Br. Manny Wenke, OFM Conv., Fr. Dominic Lim, OFM Conv., Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Fr. Ed Debono, OFM Conv. (who celebrated his 89th birthday on the Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order), Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., Br. Tom Purcell, OFM Conv., Fr. Jim Fukes, OFM Conv. and Fr. David Collins, OFM Conv.
The famous statue of St. Joseph that sits in the crypt chapel of the Saint Joseph’s Oratory
November 28-29, 2021: Our Vicar Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. joined most of the friars of our Canadian Delegation of St. Francis, on a pilgrimage to the St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal (The Shrine of St. André Bessette, in Montréal, Quebec) to mark the Year of St. Joseph. St. Joseph is Canada’s patron saint and one of our three friaries of our Province Delegation is named for St. André Bessette. While there, they took the opportunity to renew their vows on the November 29th Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order. The Mass, presided by Friar Michael, was celebrated in the shrine chapel located just over the tomb of Brother André. Following the Mass and renewal of vows, a festive meal was served and the friars were offered a guided tour of the shrine complex.
Throughout our province ministries, there will be many Advent Liturgies, Prayer Services and Celebrations as we prepare for Christmas. Our Ellicott City, MD shrine ministry – The Shrine of St. Anthony – held an Advent Family Festival, on Saturday, November 27th, ending with an Advent Vigil Mass at 3:00 p.m. Participants made Family Advent Wreaths, enjoyed treats & fellowship, took a wagon ride tour of the property and even had a special visit from St. Nicholas.
Be sure to check out our province “Locations” page on this website to find a ministry near you, so you can join our friars in the preparations of Advent.
Photo taken by a lay staff participant in the 2012 Province Co-Worker Pilgrimage to Italy (Rome & Assisi). It is of the modern day Town Square of Greccio, which is about a mile and a half from the Santuario di Greccio.
A few years before his death and in remembrance of his visit to the Holy Land, our Seraphic Father Francis asked his friend and companion, Giovanni Velita – the Lord of Greccio, to recreated the presepio (crèche) in the cavity of a cave. At Christmas in 1223, in the town of Greccio, Francis desired to reenact for the first time, the scene at Bethlehem. In it was placed a manger with hay and a live ox and donkey. The Cappella del Presepio or “Nativity Chapel” was built there in 1228; the year of the canonization of St. Francis of Assisi. (Read More)
We now enjoy the tradition of manger scenes in our churches and in our homes because of this event – Christ coming to live among us. Throughout the years, our friars have continued this tradition with Living Nativity celebrations we simply call “Greccio.” The pandemic of 2020 has forced these celebration to change a bit but our friars and our ministries are trying diligently to still keep the tradition alive with safe social distancing protocols in place.
Many of our province ministries have already announced their own Greccio services. Be sure to check out our “Locations” page for a ministry nearest to you to see if they are going to hold a Greccio Experience. Here are just a few examples of scheduled Greccio Services around the Province:
1) Saturday,December11,2021,7:30 –8:30 p.m. Location:The Shrine of St. Anthony, Ellicott City, MD Join our friars on the grounds of the Shrine for a Service of Prayers, Christmas Carols and a Living Nativity outside of the Red Barn. Refreshment will follow, free of charge. All are welcome to come and encounter the true meaning of Christmas!
2) Sunday, December 19, 2021, 5:00 p.m. Location: Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, Chicopee, MA Hosted by the Basilica of St. Stanislaus and the San Damiano Youth Group. Join us for a living nativity with St. Francis and LIVE animals.
3) Sunday, December 19, 2021, 2:00 p.m. Location: Assumption Church, Syracuse, NY All are welcome to come experience the wonder of Christmas with a living nativity just like Saint Francis of Assisi did in 1223 when he celebrated the first Christmas crèche at Greccio, Italy.
After a few frosts, the farm has now begun it’s transformation for the winter. Some plants, like tomatoes, have already been removed to make way for other crops we planted earlier this month, including a cover crop of winter rye that will help protect the soil over the winter and early spring.
