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Mini Kolbe Pilgrimage
Marking the Centenary of St. Maximilian’s Ordination and First Mass
Before leaving Rome for Nemi, the site of the Extraordinary General Chapter of our Order, Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. and our Province Delegate to the Militia of the Immaculata, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. made an afternoon pilgrimage to the churches where St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. was ordained a priest 100 years ago, by Cardinal Basilio Pompilj, on April 28, 1918 (Minor Basilica Sant’Andrea della Valle) and where he celebrated his first Mass on April 29, 1918 (Basilica di Sant’Andrea delle Fratte). Their pilgrimage started at the feet of the Immaculate at the Spanish Steps and then they continued on to the Basilica di Sant’Andrea delle Fratte, at the altar of St. Maximilian’s first Mass, where the Immaculata had appeared to Alfons Ratisbonne in 1842, and where the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima was being venerated. They then proceeded to the minor basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle, whose magnificence surely reflected the solemnity of St. Maximilan’s ordination. Their common prayer was to recommend our Chapter deliberations to Our Lady and St. Maximilian and, once again, to ask their intercessory help and blessing upon the new quadrennium of Our Lady of the Angels Province.
9th Annual Linda’s Walk 5K
The St. Clare Inn operates under the direction of Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and Executive Director, Friar Tom Purcell, OFM Conv. He and all of our friars thank you for your support.
August 18, 2018 ~ 9th Linda’s Walk
The Annual Linda’s Walk began in 2010 and is the largest fund raiser supporting St. Clare Inn, a transitional housing program helping homeless women with mental health challenges rebuild their lives. These homeless women (aged 30-60) find community, care, shelter, and support in their healing journey. The walk is named in honor of Linda Houston, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and who died of a heart attack, alone and homeless, in 1997. The people and the friars of the Franciscan Church of St. Bonaventure, who often helped her out with some money and food, were moved by her tragic life circumstance and her resulting death. In 2007, St. Clare Inn was established by the Friends of Saint Francis, a group of dedicated professional lay men and women, along with our area friars. St. Clare Inn’s also holds an Annual Soirée. You don’t have to be in Ontario to support the fundraising efforts for St. Clare Inn. Visit the “How You Can Help!” page on their website for more information.
If you are in the area, we encourage you to actively participate. Now in its 9th year, Linda’s Walk 2018, an easy 5k walk through the Don Mills, Toronto, ON neighborhood that is more of a fun get together than a physical labor. Walkers are encouraged to exercise with the supporters of St. Clare Inn and raise funds. The pledges collected allow St. Clare Inn to continue supporting homeless women in crisis and to provide them with a “safe” place where they can start to rebuild their lives. They rely on the generosity of people like you for continued support and crucial fundraising dollars. Photos from last year’s walk.
Register and Fundraise Online. Set your goals and create a personal fundraising page. Request donations from your contacts (friends, family, coworkers, etc.). You’ll be surprised by the number of people who will want to support you when they are asked. A prize will be awarded to the person who raises the most money. The more you raise, the better your chance to win!
Walk Itinerary
- 8:00 am – Sign in, coffee, T-shirt pick up (Please Pre-Register)
- 8:45 am – Introduction from Executive Director
- 9:00 am – Start walking!
- 10:30 am – 11:00 pm – walkers return, prizes awarded & free BBQ
- All funds raised will support the work of St. Clare Inn.
Saint Kateri Feast Day Weekend
Processional with the Relic of St. Kateri
July 14 – Feast Day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
During this year’s annual Saint Kateri’s Feast Day Celebration and Native American Weekend, at our St. Kateri National Shrine and Historic Site ministry (Fonda, NY), Our Lady of the Angels Province friar and former Shrine Director & Chaplain, Fr. Mark Steed, OFM Conv. (at right) was welcomed with great joy as he celebrated Masses with the pilgrims to the shrine and was presented with the Sarah Hassenplug Award.
The weekend also included the Traditional Purification Rite and Solemn Blessing with the relic of Saint Kateri, Prayer and Healing circle with Deacon Ron Boyer and Terry Steele, Mass with Our Lady of the Angels Province Vicar Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (at left), Solemn Offering and Burning of Prayer Petitions, and the honoring of Fran Knowlton who during his life dedicated so much of his free time to Kateri Shrine.
Burning of Prayer Petitions
St. Kateri Prayer
Kateri, favored child and Lily of the Mohawks,
I come to seek your intercession in my present need: (mention it here).
