On August 15, 2023, the Feast of the Assumption, our province looks forward to a much-anticipated Presbyteral Ordination of Friar Emmanuel Wenke, OFM Conv.
Friars of our Order – Franciscan Friars Conventual (OFM Conv.) – around the world spend many years in preparation and formation before professing the solemn vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. Solemnly professed friars include friar brothers and friar priests. For those who have discerned to live out their Franciscan Vocation as a friar priest, the formation journey toward ordination includes several years of continued study after Solemn Profession. For Friar Emmanuel, after serving our province as a solemnly professed friar brother for two years, working as an instructor in high school ministry, he discerned to continue formation in study for the priesthood, spending September 2020 – January 2023 in Theological Studies in Canada. In December 2022, he was ordained a Transitional Deacon, at our Syracuse, NY pastoral ministry ~ The Franciscan Church of the Assumption, where continues to serve (as seen below while celebrating his first baptism).
A little more on Friar Emmanuel: His life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual began, in 2012. At that time, our Province Postulancy was located in the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary, above The Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD). The Postulancy, now located in the St. Bonaventure Friary (Chicago, IL) is the first formal stage of formation. There, Friar Emmanuel lived, worked and studied in Ellicott City with his formators: Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. and Br. Daniel Geary, OFM Conv., as well as thirteen more friars residing in the two friaries located on the Ellicott City, MD complex: several senior friars, friars in active local ministry, postulants and our province friar leadership. On July 4, 2013, Friar Emmanuel was “blessed and sent forth” to the next stage of formation, known as the Novitiate, which was located at the time in Mishawaka, IN. It is now in Arroyo Grande, CA. Twenty days after his arrival, on July 24, 2013, he was clothed in the habit of our Order at the Rite of Investiture, at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, in Marytown, Libertyville, IL, a ministry of our confreres of the St. Bonaventure Province, in the Midwest USA.
After his time of formation as a Novice, under the guidance of his formators – Fr. Giles Zakowicz, OFM Conv. & Br. Paschal Kolodziej, OFM Conv., Friar Emmanuel professed First (aka Simple/Temporary) Vows as a Franciscan Friar Conventual, on July 25, 2014 (see at left that day with two of his classmates, Br. Paul Martin Becka, OFM Conv. and Fr. Colin Mary Edwards, OFM Conv. – both of our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody). He then moved into our Province’s Post Novitiate stage of formation, in the St. Bonaventure Friary Post Novitiate (Silver Spring, MD), with seven other student friars and their formators: Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv., Br. Jim Moore, OFM Conv. and senior friar in residence, Fr. John Burkhard, OFM Conv.
During his years there, in addition to discerning to serve as a friar brother, he continued his studies at the Catholic University of America, in Washington DC, graduating on May 13, 2017, with a B.A. in Theology & Religious Studies, as well as a Certificate of Pastoral Ministry (seen at right as a CUA student). Just a few months later, during his summer assignment assisting with our Senior Friars in our Immaculate Conception Friary, in Rensselaer, NY, the then Friary Guardian, Fr. Tony Kall, OFM Conv. received Friar Emmanuel’s Renewal of Temporary Vows, during a service during which several members of Friar Emmanuel’s family were able to participate. In August 2017, Friar Emmanuel moved to our Immaculate Heart of Mary Friary, in Baltimore, MD and was assigned to Archbishop Curley High School, Baltimore, MD, where he serves as a Theology Instructor. He was Solemnly Professed in September of 2018 (see below) and continued to serve the students of our Baltimore high school ministry, until discerning to continue with God’s Call to the Priesthood.
Continue to pray for Friar Emmanuel during these last months
before his August 15, 2023 Presbyteral Ordination.
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For more information on vocations, visit FranciscanVoice.org or email our Province Vocation Directors, Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. and Fr. Manny Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. at vocations@olprovince.org.