In the Bull of Pope Honorius III, issued November 29, 1223, the Final Rule of our Order was ratified. The Rule was initially outlined and approved by Pope Innocent III, in 1209, but as the Order grew in those first years, revisions to the initial Rule were needed. After a version prepared in 1221 was seen as too strict, St. Francis of Assisi enlisted the aid of several legal scholars to compose the Final Rule that was approved in 1223. In commemoration of that day, all the saints of the Franciscan (Seraphic) Order are remembered each November 29th. In September of 1224, two years prior to his death, while praying on Mount La Verna, St. Francis received the marks of our Lord’s Passion in his hands, feet and side; a miracle known as the Stigmata, after composing and praying “The Praises of God” (see below). Written on a parchment which is signed and also contains a blessing from St. Francis to brother Leo, it is conserved as a relic in the Basilica of St. Francis, in Assisi. In the Life of St. Francis, Saint Bonaventure states, “while Francis was praying on the mountainside, he beheld a Seraph having six wings, flaming and resplendent, coming down from the heights of heaven. When in his flight most swift he had reached the space of air nigh the man of God, there appeared betwixt the wings the Figure of a Man crucified, having his hands and feet stretched forth in the shape of a Cross and fastened unto a Cross. Two wings were raised above His head, twain were spread forth to fly, while twain hid His whole body.” (pg. 139 Vision of the Seraph) Later in the work, St. Bonaventure speaks of the Fulfillment of the Visions (pg. 146-147), “Now finally that vision that was vouchsafed thee toward the end of they life, – to wit the exalted likeness of the Seraph, and the lowly Image of Christ shewn in one, – kindly thee inwardly and marking thee outwardly as another Angel ascending from the sunrising, having the seal of the Living God in thee, – giveth a confirmation of faith unto those visions aforesaid, and likewise receiveth from them a witness unto its own truth.”
St. Francis was in intense prayer when the Lord appeared as a Seraph, whose flaming, resplendent wings mimic God’s intense love as it was shared by Christ, as is portrayed in the sanctuary space of our Shrine of St. Anthony (Ellicott City, MD), in the mural by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Joseph Dorniak, OFM Conv. (see photo). The word seraphic is often used to describe St. Francis of Assisi and his passion for God. In turn it is affiliated with the Franciscan Order, whose members strive to live the charism of our Seraphic Father and founder. This is why it is also referred to as the Seraphic Order. We are comprised of the First Order – priests and brothers professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as members of one of three independent branches (OFM, OFM Conv. and OFM Cap.) as well as the Second Order – cloistered nuns professing the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience belonging to the Order of St. Clare (OSC) the Poor Clares (PC), and those members of the Third Order – religious and lay men and women performing works of teaching, charity, and social service known as the priests, brothers and sisters of the Third Order Regular (TOR) & the lay men and women of the Secular Franciscan Order (OFS).
The Praises of God
You are holy Lord God Who does wonderful things.
You are strong. You are great. You are the most high.
You are the almighty king. You holy Father,
King of heaven and earth.
You are three and one, the Lord God of gods;
You are the good, all good, the highest good,
Lord God living and true.
You are love, charity; You are wisdom, You are humility,
You are patience, You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are security, You are rest,
You are gladness and joy, You are our hope, You are justice,
You are moderation, You are all our riches to sufficiency.
You are beauty, You are meekness,
You are the protector, You are our custodian and defender,
You are strength, You are refreshment. You are our hope,
You are our faith, You are our charity,
You are all our sweetness, You are our eternal life:
Great and wonderful Lord, Almighty God, Merciful Savior.
Presented by The Companions of St. Anthony, each reflection focuses on the daily readings of Advent beginning on Sunday, November 28th and ending on Christmas Day.
