily and many more. The name San José (or San Jose) is the most common city name in the world.
In the United States, Saint Joseph’s Day is especially celebrated in Italian-American communities. This great love of “San Giuseppe” often stems from a legend from the Middle Ages. There was a severe drought, and when the people of Sicily prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain, it came. The people had promised that if through his intercession, their prayers were answered, they would prepare a large feast to honor him. Traditionally the fava bean (the crop which saved the population from starvation) is a traditional part of St. Joseph’s Day altars (a three teared table representing the Holy Trinity) to this day, alongside flowers, limes, candles, wine, cakes, breads, cookies, meatless dishes, and Zeppole / Bignè di San Giuseppe (St. Joseph’s cake). Throughout the USA, there are communities who annually don red clothing and enjoy these dishes that often include bread crumbs in the recipes to represent the saw dust of St. Joseph the carpenter. No meat is included because the Feast Day falls during Lent.

Giving food to the needy is also a St. Joseph’s Day custom.

For the past 7 years our pastoral ministry of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, of Point Pleasant Beach – NJ, has held a feast to celebrate St. Joseph’s Day, with the proceeds benefiting the parish school (St. Peter School). This year, as March 19th falls on a Saturday, the parish will celebrate the Mass for the Solemnity at their regular 8:30 a.m. Morning Mass. Later that day, the 5:00 p.m. Mass will be the Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday and the start of Holy Week; as the Solemnity of Saint Joseph ends – Holy Week begins. Consequently, the annual evening Feast of Saint Joseph at the parish is not possible this year. However, the parish did not cancel all together.
This year is the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy for the whole Church throughout the world, as promoted by Pope Francis. During this Year of Mercy, we Roman Catholics are to focus more on Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, including “Feeding the Hungry” and “Giving Drink to the Thirsty.” With this in mind, the 8th Annual Feast of St. Joseph is moved from Saint Peter Parish to Joseph’s House (a nonprofit organization dedicated to caring for the homeless). The feast will not be open to the public and used as a fund raiser for the school. The event will instead aid “the least of our brothers and sisters.” Joseph’s House serves 85 or more guests on a daily basis – offering shelter, meals, social services and friendship.

Saint Joseph
Faithful Joseph
Loving Joseph
Protector Joseph
Dreamer Joseph
Gentle Joseph
Parent Joseph
Pray for Us!

Prayer
O God, Who in Thine ineffable Providence has vouchsafed to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of Thy most holy Mother Mary; Grant, we beseech Thee, that we may deserve to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our holy protector.
Amen