The friars of St. Mark Friary, in Boynton Beach, FL (Friar Richard Florek, OFM Conv., Friar Germain Kopaczynski, OFM Conv., Friar Carl Zdancewicz, OFM Conv., Friar Michael Sajda, OFM Conv., Friar Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv. and Friar Bob Benko, OFM Conv.) present the sixteen teens who were Confirmed at St. Mark Catholic Church, on Sunday, March 26, 2023, by The Most Reverend Gerald M. Barbarito, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach. The Confirmation Mass 2023 was livestreamed on the parish’s social media and can be viewed below. More Photos
Adapted prayer taken from the March 26th parish bulletin:
“Holy Spirit,
strengthen the Confirmandi
of all of our pastoral ministries
with Your gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord,
as a disciple of Christ.
Fill them with the joy of Your presence.
Increase in them the fruit of Your Spirit.
Help them to experience and trust Your dwelling within,
so that they may count on your guidance today and every day.
Show us the way to help one another become better disciples of Jesus Christ, sharing Your love with our world and with each person we encounter. Amen“
Keep all those in Faith Formation in our pastoral and education ministries, in your prayers.
Pillars of Lent: Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving
Fasting “continues to be doneby those who take their journey of faith seriously.”
Fr. Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv.,
of St. Mark Friary, in Boynton Beach, FL,
explains the importance of fasting as a tool for salvation.
Franciscan Friars Conventual {only} Top Row: Fr. Raphael Zwolenkiewicz, OFM Conv. (Friar in Residence – Our Lady of the Angels Province – OLA), Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial – OLA), Fr. Marek Stybor, OFM Conv. (Assistant Novice Director – OLA), Fr. John Koziol, OFM Conv. (Prefect of Formation – OLA), friar Eric Rewa, OFM Conv. (Novice – Province of Saint Bonaventure – SB), friar Robert Moynihan, OFM Conv. (Novice – Province of the Our Lady of Consolation – OLC) Bottom Row: friar Marvin Paul Fernandez, OFM Conv. (Novice – The Provincial Delegation of Saint Francis of Assisi, Canada, of OLA), friar André Miller, OFM Conv. (Novice – OLC), friar Colden Fell, OFM Conv. (Novice – OLC), Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (OLA). Fr. Jacob Carazo, OFM Conv. (Assistant Formation Director of St. Bonaventure Friary Post Novitiate – Province of St. Joseph of Cupertino – SJC), friar Connor Ouly, OFM Conv. (Novice – OLA) and Br. Joseph Wood, OFM Conv. (Novice Director – SB)
March 18-22, 2023: Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial, Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., who also serves as President of the CFF: Conventual Franciscan Federation – Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, U.S.A., met with each Franciscan Friar Conventual Novice and with the Novitiate Directors (photo above), to talk about each Novice’s vocation, spirituality and progress in the Franciscan life. Joining him was Friar John Koziol, OFM Conv., who serves as the Prefect of Formation of Our Lady of the Angels Province and Friar Jacob Carazo, OFM Conv., a friar of the St. Joseph of Cupertino Province, who serves as Assistant Director of the Silver Spring, MD St. Bonaventure Friary Post-Novitiate, the next Stage of Formation for our Novices.
March 21, 2023: Novice friars and their directors from across the USA’s First Order of the Franciscan Family [photo below – OFM, OFM Conv., OFM Cap.], gathered at the St. Francis of Assisi Friary Novitiate of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual – CFF, in Arroyo Grande, CA, for an inter-novitiate conference on the Marian Tradition of our Franciscan Heritage, led by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. (photo above). During the conference, Friar James explained the importance of our Blessed Mother Mary in the life of every Franciscan friar, and by extension, the whole Family of Faith.
If you would like more information on formation for, and on life as, a Franciscan Friar Conventual, spend some time scrolling through the pages of FranciscanVoice.org. If you live on the East Coast of North America and would like to speak to a Vocation Director of Our Lady of the Angels Province, email Friar Nicholas Romeo, OFM Conv. & Friar Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. (East Coast of the USA) at vocations@olaprovince.org or call 202-681-6051, and Friar Reto Davatz, OFM Conv. (Canada) vocations.ofmconv.canada@gmail.com. or call 343-989-1459. For information on vocations with our Custódia Província Imaculada Conceição (Immaculate Conception Custody – Brazil) contact: despertarfranciscano@gmail.com. For information on vocations with our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody (Great Britain & Ireland), contact: vocation@thegreyfriars.org.
