His confreres joined Fr. Chris in concelebrating his First Mass of Thanksgiving, including our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (left) and the pastor of the Basilica, Fr. Joseph Bayne, OFM Conv. (right)
April 27, 2019 at 4:00 p.m.: On the date of his Ordination to the Priesthood at the hands of the Most Rev. Mitchell T. Rozanski, Bishop of Springfield, Fr. Christopher Dudek, OFM Conv. was able to celebrate his Thanksgiving Mass at his home parish and the site of his Ordination – the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr.
During his interactive homily, Fr. Chris presented flowers to his family.
Fr. Chris’ Mass of Thanksgiving with his students, fellow faculty & staff members including his confreres serving at Archbishop Curley High School. Mass was concelebrated by the President of Curley, Fr. Donald Grzymski, OFM Conv.
Since August 2018, Fr. Chris has serves as Campus Minister and as a Theology Instructor at Archbishop Curley High School (Baltimore, MD). Just a few days after his Ordination, on April 30, 2019 he returned to his ministry there to celebrate 9:15 a.m. Mass for the first time as an ordained priest with the faculty, staff and students.
On April 17, 2019, the Wednesday of Holy Week, the Young Adult Community at our Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD) held an Ecumenical Taizé Service of prayer, contemplation and candlelight procession. According to br. Franck Lino, OFM Conv., one of our friar students in formation, whose ministry assignment during his years of study at The Catholic University of America is to the Young Adults at the Shrine – it was by far the most beautiful Taizé service they have facilitated:
“The chapel was filled, leaving standing room only. We ran out of programs for the faithful who were in attendance, even though we printed over 100 copies. In addition to young solemnly professed friars and student friars from our Order who are serving and studying from Baltimore, Washington DC and Silver Spring, many of our Franciscan brothers from other Orders were also present (OFM postulants from Holy Name College, Capuchins from the DC House of Studies). The atmosphere was very prayerful. At the end of the service a lady came up to me and said, ‘I am so happy I came tonight; it was just what I needed.’ Another said, ‘This is a great thing you are doing here at the Shrine.’ Still another said, ‘The prayer service was profoundly refreshing.’ It was very emotion for some people, you could see tears droping down people cheeks as they came to pray at the taizé cross.
In our society today everything moves at a fast speed. We get lost in the noise that never stops. Hence the silent prayers of Taizé can be dauting or scary for some. But in silence we are able to listen to the voice of God speaking. The founder of the Taizé Community, Brother Roger (Frère Roger Schütz) said, ‘In a breath of silence in a whisper, God speaks to you humbly.’”
The next Young Adult event scheduled at our Shrine of St. Anthony is a Cinco de Mayo Fiesta, to end the Spring Semester. If you are a young adult, aged 18 to 39, and you or your young adult group would like to participate, the May 5, 2019 event will begin with the Noon Mass at the Shine with the celebration afterwards. Please follow the link for more information.
Although they misrepresent him as a Order of Friars Minor Capuchin friar, Brother Michael “Duffy” really is a Franciscan Friar Conventual of our province.
Fr. Kevin Fausz, CM (pastor of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church),friar Fabian and the rest of the RCIA team with Confirmandi who came into full communion with the Church, this past Holy Saturday.
One of two friars of our province assigned to the San Damiano Friary – Formation House, in San Antonio, TX, friar Fabian Adderley, OFM Conv. is a simply professed friar in formation who has been busy in his continued studies as well as in ministry at a nearby parish (Holy Redeemer Catholic Church), where he assists by serving as a Catechist and with the RCIA program. During this past Holy Week’s celebrations, friar Fabian was afforded the opportunity to narrate the Passion of Christ (left), as well as witness those members of the parish’s RCIA program, to whom he has been serving in ministry, as they came in full communion with the Church during the 8:00 p.m. Easter Vigil at Holy Redeemer (above).
Note: San Damiano Friary is part of the Our Lady of Consolation Province.
Franciscan Friars Conventual around the world work together as one community.
Two friars from our province,
Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. (Guardian & Formation Director, and Definitor) and friar Fabian live in community with other province professed friars and students.
In the Fall of 2018, our Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD) added a Young Adults Community program. Throughout the year, this community of friars & pilgrims host spiritual and social events, as well as bring awareness of the shrine and its facilities to the greater area Young Adult Ministry programs of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the Archdiocese of Washington DC and their neighboring diocese.
Recently, our young adult friars and our friars in formation, led by the shrine’s Young Adult Community Animator – friar Franck Sokpolie, OFM Conv., along with the Director of the Shrine – Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv., hosted a social night with night prayers. The group gathered in the Shrine’s Glass Room for games, snack and socializing and then ended the night with night prayers in the Shrine’s Chapel.
The Next upcoming event is an Ecumenical Taizé prayer service April 17, 2019, the Wednesday of Holy Week. Open to everyone, come share an evening service of prayer, song, and contemplation by candlelight, from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.