I admire the virtures which adorned your soul:
love of God and neighbor, humility, obedience,
patience, purity and the spirit of sacrifice.
Help me to imitate your example in my state of life.
Through the goodness and mercy of God,
Who has blessed you with so many graces
which led you to the true faith and to a high degree of holiness,
pray to God for me and help me.
Obtain for me a very fervent devotion to the Holy Eucharist
so that I may love Holy Mass as you did
and receive Holy Communion as often as I can.
Teach me also to be devoted to my crucified Savior as you were,
that I may cheerfully bear my daily crosses for love of Him
Who suffered so much for love of me.
Most of all I beg you to pray for me that I may avoid sin,
lead a holy life and save my soul. Amen.
In thanksgiving to God for the graces bestowed upon Kateri:
one Our Father, Hail Mary and three Glory Be’s.
Kateri, Lily of the Mohawks, pray for me.
Diaconate Ordination of Friar Chris Dudek
It is with great joy that our friars will gather this Saturday, July 7, 2018,
at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr (Chicopee, MA)
for the 11: 00 a.m. Diaconate Ordination
of our confrere, Friar Christopher Dudek, OFM Conv.,
with Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski, of the Diocese of Springfield, MA.
Family, friends and parishioners (the Basilica is Friar Chris’ home parish) will join our friars in celebration of Friar Chris’ continued journey as a Franciscan Friar Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province. Soon after, Friar Chris will begin to serve as Deacon for one of our Baltimore, MD pastorates. Once the school year begins, he will add to his ministry, service as Campus Minister and Instructor at our Baltimore City high school ministry – Archbishop Curley High School.
Over these past several years we have shared many “Adventures with Friar Chris” as News Posts. His unique and very personal vocational journey exhibits the joy found in his life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual. As he begins this next big adventure, please keep him in your prayers.
Click here to enjoy some photos from the day!
Day of Recollection with Bishop Barron
Our Lady of the Angels Province Friar Pictured: The Assistant Director of the Novitiate – Fr. Maurice Richard, OFM Conv. (second from right – back row) and our three Novices in the 2017-2018 class: friar Fabian Adderley, OFM Conv. (to the left of Bishop Barron), friar Steven Arias Mosquera, OFM Conv. (to the right of Bishop Barron) and friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv. (fourth from right – back row)
This week, our friars of the St. Francis of Assisi Friary Interprovincial Novitiate, in Arroyo Grande, CA joined the friars of the North American Pacific Capuchin Conference Novitiate, for a Day of Recollection with The Most Reverend Robert E. Barron. Bishop Barron, who serves as the Episcopal Vicar of the Santa Barbara Pastoral Region of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Titular Bishop of Macriana of Mauritania. He is also the founder of Word on Fire, a global media ministry. They celebrated Mass together, gathered for a short seminar where Bishop Barron “urged them to hang onto their intellectual patrimony as the means to fuel their pastoral vocations,” and ended the day sharing a meal with priests from the nearby parishes. (See article and photos posted by Bishop Barron)
This was the last “conference” these friars will share together as a Novitiate Community, as they are all finishing up their time in the Novitiate and will be moving onto their next stages in formation as Franciscan Friars. Please keep them all in your continued prayers.
Note: On Monday, July 16, 2018, our the three Novices of our Province: friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., friar Fabian Adderley, OFM Conv. and friar Alejandro Maria Arias, OFM Conv., will celebrate their Simple Profession of Vows during our Province Jubilarian Noon Mass, at our Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. They will then move onto their Post Novitiate studies.
Welcome Friar Piotr Dąbek!
This summer we welcome Friar Piotr (Peter) Dąbek, OFM Conv., of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. Jakuba Strzemi (Kraków Poland). Friar Peter serves as a missionary in their Provincial Delegation in Uganda and will be preaching six of our Franciscan Mission Association (FMA) Summer Mission Appeals in parishes of our Province throughout the summer.