Often, our pastoral ministries include a parish or parochial school.
Our friars serving in these ministries are very present
in the faith lives of the students
as well as the lives of the greater school communities.
Over these past few months, St. Stanislaus School, in Chicopee, MA, the parish school of the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr, has utilized social media to share many celebrations led by, and presided over by, our friars serving in pastoral ministry there.
Friar Brad Milunski, OFM Conv. (right center: February 2023 Catholic Schools Week Concluding Mass – St. Blaise Blessing of the Throats) serves as the Basilica’s Rector & Pastor. The two Parochial Vicars there are Friar John Koziol, OFM Conv. and Friar Lucjan Szymański, OFM Conv. (a friar of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar, in Kraków Poland, who serves in ministry with the friars of our province).
Friar Brad leads the student in the music for the weekly 2023 Lenten Prayer Services. “Teach us forgiveness, Jesus our savior. As we walk this Lenten journey, give us the courage to follow you. As you prayed for your enemies from the cross, so help us to pray for those who have hurt us.”
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Friar Robert Schlageter, OFM Conv. (St. Peter Roman Catholic Church – Pastor), Friar Nicholas Rokitka, OFM Conv. (St. Peter Roman Catholic Church – Parochial Vicar), Friar Brennan-Joseph Farleo, OFM Conv. (Friary Guardian) and Friar Richard Rossell, OFM Conv. (In Residence) joined the many supporters on hand for the St. Peter School Jubilee March 2023 Gala.
St. Peter School, in Point Pleasant Beach, NJ is another parish school where our friars have been a visible presence, serving over its 100-year history. On March 18, 2023, the school celebrated 100 YEARS anchored in faith, during a Jubilee Gala, providing an opportunity for the community to gather together and celebrate with the School Superintendent, Administration, Friars, PTA Executive Board, Parents, Grandparents, Faculty, Friends and Alumni. Friar Robert (at left: receiving ashes from a young student on Ash Wednesday 2023) and Friar Nick not only celebrate the liturgies for the school community but can also often be found at school functions and visiting the classrooms.
St. Peter School’s PreK 4 brought in stuffed animals for the October 2023 Feast of Saint Francis and received a special blessing from Friar Nick.
It has been a wonderful privilege for the friars of our Province’s Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody to have served the “England’s Nazareth,” assisting with the life and ministry at The Catholic National Shrine and Basilica of Our Lady of Walsingham.
One of the two Custodies of Our Lady of the Angels Province is the Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody, aka “The Greyfriars.” There are 24 friars of this Custody with four more friars of other jurisdictions (including Friar Giles Zakowicz, OFM Conv. of Our Lady of the Angels Province) serving in ministry with them, in seven cities in Great Britain and Ireland. In the Manchester, England area there are two friaries: All Saints Friary (Barton, Urmston) and St. Clare’s Friary (Higher Blackley). Served by Fr. Cãtãlin Ieremia (Jeremiah) Budău, OFM Conv., Fr. Colin Mary Edwards, OFM Conv. and Br Joe Fenton, more can be learned about the weekly calendar of the parish, by following the St. Clare’s R.C. Parish Facebook page, from which the photo in the post was taken. On a side note, Friar Jeremiah also serves the Custody as a Definitor, and Friar Colin Mary also serves as the Custody’s Vicar.
Check out more about our Province’s Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody in Great Britain & Ireland, including vocations information, news posts on the friars and more information on their ministry locations, on their website: https://www.thegreyfriars.org/
Many years ago, in conversation with others involved in ministry, someone said: “Be careful and prudent. Don’t let the poor get too close. They can mess everything up.” Those words have accompanied me throughout all these years like uninvited and unwanted company. But, how right he was! The poor indeed mess everything up.
They mess up our idea of the Kingdom of God, if we have kept to those safe reflections that have come down through centuries of safe theological complacency. They mess up our idea of Jesus’ preference, if you have spiritualized his message beyond recognition. They mess with our perspectives about the poor, the unrecognizable, the hidden, the unwanted, the discarded, the used and abused, and the begging immigrant. But, man, they really mess with our consideration of the wealthy, the system, the structures of power, the hierarchy, capitalism, sexism, patriarchy, and everything in between. The poor mess with our view and consideration of Jesus, religion, and the church. Yes, they even mess with our relationship with the poor themselves. You have to be very careful, because they can mess up everything.