On the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, Sunday, November 21, 2021, our province pastoral ministry of St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church (Elmhurst, NY) celebrated 125 years of Franciscan Presence. Fr. Mirosław Podymniak, OFM Conv. (Friary Guardian and Pastor), Fr. Herman Czaster, OFM Conv., Fr. Ericson de la Pena, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar) and Fr. Lucjan Szymański, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar) welcomed several other friars, including our Province Vicar Provincial ~ Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., who served as the main celebrant and homilist, stating, “St. A’s is a legnd in our Franciscan Province. It was the cent of so much activity and literally hundreds of friars would pass through the doors of that friary, because this was where they would come as soon as they would land in the United States…The fruit of those early friars who ministered to this Polish community can be felt today, as the friars and all of you welcome our sisters and brothers from around the world….Here, the vision of the prophet Daniel is seen, for at St. Adalbert’s, all peoples, nations & languages serve Him [Daniel 7:14].” Friar Michael continued to ask those present to pray for vocations: “Encourage your sons or grandsons to consider a life as a Franciscan Friar, or your daughters and granddaughters to consider life as a Consecrated Religious. Who knows? Maybe one of these little crowned ones in the front, will be your next pastor or the principal or a sister at the school.”
At the end of the celebratory Mass, the pastor – Friar Mirosław also spoke to those gathered: “We have given praise and thanksgiving to God almighty at this Eucharistic celebration today, for both occasions; for the occasion of the Solemnity of Christ the King and also for our Franciscan Jubilee 125 years. It’s a long time; six generations of Franciscan Friars and people of our parish. Not long ago, in 2017, we had our Parish Jubilee of 125 Years and today, the Franciscan Friars praise the Lord for the opportunity that we have to serve the people of this parish. The 1st pastor was a diocesan priest who was here for four years, followed by another diocesan priest who was stationed here for only four months, because the bishop invited Franciscan Friars…We thank God for all these years of service He called us to do...” Friar Mirosław listed the 20 Franciscan Pastors by name, pointing out that there were also 67 Franciscan Associate Pastors, who have served over these 125 years. Four of those pastors were present for the celebration: Fr. Herman Czaster, OFM Conv., Fr. Paul Miskiewicz, OFM Conv. (now Parochial Vicar at the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr, in Chicopee, MA), Fr. Russell Governale, OFM Conv. (now serving as a Psychotherapist at the Interborough Developmental and Consultation Center, in Brooklyn, NY), and himself. There were eleven vocations to the Franciscan Friars Conventual from the parish, and after pointing that out, Friar Mirosław took the opportunity to also ask those in attendance to continue to pray for vocations. He thanked the two student friars who came to assist and celebrate with them: friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province) and friar Alexander Gould, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of Consolation Province). These student friars took some time away from study to travel up from The Catholic University of America (Washington DC) along with Fr. Everest Valentine Nyaki Mkenda, OFM Conv., a friar of the Provincial Custody of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Tanzania, who is continuing his education at CUA, while living in community in our Post Novitiate House of Formation in Silver Spring, MD.
Consistent with our Franciscan charism and tradition of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, our province is promoting opportunities to more fully tap into a devotion from our Kolbean heritage, through the example of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv., and the continued efforts of his Militia of the Immaculata’s (M.I.) unconditional Consecration to the Immaculate. In order to better promote M.I. among the faithful served through the ministries of our friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province, Fr. Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv., our Province MI Assistant, has completed the 32nd successful and rewarding stop on our Province M.I Initiative Tour of our pastoral ministries. Friar Jobe’s revised scheduled stops on this tour will continue through February of 2022. Keep him and all those he greets in your prayers, as he continues to preach at the Masses to encourage the faithful to consecrate themselves to the Immaculate, and to enroll in the M.I.
The M.I. Initiative to promote the Immaculate Conception and to encourage membership in the Militia of the Immaculate made its 33rd stop at Mother Cabrini Catholic Church (Shamokin, PA), on the weekend of November 20-21, 2021. The Pastor, Friar Martin Kobos, OFM Conv. and Parochial Vicar – Friar Tim Geiger, OFM Conv. minister among the Catholics of this once-thriving coal community. Although the town is much smaller than it was, the faithful hold onto a bigger faith and hope for the future. In the photo with Friar Jobe are Friar Martin together with some of the new M.I. members at one of the four weekend Masses.