Congratulations to our own Friar Michael Duffy, OFM Conv.! March 29, 2019: Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (DNP, APRN, ANP-BC)
received the 2019 “Community Service Award”
from the American Nurses Association (ANA) Massachusetts,
during a banquet ceremony, in Boston.
The ANA Massachusetts “CommunityServiceAward” is for a registered nurse whose communityservice has a positive impact on the citizens of Massachusetts. We friars are proud of Friar Duffy’s ministries at The College of Our Lady of the Elms, Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen, the Elms’ caRe vaN, and serving our own Senior Friars as a consultant and guide to many.
Bravo Friar Michael Duffy! “Quis ut Deus?”
Co-Editor, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. presents the two-volume Practical Commentary on the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which was almost five years in the making, and will be available for purchase by the end of April 2019.
The Stations of the Cross are of Franciscan origin and are attributed to St. Leonard of Port Maurice, a saintly Franciscan Friar who preached on the sufferings of Christ. For those who cannot get to a church location but want to pray the Stations of the Cross, our pastoral ministry at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr’s website shares an online version featuring the finely sculpted and painted figures in each of the Stations of the Cross which are attractively set in large niches around the Basilica. These begin in the front of the church with the first through seventh stations on the right and the eighth through the fourteenth on the left side.
Friar Michael presents the 1st Night of a four night Pastorate Lenten Mission – Church of the Annunciation
This week, (Monday, March 25th until Wednesday, March 27th) a Lenten Mission entitled “Go To Your Inner Room,” was hosted by the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Pastorate which includes the three parishes of Church of the Annunciation, St. Michael the Archangel Church and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church, and led by Fr. Michael E. Heine, OFM Conv ~ Vicar Provincial of the Our Lady of the Angels Province. The faithful gathered for 7:00 p.m. Mass each of the three days of preaching and on the fourth day of the Lenten Mission (Thursday evening, March 28th) they will gather to celebrate a “Pastorate Penance Service,” all with the hope of renewing faith in Jesus on a journey together through the Lenten Season.
Friar Michael presents the 2nd Night – St. Michael the Archangel Church
After the Wednesday evening Mass, Friar Michael stopped for a photo with former Conventual friar-seminarian and current permanent deacon candidate John Micciche! On March 27th, Friar Michael preached the third night of the Pastorate’s Lenten Mission at St. Clement Mary Hofbauer Church. John Micciche is a devoted parishioner of St. Clement, who ministered as an Acolyte for the Mass. John will be ordained to the Permanent Diaconate by Baltimore’s Archbishop Lori at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen, on Saturday, May 25, 2019. This will be a great moment for John and his family, for the Parish of St. Clement, Mary Hofbauer, for our “Franciscan Pastorate,” and for the Province of Our Lady of the Angels! Let’s pray in gratitude for John’s and his wife’s marital vocation, for their children, for his deaconal vocation, and for his continued friendship and fraternal love for the friars of our province!
Sunday, March 17, 2019: The Sisters of the Good Shepherd were honored at the 10:30 a.m. Mass at Ascension Catholic Church, in Halethorpe, MD, celebrated by Bishop Adam J. Parker, an Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore. Our Lady of the Angels Province Secretary ~ Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. (pictured far left in both photos) was invited to attend. The Mass was highlighted by the work of the Good Shepherd Sisters who left the Archdiocese of Baltimore last year, after 153 years of service (specifically in Halethorpe for over 50 of those years). The Sisters from the Baltimore area now reside with the Sisters of Cyril and Methodius in Danville, PA.
Through the years, our friars living and serving in the area, provided spiritual care (Mass, Confessions, and Spiritual Direction) for the sisters of St. Joseph’s Residence as well as the residents of Good Shepherd Services. Due to their move to Danville, the Sisters serving in the Archdiocese of Baltimore have gifted several of the beloved statues and other artwork to parishes and other sites and organizations with whom they served; including a beautiful portrait and landscape gifted to our friars. To the parishioners of The Catholic Community of Ascension and St. Augustine, they gifted their statue of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd.
After the Mass, Bishop Parker blessed the outdoor statue of Our Lady of Good Shepherd, which was on the property of the Sisters, in Halethorpe. A reception was held in the church hall for the Sisters and their invited guests, many of whom had been on the staff at their facility.
Friar Richard-Jacob (far left), Most Reverend Adam J. Parker (top center) and Fr. John A. Williamson (far right) – Pastor of Ascension Catholic Church [Vicar Forane for The Catholic Community of Ascension and St. Augustine], along with Sr. Jude Ellen Golumbieski, RGS (middle standing) [US Contemplative Councilor] and the other Sisters of the Good Shepherd who were on hand for the Mass and Reception for the Blessing of the Our Lady of the Good Shepherd outdoor statue.
One of two friars of our province assigned to the San Damiano Friary – Formation House, in San Antonio, TX, 