They can really mess you up if you’ve turned your theories, opinions, interpretations, and conclusions into idols of worship. The poor, well…they’ll just come into those temples and tear them apart! Where would we worship then? What would we worship?
~ Friar Julio
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Fr. Julio Martinez, OFM Conv. [pictured at left during the Eucharistic Procession for the parish’s Celebración a Nuestra Señora del Carmen – The Festival for Our Lady of Mount Carmel, aka Stella Maris, or The Star of the Seas] wrote the above reflection a while ago, in preparation for Palm Sunday. In his current ministry, Friar Julio serves as pastor of St. Julia Catholic Church, in Siler City, NC, alongside Fr. Luis Palacios Rodríguez, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar), who began serving the Siler City community in the Fall of 2022. On the parish website, part of the Parish History states: “On July 1, 1999, St. Julia became a parish and one year later a groundbreaking ceremony took place to begin the construction phase of the new St. Julia Parish church. Parishioners wanted the new church to convey the diversity of the parish and to welcome newcomers who might, for the first time, recognize the Catholic Church presence in the county…Today’s St. Julia Parish Church can seat 450 people. Currently, more than 2,000 parishioners call St. Julia home, and 85% of them are Spanish speaking. St Julia now has the largest weekly attendance of any church in Siler City. It is often said that Sunday is the most segregated day of the week. However, a visitor to St. Julia’s will see evidence to the contrary. The parish community celebrates diversity and the richness of the cultural backgrounds that bring us together as a Catholic community in the 21st Century.”
Friar Julio’s charism fit the parish environment like a glove, when he began serving as pastor five years ago. The parish community’s ministries also include Social Services and Food Pantry Distribution, Justice & Peace and a Sister Mission. Learn more about this vibrant parish on the St. Julia Catholic Community website.
Before the meal, Friar Max helps participants learn more about struggling families around the world, who are overcoming hunger and of the impact of climate change, through hard work and prayer.
Fr. Max Avila, OFM Conv. (Spanish Instructor) and friar Antonio Moualeu, OFM Conv. (Religion Instructor and Campus Minister) join together for this week’s St. Francis of Assisi High School Campus Ministry led Lenten Thursday Prayer Service, followed by a simple meat-less meal in solidarity with those who struggle with poverty.
Currently serving his Apostolic Year of Formation, friar Antonio is a simply professed friar of our province, who plans to profess his Solemn Vows on August 14, 2023, the Feast of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. Please keep him and all of the friars in formation of our province, in your continued prayers. Read more about friar Antonio.
Joined by SFHS Religion Teacher, Mr. Michael Specht, friar Antonio helps to serve the simple meat-less meal shared after the Prayer Service, by those gathered.
For more information on vocations, visit FranciscanVoice.org or email our Province Vocation Directors, Fr. Manny Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. and Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. at vocations@olaprovince.org.
After his time of formation as a Novice, under the guidance of his formators – Fr. Giles Zakowicz, OFM Conv. & Br. Paschal Kolodziej, OFM Conv., Friar Emmanuel professed First (aka Simple/Temporary) Vows as a Franciscan Friar Conventual, on July 25, 2014 (see at left that day with two of his classmates, Br. Paul Martin Becka, OFM Conv. and Fr. Colin Mary Edwards, OFM Conv. – both of our Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody). He then moved into our Province’s Post Novitiate stage of formation, in the St. Bonaventure Friary Post Novitiate (Silver Spring, MD), with seven other student friars and their formators: Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv., Br. Jim Moore, OFM Conv. and senior friar in residence, Fr. John Burkhard, OFM Conv.
Continue to pray for Friar Emmanuel during these last months
March 21, 2023: Novice friars and their directors from across the USA’s First Order of the Franciscan Family [photo below – OFM, OFM Conv., OFM Cap.], gathered at the 
