On the afternoon of Friday, June 21, 2024, news arrived from the Diocese of Treviso, Italy, that at the Clergy House in Treviso, after weeks of rapidly declining health, the Lord called to Himself Archbishop Gianfranco Agostino Garden, age 80, former Minister Provincial of the Italian Province of St. Anthony of Padua (Northern Italy) and former Minister General of the Conventual Franciscan Order.
Born in San Polo di Piave, Italy, on March 15, 1944, during the war, he returned with his family to live in the Parish of Frari in Venice, where he met and often visited with the friars of the historic basilica there. At age 14, he asked to join the Order of Friars Minor Conventual.
After graduating high school in Brescia and completing his novitiate year in Padua, he made his temporary profession on September 20, 1961, and his solemn profession on October 4, 1965, each time in the Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua.
He completed his high school studies in Brescia (1961-1964) and his philosophy and theology studies in Padua (1965-1970). After his priestly ordination on March 21, 1970, he earned a degree in moral theology from the Pontifical Lateran University-Alphonsian Academy in Rome.
He served as a formator in our seminaries, sharing his talents as a member of the formation team of the Theological Seminary (1973-1976) and as a professor of moral theology at the St. Anthony, Doctor Theological Institute affiliated with the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure in Rome (1973-1988).
He was a collaborator on the St. Anthony’s Messenger Magazine, starting in 1978. In 1981, he created the magazine Credere Oggi [Belief Today], a tool for orientation and theological learning, which immediately established itself in the field of theological study for its informative, monographic and systematic approach. He remained the director if Credere Oggi until 1988, the year he was elected Minister Provincial of the Province of Padua. He was re-elected Minister Provincial at the Provincial Chapters of 1991 and 1994.
In fulfillment of the plans that the Province made for itself during the years of his provincialate, Friar Gianfranco Agostino encouraged and promoted the path of fraternal life in the communities and gave impetus to missionary activity. During his provincialate, the mission in Ghana completed it development and became a Provincial Custody. Moreover, a plan to open a mission in Chile was given a concrete start.
On June 3, 1995, Friar Gianfranco Agostino was elected the 117th Minister General. During his mandate (1995-2001) he was committed to guiding the Order, making frequent visits to the various Provinces and paying particular attention to the Conventual presences in the countries of Eastern Europe which were recovering after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was attentive to all the mission presences and launched the Province of Zambia.
After returning to his home Province, on July 10, 2006, the Pope appointed him as titular Archbishop of Cissa (Croatia) and Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. He served as the titular Bishop of Torcello (Italy) from November 1, 2007, to December 18, 2009; the Bishop of Treviso from December 18, 2009, to July 6, 2019. As Bishop Emeritus of Treviso, he lived in the Friary of Sant’Antonio, Dottore in Padua from 2020 until June of 2022 and then lived at the Clergy House in Treviso from June of 2022 until June 21, 2024.
Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., of Atlanta was elected chairman of the board of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) for a three-year term earlier this week, the organization announced on June 6, 2024.
The largest, private professional education association in the world, the NCEA works with nearly 140,000 Catholic educators to serve 1.6 million students in Catholic education. The organization provides annual data on Catholic schools in the U.S. as well as professional development and public policy resources to support intellectual and faith formation.
“We want to be a continual resource for superintendents, principals, and faculties of Catholic schools as they continue to create Catholic leaders of tomorrow,” Archbishop Hartmayer told CNA.
Archbishop Hartmayer has worked in Catholic education for upwards of 10 years during his 44 years of priesthood and now serves on the board of trustees at two seminaries: St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida, and St. John Vianney College and Seminary in Miami. He holds three master’s degrees: a master of divinity degree from St. Anthony-on-Hudson in Rensselaer, New York; a master of arts degree in pastoral counseling from Emmanuel College, Boston; and a master of education degree from Boston College — in addition to a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Massachusetts.
A member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, a religious community founded by St. Francis of Assisi, Archbishop Hartmayer has served Atlanta as archbishop since May 2020, following his service as bishop of Savannah, Georgia, in 2011. He has worked in Catholic education since the start of his priesthood. He served as a guidance counselor and then principal at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore from 1985–1987. In 1988, he was appointed principal at Cardinal O’Hara in Tonawanda, New York, and then served as principal of St. Francis High School in Hamburg, New York, until 1994.
He spent many years in New York and Massachusetts, but in 1995, he moved south to teach at a Catholic high school in Florida before being asked to serve as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Church in Jonesboro, Georgia, where he served for 15 years as a pastor.
Archbishop Hartmayer is currently the chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee for Communications and a member of the board for CLINIC. He made headlines earlier this year for advocating on behalf of an intellectually disabled Georgia man condemned to death.
Archbishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., archbishop of Atlanta, Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., and Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Our Lady of the Angels Province’s newest priest is Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., who was ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, June 8, 2024, at St. Casimir Catholic Church in Baltimore, Md. The Most Reverend Gregory John Hartmayer, OFM Conv., archbishop of Atlanta, presided. This followed his ordination to the Order of Deacon on Oct. 6, 2023, at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, Md. In May 2024, he completed his Master of Divinity at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“As a Franciscan bishop, it is a unique privilege to ordain a Franciscan priest,” Archbishop Hartmayer said. “When I called down the Holy Spirit upon Richard Rome, laid my hands upon his head, and anointed his hands with sacred Chrism it was an extraordinary and humbling moment. It is during this ancient rite, that the Catholic Church and the Franciscan Order will proudly welcome a new priest. He is called to serve and not to be served. He will be forever changed. It is truly an honor for me to ordain a brother friar to the priesthood of Jesus Christ. This special event is a precious gift from God to the Mystical Body of Christ.”
Friar Rome’s first assignment will be at St. Casimir in Baltimore where he has served as a friar-deacon.
Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., in front of his parents, Sharone and Kenneth Rome.
“After spending a year ministering to God’s people as a friar deacon, Friar Rich is well prepared to continue his servant ministry as a friar priest,” said Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv. “Friar Rich’s gentle ways and deep love of the Lord will serve him well as a friar-priest. A gifted homilist, he will touch the hearts of his listeners and lead them closer to Jesus.”
Friar Rome spent his postulancy year in Chicago followed by his novitiate at Arroyo Grande, Calif. His post-novitiate studies were performed in Silver Spring, Md., followed by an apostolic year in Shamokin, Penn, and post-novitiate studies in Silver Spring.
“After I was ordained a deacon, I saw Holy Orders as being given the grace and mission to serve the Church in a particular way: to proclaim the Gospel, to teach, to preach, to baptize,” Friar Richard said. “It was a calling to be ‘for them’ in a special way. Now, as I receive Holy Orders as a priest, the meaning is still the same, but the mission’s scope is broadening. I will still be called to proclaim the Gospel, teach, preach, and baptize. But added to that will be the grace and mission to feed the Church through the Eucharist, and to heal it through reconciliation and anointing.”
His assignments since joining Our Lady of the Angels Province included:
Born in Norfolk, Va., Friar Rome is the son of Sharon and Kenneth Rome, Captain U.S. Navy (Retired). He has a brother, Jim. He grew up in the Military Archdiocese, moving every two years. He lived in Virginia, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Italy. Friar Richard graduated from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Classics. He also has a Master of Science in Supply Chain Management at Towson University in Towson, Md. Before entering the Franciscan Friars Conventual, Friar Richard spent eight years as a United States Army Civil Servant working in logistics.
Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., with his brother friars following his ordination to the priesthood.
Friar Marvin Paul Asuncion Fernandez, OFM Conv., shared several photos from the first two weeks of his summer experience at Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. First, he visited Friar Paul Varga, OFM Conv., in Crest Pointe Health Center, where he resides. On June 2, Sunnyside Manor had a Family Day Picnic, where our brothers, Friars Richard and Brennan live. He also met Friar Richard’s brother and sister-in-law, Ron and Elizabeth. He then visited our departed friars in OLL Cemetery.
Friar Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv., will be installed on Thursday, May 30, as the Fifth Bishop of Charlotte. The diocese will live stream three services:
Br. Andre (James Armand) Picotte, OFM Conv., a Franciscan Friar of the Our Lady of the Angels Province, died peacefully on Friday, May 3, 2024. Born in Schenectady, N.Y., on April 11, 1945, he was the son of the late Armand and Bernice (nee Flynn) Picotte. After graduating high school, James entered the formation program of the Conventual Franciscans in Watertown, N.Y., completing postulancy in 1963-64 and novitiate in 1964-65, taking the religious name Andre. He professed simple vows on August 8, 1965. During his years in simple vows, he ministered as the local director of the Franciscan Mission Association (FMA). After completing studies, he made his Solemn Profession on October 4, 1970.
From 1970-73, Br. Andre was assigned to Rensselaer, N.Y., where he served as director of the Franciscan Press. From 1973-82, he was stationed in Trenton, acting as the director of Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery. He would serve as director of Province Cemeteries for seventeen years. In 1982, he moved south to North Carolina, where he ministered for four years in Burgaw and Jacksonville as the business manager for the friars’ parish and two parochial schools. Elected province treasurer, Br. Andre moved back north to Union City, N.J., where he lived until 1990. He then spent almost three decades (1990-2019) stationed in Rensselaer, serving as province treasurer, director of Province Cemeteries, head of the province Communications Ministry, and provincial coordinator of Internet Communications. In 2019, Br. Andre moved back to North Carolina, where he remained in residence in Pittsboro until his death.
