On June 17, His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal COMASTRI, presided over Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. At noon, there was an audience with Pope Francis in the Clementine Hall. After a salutation from the newly elected Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, the Pope then spoke and invited the friars to live as “brothers and in minority.” After imparting his apostolic blessing, Pope Francis bade the Capitulars farewell and thanked them for their prayers for him and his service.

Our Lady of the Angels Province student friar, Fabian Adderley, OFM Conv. is on Summer Assignment at St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church. He joyfully participated in the implementation of this year’s Summer Program.

June 2019: The Summer Program at our pastoral ministry of St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church (Jonesboro, Georgia) is an opportunity for PreK – 8th Grade students to participate in Faith Formation during the summer, instead of the school year. This June, the two weeks (10days – 30 hours) of sessions included Daily Mass, Scripture Lessons, Hands-on Activities, Prayer Liturgical Experiences, Music, Snacks and Outdoor Fun.
Message taken from the June 23, 2019 Bulletin:

Fr. John Koziol, OFM Conv. (pastor), friar Fabian and Fr. Vincent Gluc, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar) with one of the student participants.

“Every day with daily Mass, allowing the children to come together to offer up their day to the Lord. Students shared in classroom time, learned diverse forms of prayer, participated in games (kickball, soccer, baseball, and basketball) and unstructured play time. The younger ones chose to play on the playground, practiced gymnastic poses, and took turns hanging upside down. During the music rotation, our children learned about what full, active, and conscious participation is at Mass. Ashe Griffin led wonderful music sessions and taught our children several songs that tied back into the daily Gospel themes that they had heard at Mass. Meanwhile, Joceline Hernandez worked with several guest teachers to help students learn about ways that they can put their Catholic faith into action. They learned about care for God’s Creation and visited our Laudato Si garden and met our working goats, Anthony and Francis. They took home a little green bean seed to re-pot and grow at home. Then, later in the first week, they visited with Sherry Ann Jenkins to learn about the wonderful work that the Pregnancy Aid Center in Jonesboro does to provide support to pregnant women and their babies. Our children drew pictures and wrote cards of encouragement to the soon-to-be mothers. They also learned about Mary and how she lived out her maternity period by taking Jesus (still in the womb) to visit others and how we can do the same. On Friday of the first week, our children also took turns visiting the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry and learned about the incredible work that is accomplished through the generous gifts of canned foods and money that are given each month by parishioners! Did you know that we feed approximately 125 families each week? WOW! God is Good! Stay tuned and check back next week’s bulletin for a second update on what we did for the second week of the Summer Program!”

Click to hear today’s reflection by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Assistant General (CFF) of our Order, Fr. Jude Winker, OFM Conv. provinded through our Companions of St. Anthony ministry.

On Sunday, most of the Capitulars transferred to the Seraphicum College in Rome, where they enjoyed a day of rest. Today, Monday, (June 17, 2019) the last day of the Chapter, was dedicated to an audience with Pope Francis.
At 9:00 a.m., His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal COMASTRI, the Vicar General for Vatican City, presided over Mass in the apse at the end of St. Peter’s Basilica. The cardinal mentioned the “Little Testament of Siena” of St. Francis of Assisi, which says how “the friars should always love each other, always love and follow our Lady, Holy Poverty, and always be faithful and submissive to the prelates and all clerics of Holy Mother Church.” The new Government of the Order is called to guide the confreres to love each other and love the Church, so that our charism may be lived ever more deeply.
After the Mass, the Capitulars moved to the Clementine Hall, where at around noon the audience with Pope Francis began. After a salutation from the newly elected Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, the Pope then spoke and invited the friars to live as “brothers and in minority.” St. Francis remains relevant because he put the Gospel at the center of his life. Thus today, as his younger brothers, we must proclaim the Good News with our words and our lives.
After imparting his apostolic blessing, Pope Francis bade the Capitulars farewell and thanked them for their prayers for him and his service.
Friar Aurelio ERCOLI, Chronicler

On June 9, 2019 (Pentecost Sunday) our friars of the Portiuncula Friary (Provincial House – Ellicott City, Maryland) hosted many friars from the local area, including the student friars who are serving on our JPIC ministry’s Little Portion Farm this summer, to a Crab Feast, which included steamed crabs, crab cakes, coleslaw, corn on the cob and watermelon & berries. It was a great afternoon of relaxation after the St. Anthony Festival at our Shrine of St. Anthony the day before. Luckily the group included a few “Baltimore Boys” who could give a lesson or two on how to pick steamed blue crabs. 

