This page provides a number of resources that may be helpful as we continue to adapt to the ongoing pandemic. CMSM staff are updating this page on a regular basis. We invite members to send additional resources that may be helpful to your brother provincials.

“For everything I have received from God and the Franciscan Order, I am happy to be able to give back what little I can to draw others to the Lord, Our Lady and this great life as a Franciscan Friar.” – Friar Jobe Abbass

At our pastoral ministry of Our Lady of Mercy Church (Winston-Salem, NC), with safety always in mind, our two friars serving there, Fr. Joe Angelini, OFM Conv. (at left – Pastor Emeritus) and Fr. Carl Zdancewicz, OFM Conv. (at right – Pastor) distributed blessed palms in a drive by pick up, to over 500 people.

Franciscan Friars – Our Lady of the Angels Province, Inc. is officially registered for the Amazon Smiles program. Through this program, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the Province. To take advantage of this program, you must first register by visiting https://smile.amazon.com. Whenever you make a purchase, be sure your account is registered to have Franciscan Friars – Our Lady of the Angels Province, Inc. as the beneficiary of the program.

Thank your for your financial and prayerful support!

Join the Friars of The Shrine of Saint Anthony, as

Fr. Jude Winkler OFM Conv. (Assistant General of our Order) presents a
Holy Week Mission
Monday – Wednesday, April 6-8, 2020, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Livestreamed from The Shrine of St. Anthony’s Chapel
Includes Prayer, Adoration and Reflection

JESUS and the SONGS of the SUFFERING SERVANT
Note: all prayers will be taken from Magnificat Holy Week 2020 edition

• 4:00pm – Entrance Hymn:
  • Monday page 56
  • Tuesday page 69
  • Wednesday page 81
• Exposition of Blessed Sacrament 10 minutes of silent adoration
• Psalm from Prayer for the Evening;
  • Monday page 57
  • Tuesday page 70
  • Wednesday page 82
• Scripture Reading;
  • Monday page 57
  • Tuesday page 70
  • Wednesday page 84
• Reflection by Father Jude Winkler OFM Conv.
• Canticle of Mary page 46
• Intercessions:
  • Monday page 58
  • Tuesday page 71
  • Wednesday page 84
• Our Father
  • Benediction – Salve Regina
    Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae:
    Vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve.
    Ad te clamamus, exsules, filii Hevae.
    Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes
    In hac lacrimarum valle.
    Eia ergo, Advocata nostra,
    Illos tuos misericordes oculos
    Ad nos converte.
    Et Jesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui,
    nobis, post hoc exsilium ostende.
    O clemens! O pia!
    O dulcis Virgo Maria!

Several of our friars were able to continue to send updates on their ministries’ responses and precautions taken during this current crisis around the COVID-19 strain of the coronaviruses. We posted many of them last month, but here are a few new additions.

Coronavirus
Friars’ Ministries Vis-à-vis the COVID-19 Pandemic

Chicopee, MA (from Fr. Joe Bayne, OFM Conv., Pastor of the Basilica of St. Stanislaus, and Team – March 18, 2020):
Our Polish Lenten Retreat was videotaped and will be available to our people on our web site. Bravo to visiting Friar Pawel Odoj, from the Kakow Province, ministering in Ukraine. He is young, vibrant, and has been a joy to have at the Friary. Our school prepared learning packets for all students, that were picked up by parents outside in a very organized fashion. The Upper & Lower Basilica are being sanitized and will stay closed. I will take care of funerals at the funeral homes. The Friars here will prepare Sunday Mass Readings with brief Homilies in both English & Polish, for our Web Site. We are talking about the possibly of blessing Palms and distributing them in the same manner that food is dispersed at a drive thru restaurant, since take-out is permitted in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Again, along this line, we may be able to offer Święconka, via a common blessing in the parking lot, with folks remaining in their cars. Needless to say, Friars and Staff are in great dialogue. Fr. Chis Dudek, OFM Conv. and our Franciscan Sisters (FMSA and FSSJ) have joined us for Conventual Mass in the Friary. We are still under the max of 10 people gathering in one space. Needless to say Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv., our medical guide, is keeping us all informed. He is very busy at Elms College with planning and adjustments during the crisis.

Ellicott City, MD 
Vicar Provincial, Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. has prepared a reflection for the Companions urging all to look to the example of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, during these days of great distress over the coronavirus. To access the video, click on this link: Do Little Things Out of Love!
Farm News: Despite the fact that things are somewhat shutdown and we are all staying in place, Spring is here, and new growth is happening on the farm. To view the latest Little Portion Farm Newsletter, click on this link: Farm News

Syracuse, NY (from Friar Rick Riccioli, OFM Conv.,  Pastor of the Franciscan Church of the Assumption – March 29, 2020):
Assumption is on Alexa! Amazon’s innovative technology mixes with the gentle wisdom of Friar Robert Amrhein, OFM Conv. to bring the faithful a daily message of encouragement based on the readings of the Liturgy. Go to assumptionsyr.org/alexa (make sure you’re logged into your Amazon account) and enable the skill. Then, just say “Alexa, open Assumption Today.”