Visitation hours will be Thursday, May 9,from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Immaculate Conception Church (540 Chestnut Ave, Trenton NJ 08611), with a Franciscan Wake Service at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Immaculate Conception Church on Friday, May 10, at 11:00 a.m.Interment will follow in Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery, Trenton. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Franciscan Education Fund (12300 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City MD 21042).
On the evening of Apr. 18, 2024, at St. Francis Hall located at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, Washington, D.C., I had the pleasure of attending the “World Care 2024 Benefit & Celebration.” This is an annual fund-raising event sponsored by Franciscan Mission Service, an organization that promotes and sponsors volunteer missionary activity throughout to world, particularly in areas affected by poverty and the need for human development.
Many dedicated lay people, Franciscan Friars from various branches of the order, religious sisters from various communities, and others, were present for the event.
It was a pleasure to participate in the celebration with Friar Paschal Kolodziej, OFM Conv. and Friar Paul Lininger, OFM Conv., two friars from my own Conventual Franciscan community. And it was also a joy to see Deacon Joe Petrizzo (a former friar of our community) and his wife Mary Petrizzo!
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Little Flower in San Antonio, Texas, was the setting for the diaconal ordination of Friar Franck-Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv., on Saturday, Apr. 6, 2024. Bishop Gary Janak, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, presided.
“I can remember interviewing Franck 12 years ago before he entered the Franciscan Orde,” said Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv. “It is exciting to see so many years later where the Lord has led him, and I am inspired by Franck’s openness to be lead. He will make a great friar-deacon and I look forward to seeing where the Lord will take him next on his journey.”
Born in Togo, West Africa, Friar Franck-Lino lived in Europe as a child. His father, Koffi, moved the family to Richmond, Va.,19 years ago to pursue an opportunity in engineering, bringing his wife, Emilie, and their nine children with him. Friar Frack-Lino professed simple vows on July 21, 2016, and solemn vows on July 30, 2021.
“It’s been 11 years since I joined the friars,” Friar Franck-Lino said. “I never thought my life was going to lead me to where it has. As I continue on this vocation journey, I think one of the most impactful things is how closer it has led me to God and the people of God. The diaconate is simply that. It has been a great journey and I look forward to continuing my service as a Franciscan Friar.”
Friar Franck-Lino will spend the next year completing his studies in San Antonio for a Master of Divinity at the Oblate School of Theology. At The Catholic Univesity of America in Washington, D.C., he earned a bachelor’s degree in French and Francophone Studies. He minored in philosophy and was awarded an Advanced Certificate in European Studies. In his free time, he said he likes to play tennis and go hiking, “When I’m dragged by my friends!”
Friar Franck-Lino was one of six men from three provinces who were ordained: Friar Pedro Lopez, OFM Conv. (Province of Our Lady of Consolation), Friar Noé Alfara Casas, OFM (Our Lady of Guadalupe Province), Bro. Dogo Anaguedeu, OMI, Bro. Dogo Anaguedeu, OMI, and Bro. Liba Jacques-Marie, OMI (Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate United States Province).
The Diocese of Charlotte today announced that longtime Bishop Peter J. Jugis is retiring due to health limitations and that Pope Francis has appointed Friar Michael T. Martin, OFM Conv., of Atlanta, as his successor to lead the growing diocese.
Bishop Jugis submitted his request for retirement to Rome last June, saying a chronic but non-life-threatening kidney condition made it difficult for him to preside over lengthy liturgies and travel across the 46 counties of the expansive diocese. Bishop Jugis recently celebrated his 20th anniversary as bishop and 40th anniversary as a priest. He will serve as administrator of the diocese until May when Bishop-Elect Martin is installed, then he will continue to assist the diocese as bishop emeritus.
Bishop-Elect Martin, 62, is a priest of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual and serves as pastor of St. Philip Benizi Parish in Jonesboro, Georgia. He has deep roots in Catholic education – having served as a teacher, coach, and school administrator in Baltimore, New York, and Durham – and arrives at a time of record enrollment in the Diocese of Charlotte’s 20 schools.
He will be ordained and installed as the fifth Bishop of Charlotte on May 29 at St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville.
“I am amazed and humbled that the Holy Father has faith in me to call me to serve the people of Western North Carolina,” Bishop-Elect Martin said. “I am excited to get to know you and to listen to the ways in which together we can respond to the call of the Holy Spirit to be disciples of Jesus.”
Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., rejoiced at the news: “The Holy Father has recognized our brother as an excellent spiritual leader and administrator. Friar Michael has the God-given gifts to be a successor of the Apostles.”