Our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. with Newly Elected Minister General, the Most Reverend Fr. Carlos Alberto Trovarelli, OFM Conv.

On May 25, 2019, during the 202nd Ordinary General Chapter of our Order (May 18-June17, 2019) the capitulars elected Friar Carlos Alberto Trovarelli, OFM Conv. as the new Minister General. The election took place at the Sacro Convento, in Assisi and he took his oath of office in the tomb of St. Francis. Friar Carlos is from Argentina and belongs to the “Rioplatense” Province of St. Anthony of Padua in Argentina-Uruguay. Prior to his election as Minister General, Friar Carlos served as Assistant General for the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC). On May 27, 2019 the election of the General Definitory took place.

Vicar General : Fr. Jan Maciejowski, OFM Conv.
Minister Provincial of the Poland (Gdańsk) Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe
Secretary General : Fr. Tomasz Szymczak, OFM Conv.
Secretary General of the Chapter and a member of the Poland (Warsaw) Province of the Immaculate Mother of God
Assistant General (FIMP): Fr. Giovanni Voltan, OFM Conv.
Minister Provincial of Northern Italy’s Province of St. Anthony of Padua)
Assistant General (FEMO): Fr. Tomáš Lesňák, OFM Conv.
Provincial Custos of the Slovakian Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.
Assistant General (FAMC): Fr. Benedict Seung-jae Baek, OFM Conv.
Confirmed for another term
Assistant General (CFF): Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. (of our province)
Confirmed for another term
Assistant General (CEF): Fr. Dominique Mathieu, OFM Conv.
Not a part of the Chapter – Friar of the Provincial Custody of the Orient and the Holy Land
Assistant General (FALC): Bro. Rogério Pereira Xavier, OFM Conv.
Brazil’s Province of St. Francis
Assistant General (AFCOF): Fr. Anthony Bezo Kutiero, OFM Conv.
Provincial Custos of Ghanan Custody of St. Anthony of Padua

The seven Our Lady of the Angels Province Friars who are participating in the General Chapter left to right – lower to upper: Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. (Elected Delegate); Fr. Jude Winkler , OFM Conv. (Assistant General); Fr. Tim Kulbicki, OFM Conv. (Elected Delegate); Fr. David Blowey, OFM Conv. (Auditor); Fr. Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. (Interpreter); Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels); Very Reverend Fr. Michael Zielke, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial of St. Bonaventure Province)

Week Two:

The Mass Celebration of the Feast of the Visitation (Friday, May 31, 2019) was presided over by our own Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. In addition, our own province friar and Assistant General of the CFF, Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. gave the homily. In the photo to the left, taken from the Chapter’s Website Post for May 31st, you can see Fr. James flanked by our own Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. Fr. Jobe is an Elected Delegate for the Chapter who serves our province as Province Delegate to the M.I., as well as Provincial Delegate of our Province Delegation of St. Francis of Assisi (Canada). Read More

All of the homilies, including several more presented by Fr. Jude, (plus many more videos from the General Chapter) can be found on the Curia Generalizia OFMConv YouTube channel’s playlist – Capitolo generale 2019

Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. and the Men in Nursing Chapter of the students at the Elms College School of Nursing Baccalaureate Pinning – May 15, 2019. Graduates and their families were invited to attend this special occasion.

The Baccalaureate Nursing Pinning Ceremony celebrated the nursing class of 2019. The Men in Nursing Chapter started with a grant from Our Lady of the Angels Province – St Anthony’s Bread Fund. Br. Duffy stated: “We are very grateful for the funding, and helping us give a little more voice to the great men who come to the Elms to pursue nursing.”

On May 9, 2019, Fr. Stephen King, OFM Conv. received a PhD from the Graduate Theological Union, during the 2019 Commencement Exercises held at Zaytuna College, in Berkeley, CA.

Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Area of Study: Christian Spirituality
Dissertation Title 
Prisms of Perfection: The Vita Icon Images of Saint Francis of Assisi as Revelatory and Transformative of Franciscan Spirituality
The vita icons of Saint Francis presented beholders with a likeness of the developing spirituality of the nascent Franciscan movement. Today these images impart presences of Saint Francis that have the capacity to serve as loci for transformative religious experience in the lives of adherents of this spiritual tradition within the broader sphere of Christian spirituality.

Congratulations to Friar Stephen!