THE 80^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. MAXIMILIAN KOLBE
(1941 – August 14 – 2021)

Following in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi over the last eight centuries, the Franciscans have promoted a constant devotion and veneration of Our Lady, especially under Her title of the Immaculate Conception. Indeed, that constant and filial promotion of Our Lady as the Immaculate Mother of God represents a golden thread that holds together and highlights our Franciscan tradition and charism.
In the line of great Franciscan saints, St. Maximilian Kolbe M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. would state that the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854 represented only a first victory for Our Lady. When St. Maximilian would form the Militia of the Immaculate (M.I.) in 1917, he would call upon Mary, the Immaculate Conception, to gain a lasting victory over evil in the world and to draw all souls, even those fallen away from the Church, to Christ and the source of all love, His Sacred Heart. When Pope St. John Paul II canonized St. Maximilian in 1982, he declared St. Maximilian to be a “saint for a difficult century.” In the twenty-first century, more than ever, St. Maximilian’s entrustment to the Immaculate for the conversion of all serves as a key to a better world for all of us.
That is why, over the last three years, Our Lady of the Angels Province has sponsored an M.I. Initiative to promote consecration to the Immaculate Conception and membership in the Militia of the Immaculate. In the next few months, this Initiative will make its final and 36^th stop at our Franciscan parish sites and we are very happy to report that the response of the faithful has been most gratifying as we will have enrolled close to 5,000 new M.I. members.
However, we can’t stop there and we believe that Our Lady and St. Maximilian are now asking us to do something else as a community of Franciscan Friars Conventual along with those with and for whom we minister. As a result, Our Lady of the Angels Province is sponsoring the 1st Annual Franciscan Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 30, 2022. The Program for the day is below and we invite all friars, M.I. members, and all the faithful to join us in celebrating our devotion to the Immaculate Mother of God. If you are already enrolled, you will be receiving a letter with more instruction on registration. If you are not, but are a member of one of our pastoral ministries, check with your parish office to see if how your parish is participating.

Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv.
Our Lady of the Angels Province Delegate for the Marian Apostolate

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Be sure to mark your calendars for the First Annual Franciscan Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, in Washington D.C., on Saturday, April 30, 2022.

FIRST ANNUAL FRANCISCAN PILGRIMAGE
TO THE NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
SPONSORED BY THE FRANCISCANS OF
OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS PROVINCE, USA

SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2022
PROGRAM

• 11.00 a.m. – WORDS OF WELCOME from the Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province, ORIENTATION from Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., Provincial Assistant of the Militia of the Immaculate
• 11.30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – LUNCH TIME
• 1:00 p.m. – 1.30 p.m. – Seated Overview TOUR of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception (Upper Basilica)
• 1.30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. – COMMUNAL PRAYER
• 2:00 p.m. – 3.00 p.m. – EUCHARISTIC LITURGY and CLOSING
• 3.00 p.m. – 4.00 p.m. – FREE TIME (There is a scheduled Vigil Mass at 4.30 p.m. The Basilica closes at 6.00 p.m.)