Mother Cabrini Catholic Church (Shamokin, PA)
During this stop of the M.I. Initiative with Friar Jobe, when he reached Mother Cabrini Friary, Shamokin, PA, the friars there were anxious that he visit the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal at St. Catherine Labouré Parish, Harrisburg, PA. Indeed, the miraculous medal, so dear to St. Maximilian and precious to all M.I. members, was fashioned after the apparition of the Blessed Mother to the young Daughter of Charity, Catherine Labouré in Paris, France, 1830. In the apparition, as Our Lady sat in the confessor’s chair, Sister Catherine fell to her knees and placed her hands in Mary’s lap. The Blessed Mother commissioned Sister Catherine to make a medal of the apparition and promised God’s abundant blessings on all who wear the medal. After the canonization of St. Catherine Labouré in 1947, this parish became the first in the world to bear her name. In the church are one of the miraculous medals in St. Catherine’s possession at her death as well as a first class relic containing a bone fragment from her hand. Pictured at left, with Friar Jobe is Friar Tim Geiger, OFM Conv. (Parochial Vicar for all three parishes in the area), who accompanied him to the shrine. Between by Friar Jobe on the right, is the miraculous medal and on the left by Friar Tim is the first class relic.
Also while Friar Jobe was visiting with our friars in Shamokin, PA, on Monday November 22, 20211, our friars serving in the Shamokin area hosted an Interfaith Prayer Service marking the 80th Anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Maximillian Kolbe. A new statue of Kolbe (at right) in the church of Our Lady of Hope (Coal Township, PA) was dedicated during the service and Miraculous Medals were given to all who attended. Those from all faith traditions were taking many medals home for family and friends. The new Kolbe Shrine in the church will serve as a focus for the local faith community to help heal from the adverse effects of addictions (one of the biggest problems in our region). Friar Jobe Abbass, OFM Conv. served as a guest speaker and spoke of Kolbe, as the patron saint for those who suffer from drug addictions; a source of comfort for those in recovery, as well as family members and friends of those who suffer. Pastor Jean Eckrod (above 2nd from right) of the Salem United Church of Christ spoke of her ministry of support for family members of those who have addictions. Resources from the local Oasis Recovery Center were also made available to those who attended the service.
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Please note that there are a small change in the schedule for the remainder of the M.I. Initiative tour. It has been decided to postpone the stop at Coal Township & Trevorton (Our Lady of Hope Parish and St. Patrick Parish) until next February.
The following are the last three stops; please make the change in the posted schedules:
Br. Nick in attendance at one of the NCYC arena events, along with 11,000 youth from around the country.
The 2021 NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference) was held November 18-20, 2021, in Indianapolis, IN, with a Virtual attendance option also available. Our Lady of the Angels Province Vocation Director – Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. traveled, along with two student friars of our province and one Solemnly Professed friar of St. Joseph of Cupertino Province, to attend and staff a Vocations Booth. Previous NCYC conferences have been attended by 23,000-25,000 young people. Even with COVID restrictions, 11,000 were about to attend this year, in person, and 2,210 attended virtually. According to Br. Nick, it was a “great experience at #NCYC this past weekend in Indianapolis! (They) met lots of good dudes and got bundles of our swag out into the world.” He and the other three friars: Friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province Solemnly Professed Friar), friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province Delegation of St. Francis of Assisi – Canada Simply Professed Friar), and Br. Chris Garcia, OFM Conv. (St. Joseph of Cupertino Province – California) enjoyed participating in several of the activities, as well as being a Franciscan Friars Conventual presence to the many attendees and their chaperones.
[Photo Cred: Friar Franck unless otherwise indicated]
Friar Franck, Br. Nick, Br. Chris and friar Raad attending one of the many arena events.
The Youth participants from our province’s Jonesboro, GA pastoral ministry – St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church – stopped by the Vocations Booth to visit with (front left to right: Br. Chris, Br. Nick, Friar Franck and friar Raad). [Photo taken from the parish Facebook Page]
Hail, Guardian of the Redeemer,
Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
To you God entrusted his only Son;
in you Mary placed her trust;
with you Christ became man.
Blessed Joseph, to us too,
show yourself a father
and guide us in the path of life.
Obtain for us grace, mercy and courage,
and defend us from every evil. Amen.
Prayer taken from the
December 8, 2020 Apostolic Letter
– Patris Corde –
of the Holy Father Francis,
given in Rome, at Saint John Lateran.
During this stop of the M.I. Initiative with Friar Jobe, when he reached Mother Cabrini Friary, Shamokin, PA, the friars there were anxious that he visit the 