You are encouraged to attend one of the Masses to hear him speak this summer:
July 14-15, 2018 ~ St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church, Elmhurst NY
Saturday: 4:00 p.m. Confessions and 5:00 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m. (Polish) and 11:30 a.m. Masses
July 21-22, 2018 ~ Parish Community of St. John the Apostle, Kingston, ON
Saturday: 3:45 p.m. Confessions and 4:30 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Masses
July 28-29, 2018 ~ St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Johnstown, PA
Saturday: 3:15 a.m. Confessions and 4:00 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Masses
August 4-5, 2018 ~ Holy Family Parish, Kingston, ON
Saturday: 4:30 p.m. Confessions and 5:15 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m Masses
August 11-12, 2018 ~ Mother Cabrini Catholic Church
Saturday: 3:00 p.m.Confessions and 4:00 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Masses
August 18-19,2018 ~ Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church
Saturday: 3:00 p.m. Confessions and 4:00 p.m. Mass
Sunday: 10:00 p.m.(Polish) Mass
Those preaching the annual Summer Mission Appeals, over the years, have included our own friars who have served as missionaries, friars whose vocations are a result of the work of missionary friars, as well as friars from other Provinces who are currently serving in mission, have traveled throughout the East Coast of North America, preaching and celebrating Mass with thousands of varied parish communities on behalf of our (FMA). Vital donation assistance made to our FMA has afforded a multitude of Franciscans from around the world to serve in circumstances unimaginable to most of us.
While preaching mission appeals in our Province this summer, Friar Piotr (Peter) Dąbek, OFM Conv. spent some time visiting with our elder friars living in a care center in CT. Five of the seven friars living in community there are former missionaries and Fr. Peter was able to share stories about their missionary work and ministry. (pictured with Fr. Firmin Finn, OFM Conv.)
Congratulations Friars Max, Manny, Luis and Milton!
With praise and gratitude to the Most High God, we Franciscan Friars Conventual of
Our Lady of the Angels Province joyfully announce that three of our brothers
Friar Moises Maximilian Avila Pacheco, OFM Conv.
Friar Emanuel Ventura Vasconcelos, OFM Conv.
Friar Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv.
alongside
Friar Milton (de Jesus) Torres Albarran, OFM Conv.
of the Custody of Our Lady of Coromoto (Venezuela)
were ordained to the Sacred Order of the Priesthood
through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit,
on Friday, June 22, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. (EDT)
at Saint Louis Roman Catholic Church, 780 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
Photos from the Ordination can be found in our
Province Facebook Page Album: 2018 Ordinations to the Priesthood.
Check back soon for a video of the entire
Liturgy of the Eucharist with the Rite of Ordination.
_____________________________________________________
June 25, 2017: Friar Moises Maximilian Avila Pacheco, OFM Conv. (at right) and Friar Emanuel Ventura Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. (at left), both friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, were Ordained as Deacons, in the Chapel of our Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, MD.
January 14, 2018: Our Lady of the Angels Province friar Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv. (2nd from right) and Friar Milton de Jesus, OFM Conv. of the Venezuelan Provincial Custody of Our Lady of Coromoto (2nd from left) were Ordained as Deacons, in the Chapel of our Shrine of St. Anthony.
(Spanish Translation)
Con alabanza y gratitud a Dios Altísimo los frailes franciscanos conventuales de la Provincia Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles y de la Custodia Nuestra Señora de Coromoto alegremente anuncian que sus hermanos
Moises Maximiliano Avila, OFM Conv.
Emanuel Ventura Vasconcelos, OFM Conv.
Milton Torres Albarran, OFM Conv.
Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv.
recibirán el Sacramento del Orden Sacerdotal por medio de la imposición de manos y la invocación del Espíritu Santo el dia viernes 22 de Junio del 2018 a las 2:00 pm en la Iglesia Católica Romana de Saint Louis, 780 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
(Portuguese Translation)
Com louvor e gratidão a Deus Altíssimo os frades franciscanos conventuais da Província de Nossa Senhora dos Anjos e da Custódia de Nossa Senhora de Coromoto alegremente anunciam que os seus irmãos
Moises Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv.
Emanuel Ventura Vasconcelos, OFM Conv.
Milton Torres Albarran, OFM Conv.
Luis Palacios Rodriguez, OFM Conv.
serão ordenados para a Sagrada Ordem do Sacerdócio através da imposição das mãos e a invocação do Espírito Santo na sexta-feira, o dia 22 de junho, no ano de Nosso Senhor de dois mil e dezoito às duas horas da tarde na Igreja Católica Romana de Saint Louis, 780 Main Street, Buffalo, NY 14202
JPIC News
Our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. was invited to concelebrate the June 16, 2018 5:30 p.m. Mass with His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson ~ Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and the Most Reverend William Edward Lori, S.T.D. ~ 16th Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, at the the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Baltimore, MD. Cardinal Peter Turkson was in Baltimore to attend an “event aimed to expand entrepreneurship, increase economic opportunity, provide information on the idea of a social economy and combine business practices with those of Catholic social teaching.”
A reception for local JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation) advocates took place afterwards in the Archbishop’s Residence.
