Information about our Order’s 40 mission presences in the world. Our province provides financial support via our FMA Ministry.

January 27 1945: The Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp complex’s 7,000 remaining ill and dying prisoners were liberated, a few days after nearly 60,000 prisoners were forced to evacuate the camp, during which many thousands lost their lives. 60 years later – November 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 60/7 to designate January 27th as the International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, to mark and remember the Holocaust and its victims. It is estimated that around 1.1 million people were killed in Auschwitz alone, during the less than 5 years of its existence. As many as 15-20 million people may have been killed in the various 42,500 Nazi camps and ghettoes between 1933 and 1945.

Nazi hatred also included a vast array of religions, ethnicities and cultures. By 1945 at least five million gentiles had also fallen victim to it. Among those who were also killed are the 108 Martyrs of World War II, including the friars known as the Blessed Martyrs of Niepokalanów, who were declared blessed by the Saint Pope John-Paul II, on June 13, 1999, all sharing June 12th as their Feast Day. On August 14th, we honor and remember the most well-known Franciscan Conventual Friar Martyr of the Holocaust is St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., who was canonized in 1982 by Saint Pope John Paul II, and declared a Martyr of Charity.

Prayer
Loving God, You care for each and every human life.
All people are cherished as Your beloved children,
no matter how ordinary or extraordinary their stories are.
Today we come before You
to remember the victims of the Holocaust.
We lament the loss of the six million Jews
who were killed in the Holocaust,
the millions of other victims of Nazi persecution,
and victims of all genocides.
May our minds be clear and attentive to their memory,
and our hearts be moved to bear witness to their lives.
Help us all to turn away from hatred and division,
and to build a world where genocide is no more.
Strengthen us so that we,
in our own ordinary ways,
may show extraordinary love in the world today.
Amen

{Taken from The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales}

January 23-25, 2022: Our Minister Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. was in attendance at the annual Winter Leadership Gathering for the Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM). The major superiors in attendance participated in deep conversation around a variety of leadership issues. “CMSM is the national organization representing leaders of Catholic religious institutes for men, monasteries, and societies of apostolic life in the United States. CMSM is both a common voice for male religious and an advocate for their individual charisms.”

Blessed Mother, Protector of Religious ~ Pray for Us.

For more information on vocations with our province, email vocations@olaprovince.org.

January 18-25, 2023
Presented by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

These linked RESOURCES were jointly prepared and published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches

Prayer for each day, taken from the Vatican News Facebook page:
Day 1
Lord, You called Your people from slavery into freedom. Give us strength and courage to seek out those who are standing in need of justice. Allow us to see this need and provide help, and through Your Holy Spirit gather us into the one fold of Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Amen
Day 2
God, You are the source of our wisdom. We pray for wisdom and courage to do justice, to respond to what is wrong in the world by acting to make it right; we pray for wisdom and courage to grow in the unity of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who with You and the Holy Spirit, reigns forever and ever. Amen
Day 3
Gracious and loving God, expand our vision that we might see the mission we share with all of our Christian brothers and sisters, to show forth the justice and loving kindness of Your kingdom. Help us to welcome our neighbours as Your Son welcomed us. Help us to be more generous as we witness to the grace that You freely give us. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Day 4
God of justice and grace, remove the scales from our eyes so we can truly see the oppression around us. We pray in the name of Jesus who saw the crowds and had compassion for them. Amen.
Day 5
God of the oppressed, open our eyes to the harm that continues to be inflicted on our sisters and brothers in Christ. May Your Spirit give us the courage to sing in unison, and raise our voices with those whose suffering is unheard. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Day 6
God of Love, we thank You for Your unending care and love for us. Help us to sing redemption songs. Open wide our hearts to receive your love and to extend Your compassion to the whole of the human family. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Day 7
God of Hope, help us to remember that You are with us in our suffering. Help us to embody hope for one another when hopelessness is a frequent unwelcomed guest in our hearts. Grant us the gift of being grounded in Your loving Spirit as we work together to eradicate all forms of oppression and injustice. Give us the courage to love what, whom, and how You love, and to express this love in our actions. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Day 8
God, Creator and Redeemer of all things, teach us to look inward to be grounded in Your loving Spirit, so that we may go outward in wisdom and courage to always choose the path of love and justice. This we pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

_______________________

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Ecumenism, from the Pandemic to the Synod:
“The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is held annually, and is organized by the PCPCU [Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity] which Bishop [Brian] Farrell [Secretary] says, has as its task and mission the promotion of all the efforts of the Catholic Church to reconcile all Christians in the one Church that Christ prayed for “when he asked that we all be one, like he and the Father are one.”

