Saturday, May 12, 2018: Friar Maximilian Avila Pacheco, OFM Conv. and Friar Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. received the degree of Master of Divinity at the commencement ceremony for The Catholic University of America. Friar Manny’s parents and Friar Max’s sister & nephew joined the friars in celebrating this great accomplishment.  Most Reverend José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles gave the commencement address and spoke of the great history of immigrants in the USA and the history yet to be written by the graduates and those still coming to our shores. Immigration was the theme throughout the Commencement. All honorary doctorate recipients were naturalized citizens, including Archbishop Gomez.
The Final Benediction was given by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, and University Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry, Fr. Jude DeAngelo, OFM Conv. Friar Jude reflected on the words of Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, The New Colossus, which are inscribed on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. “Heavenly Father, as we leave this place, we are reminded that the sons and daughters of The Catholic University of America are children that are descended from first nations of our land, descendants of people who have been brought from distant shores without their consent, they are the descendants of immigrants from all the continents in the world, and they have come here on the promise that what they do and who they are is sacred to You, the God of the universe. We come from different religions, we come from different creeds, but we are inheritors of the great promise of the United States of America.”
After the Commencement, our friars of SS. Francis and Clare Friary (Washington, DC) hosted a luncheon in honor of our new graduates.
All the best, Friars Max and Manny!