Seaside Park/Heights, NJ (from Fr. Michael Lorentsen, OFM Conv., Pastor of Saint Junipero Serra Parish – March 30, 2020):
While Saint Junipero Serra parish has canceled all public Masses, the parish’s Saint Francis Food Pantry and Simon’s Soup Kitchen are considered, “essential services.” Both programs have implemented the necessary pandemic protocols established by their respective accrediting organizations. The ongoing problem of food insecurity grows significantly in light of the shut down of various restaurants, bars and boardwalks in the Jersey Shore areas. The soup kitchen is still preparing meals two nights a week. Guests are no longer able to dine inside, but volunteers are putting the fresh-cooked meals in boxes and distributing them to each guest. Before the pandemic, the soup kitchen had seen a 50% increase in the number of people served. Since the pandemic, the kitchen is exceeding 100 guests per evening. Saint Francis Food Pantry no longer invites guests into the pantry, they line up outside on designated spots to maintain safe social distancing. Bagged groceries are brought out to these guests based on one’s household size. Last Wednesday, the pantry was open for three hours and provided groceries to 50 different families in need. We receive grocery donations from Fulfill, NJ (a food bank), parishioners and local businesses. The majority of volunteers for both programs are over the age of 60. With many volunteers needing to stay in place at home, the pantry has taken some drastic volunteer recruiting measures.

Siler City, NC (from Fr. Julio Martinez, OFM Conv., Pastor of St. Julia Catholic Church-April 3, 2020):
In an attempt to give some meaning to this moment in the lives of the children of the parish, Friar Julio posted a special video. He asked the children to do the parish a favor and pray for everyone in the community. Several videos have been posted to give updates to parishioners, in English and in Spanish.
(Update: April 9, 2020) St. Julia Church is a place of distribution of chicken at $1.00 a pound during Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Saturday. The chief of police in collaboration with the chicken plant asked to use the parish property. The local sheriff’s department attended to the hundreds of cars that came. It’s a well organized operation where no one has to get out of their cars and all precautions are taken. We are happy to be able to collaborate with this endeavor that is a true help to so many needy families in our greater community. St. Julia’s has received a generous donation of chicken and $1,000 for the use of our property.

Ellicott City, MD (from Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv. – April 9, 2020)
Sixteen friars celebrated the Holy Thursday liturgy behind locked doors in The Shrine of St Anthony Chapel of St. Joseph Cupertino Friary.  Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.  was the principal celebrant and homilist.  Vatican rules for this year’s celebration prohibited the washing of feet, the sign of peace, and processing to a repository, so the very reverent celebration of the Lord’s Supper was over in just 45 minutes!
(Update: April 10, 2020) Celebrant, Fr. Everest Valentine Nyaki Mkenda, OFM Conv. venerating the “old rugged cross” on Good Friday 2020, in The Shrine of St. Anthony Chapel, with only friars present – behind locked doors.

“The Christian faithful who make an offering so that the Mass may be applied for their intention contribute to the good of the Church and by their offering take part in the concern of the Church for the support of its ministers and works.”
(CIC # 946)

Close to sixty of our Friar Priests serve in ministries which are not in parish communities, live in Senior Friar Residences, or live in Care Facilities. These friars rely on Mass Intentions, and in turn Mass Stipend Donations, submitted via our Fr. Justin Rosary Hour and Companion of St. Anthony Ministries. In recent years, requests for Masses to be celebrated in honor of, in memory of, in celebration of specific event, or for a special intention have seen a vast decline. The majority of our friars celebrate Daily Masses in community in our friaries. Remembering your intentions during these Masses further draws us in communion with you, through our Liturgy. We ask that you prayerfully consider submitting your Mass Intentions to our province. For each request of an individual Mass Intention, the suggested $10 or $15 stipend is encouraged. If you would like to request a Gregorian Mass (30 consecutive days of Masses for the same deceased individual), a $450 stipend is encouraged.

You can mail these requests directly into our Provincial House Offices:
Mass Intentions
Our Lady of the Angels Provincial House
12300 Folly Quarter Road
Ellicott City, MD 21042

We appreciate your generous stipends, but mostly our Franciscan Conventual community is grateful that you are prayerfully considering entrusting your requests with us. Given our varied ministry commitments, we cannot promise a specific friar or date for Mass Intentions to be celebrated. We honor each request in the order in which it is received. Please know that several friars from our province are on a waiting list, hoping to be able to celebrate your Mass request soon. Throughout our Franciscan fraternity, the friars remember the needs and intentions of our benefactors, to the Lord.

Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv., Assistant General of our Order and a friar of our province recently produced an article: “Mass Intentions: Offerings of love and healing,” via our Companions of St. Anthony.

Publicly official at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (12:00 Noon Vatican Time), on March 5, 2020,  His Holiness Pope Francis appointed our brother, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, and current Bishop of Savannah ~ The Most Reverend Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv. as the new Archbishop of Atlanta.
Archbishop-designate Hartmayer was to be installed as Archbishop of Atlanta on May 6, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., in St. Peter Chanel Church, in Roswell, Georgia and  June, 29, 2020 was originlly the date planned for Pope Francis to give the pallium to the new Archbishop in ceremonies at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. Due to the Pandemic, a private installation is scheduled to be held on May 6, 2020 at 12:30 p.m. Solemn vespers will also be held privately on May 5, 2020, at 7:00 p.m. Both events will be available on livestream.

He was recently featured in the areticle “From Friar to Bishop and always Franciscan”  in the Spring 2020 Edition of the St. Anthony Companion, a publication of our Companions of St. Anthony Ministry.

Keep on top of new developments via his Facebook Page.