_______________________

Pope Francis presided over Vespers for the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, to mark the conclusion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity:

Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Fr. Maximilian Martin, OFM Conv., Fr. David Blowey, OFM Conv. and Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. attended the January 16-20 first round of the Order’s “Midway” Meeting, held at the Seraphicum College in Rome. 

Friar Deacon Manny with Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv. – Chaplain for the SU Catholic Center.

This past December 2022, our province friars gathered to celebrate the Diaconate Ordination of Friar Deacon Emmanuel Wenke, OFM Conv. Since then, he has been serving in our Syracuse, NY ministries, while residing in our St. Francis Friary, along with eight more friars, serving in and with four Syracuse based ministries: FrancisCorps, the Franciscan Church of the Assumption – including its many parish ministries such as the Franciscan Place Chapel & Gift Shop at Destiny USA and the Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, and Syracuse University Catholic Campus Ministry.

Along with Friar Nader Ata, OFM Conv. (FrancisCorps Chaplain and Franciscan Church of the Assumption Parochial Vicar – 3rd from top left), friar Joe Krondon, OFM Conv. (Apostolic Year of Formation with Syracuse Ministries – 2nd from top right), and Friar Deacon Emmanuel Wenke, OFM Conv. (center bottom), the FrancisCorp24 Volunteers welcomed César Perez (Our Lady of the Angels Province Postulant), while he made a stop in Syracuse, during his January 2023 Province Ministry tour. Please keep César, friar Joe and Friar Deacon Manny in your prayers during their continued formation as Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province.

If you live in the USA or Canada and want more information
on life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual,
visit FranciscanVoice.org, or
email our Province Vocation Office at vocations@olaprovince.org.
If you are not living in the USA or Canada, but want contact or vocation information on a Province, Custody, Delegation or Mission nearest to you, visit the Curia’s Website.

January 9-13, 2023: The new Ministers Provincial, Custos and Secretaries of our Order gathered in Rome, at the Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure, commonly known as the Seraphicum, for meetings and orientation with our Minister General, The Most Reverend Carlos Trovarelli, OFM Conv. Their days included spiritual reflections, prayer, fraternity, and some practical matters. Friars from all over the world participated, with seven from the Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF) which includes friars of Australia, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, and the U.S.A. {As pictured above: Friar Anthony Lojado, OFM Conv. (translator – in studies in Italy, St. Bonaventure Province), Fr. Kevin Hanley, OFM Conv. (Custodial Secretary – Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody), The Most Reverend Fr. Carlos Trovarelli, OFM Conv., (Minister General of our Order), the Very Reverend Fr. Martin Day, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial – Our Lady of Consolation Province), His Eminence, Mauro Maria Cardinal Gambetti, OFM Conv.  (Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, Vicar General of His Holiness for Vatican City and President of the Fabric of Saint Peter’s), Fr. Mario Serrano, OFM Conv. (Secretary – Our Lady of Consolation Province), Br. Nicholas Romeo, OFM Conv. (Secretary – Our Lady of the Angels Province), the Very Reverend Fr. Paul Langevin, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial – St. Bonaventure Province), the Very Reverend Fr. Maximilan Martin, OFM Conv. (Custos – Blessed Agnellus of Pisa Custody), and the Very Reverend Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Minister Provincial – Our Lady of the Angels Province). Also in attendance was Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv. (a friar of our province who serves as Assistant General for the CFF).

On Thursday, January 12th, participating friars traveled to the General Curia for a practicum day and some free time to explore the Eternal City, before celebrating Mass in our Order’s Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli (The Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles aka Santi Apostoli), presided over by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, OFM Conv., who formerly served as Guardian of the Sacro Convento of the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi.

Our Friar Max and Friar Michael while visiting St. Peter’s Tomb, guided by Friar Agnello Stoia, OFM Conv., the pastor of the parish of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter – Vatican. Pope Francis named Friar Stoia pastor in 2021, after he had served eight years as pastor of our Curia’s Santi Apostoli. The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter houses the sacred tomb of St. Peter, the 1st Pope of the Catholic Church, in the depths of the Vatican Necropolis.

The participating Provincials remained in Rome
for a “Midway” Meeting of the Order
in preparation for the 2025 Ordinary General Chapter.

More Photos and Information – Article on Order’s Website