Varied artistic renderings of the Franciscan Coat of Arms can be found throughout the ministries, friaries, missions and sites served by the many Orders of Franciscan Friars. All have the same key elements: the image of the crossed arms with nail wounds in the hands – one representing Christ and the other St. Francis of Assisi who bore the Stigmata (wounds of Christ). There is also a form of the cross often depicted as the letter “T.” It is actually a “Tau,” the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
A favorite passage for St. Francis of Assisi was Ezekiel 9:4 “... and the LORD said to him: Pass through the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and mark a T (X in English translations) on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the abominations practiced within it …” The faithful of God were signed with the ‘tau’ and spared. “… But do not touch anyone marked with the T …” (Ezekiel 9:6)
St. Francis’ love of this verse was cemented through Pope Innocent III’s use of this imagery during his November 11, 1215 homily at the Fourth Lateran Council, the most important religious event in the time of St. Francis. Every Catholic in the Church of that time was challenged to take the symbol of the Tau Cross as the sign of their own Passover and Pope Innocent III ended his homily with “Be champions of the Tau!”
St. Francis of Assisi made the Tau his own and was known to even end letters, signing them with a T. It is a symbol used today by those who follow in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi and who strive to spread the understanding of it’s use among all those who walk that same path.
FrancicanVoice.org presents several reflections on the Holy Father’s Message and the Season of Creation: September 1 – October 4, 2022.
“Listen To The Voice Of Creation” by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Lasky OFM Conv. who serves as the Order’s Delegate General for Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation.
“Universal Fraternity With Creation – Part One” and “Universal Fraternity With Creation – Part Two” by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Lorsentsen, OFM Conv., who serves as the pastor of the Parish of St. Junipero Serra, with two worship sites: The Church of St. Catharine of Siena, in Seaside Park, NJ & Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, in Seaside Heights, NJ.
Excerpt: “’Listen to the voice of creation’ is the theme and invitation of this year’s Season of Creation. The ecumenical phase begins on 1 September with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, and concludes on 4 October with the feast of Saint Francis. It is a special time for all Christians to pray and work together to care for our common home. Originally inspired by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, this Season is an opportunity to cultivate our “ecological conversion”, a conversion encouraged by Saint John Paul II as a response to the “ecological catastrophe” predicted by Saint Paul VI back in 1970.”
Friar James (right) is pictured with his confrere and friend, Bishop Edward Kawa, OFM Conv., in the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Lviv’s bomb shelter.
Our Lady of the Angels Province Minister Provincial Emeritus, Friar James McCurry, OFM Conv. met with Bishop Edward Kawa, O.F.M. Conv. ~ Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Lvivwhile visiting with the Franciscan Friars Conventual who serve in Poland and Ukraine. Bishop Edward and the friars of the Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross in the Ukraine (a custody of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Kraków Poland) asked Friar James to extend to our Minister Provincial, Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., a very sincere thank you for the Province’s generosity, which was made possible through the generosity of our many donors. He also stated that the refugee situation is expected to worsen.
Below: These peace murals in Lviv were designed by Ukrainian children. The inscription reads: “Through thorns to the stars.”
August 31, 2022: The photo below was taken in the Friary of St. Francis of Assisi in Lviv, Ukraine, after Morning Mass in our Franciscan Church. Pictured with Friar James is Friar Paweł Odój, OFM Conv. (at right), two religious sisters, and a young parishioner who is a commando in the Ukrainian Army’s elite special forces. They asked Friar James to give him a blessing. He also gave him a miraculous medal. Later that day, the air raid sirens blared while Friar Stanisław Kawa, OFM Conv. and Friar James were visiting the graves of war victims in the large Lviv cemetery. Fr. Stanisław remarked that it was an appropriate place to meet their end. Nothing happened, however, and the all-clear signal followed an hour later.
Saint Julia Festival 2022: On Saturday, August 27, 2022, our province’s Siler City, NC pastoral ministry ~ St. Julia Catholic Community was able to again celebrate its Annual Parish Festival for the first time, in three years. It was wonderful to revive this tradition that brought parishioners and the people from the greater community together. There were games and activities for the kids, a car show for the youth, lots of music and dancing. The clown was a crowd pleaser, and the food was fantastic. Most of all, everyone had a great time and the Festival was a success, as is evident by the joy in these great photos.
Now that parish life is returning to a new normal, Friar Julio Martinez, OFM Conv. (pastor – at center left), Friar Luis Palacios, OFM Conv. (parochial vicar), the parish staff, volunteers and parishioners hope to have an even bigger Saint Julia Festival 2023, next year.
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The parish has started preparing for their Guadalupe celebration in December 2022. The new committee is being formed and plans are under way. For thirty-eight days prior to the great celebration, the parish enters a period of spiritual preparation, with the welcoming of the Torch from the Sanctuary of Guadalupe in Mexico. Three images of Our Lady of Guadalupe go into the community where three rosaries, and prayers, are offered every night, in the homes of the people of the parish. Presentations on Spiritual Life, and Days of Reflection take place, in the parish. Of course, whenever and wherever the people come together, there is plenty of good food to share. This year, the procession will begin seven miles from the parish with our men carrying the image of Our Lady. A great number of horses, mounted by their riders, will dance before the image of Our Lady, as well as dance groups, bands, and the prayers of the faithful. This year’s celebration will culminate with the crowing of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe with a double crown: Patroness of Mexico and Patroness of the Americas. (Read more and see photos from the 2021 Welcoming of the Torch)
Parishioners carrying the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe last year (December 12, 2021)
Our Lady of the Angles Province friar ~ Fr. Peter Tremblay, OFM Conv., serves as Associate Chaplain for Catholic Life & Catholic Campus Minister, at Elon University (Elon, NC). He is using his skills, as a craftsman, to enhance the collaboration between Catholic Life and Jewish Life on campus, by creating this incredible Ark to be used by Jewish Life to house their Torah scrolls.
August 21-23, 2022: Our Lady of the Angels Province, Minister Provincial ~ Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (at left) made a Fraternal Visit to our friars living and serving in Ludlow, MA, Enfield, CT and Johnstown, PA. He is pictured here with Fr. Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv. (at right), pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish, in Ludlow.
More on Our Lady of Fatima Parish (Ludlow, MA): In July 2022, our province was blessed to add our newest pastoral ministry, under the leadership of Fr. Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv. Born in Azores, Portugal, Friar Pedro professed his Simple Vows as a friar of our province, on August 06, 1994, and his Solemn Vows on October 11, 1998. After he was Ordained to the Priesthood, on May 20, 2000, Friar Pedro served as parochial vicar in four of our parishes, in the USA and one in Brazil. For his last two assignments, he had served as pastor for RCC of Most Holy Trinity – St. Mary (Brooklyn, NY), and then St. Peter’s RCC (Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ). Masses at Our Lady of Fatima Parish are celebrated in both English and Portuguese, so Friar Pedro was a welcomed addition, working alongside a staff which is also fluent in both languages. There is hope that someday soon one of the bi-lingual friars of our Province’s Custódia Província Imaculada Conceição (Immaculate Conception Custody in Brazil) will also be able to join Friar Pedro in serving the people of Ludlow.
Some of the following information was extracted from the “History” page of the Our Lady of Fatima Parish website:
For 30 years prior to its establishment as a parish in 1948, the greatly devout Portuguese Catholics of the Ludlow area raised funds for a church of their very own. Over the years since the parish was first established, the campus has expanded to include an outdoor chapel & shrine, a Fátima museum. and an Annual Festa Celebration honoring the anniversary and dedication of the parish ~ Labor Day, September 5th 1949, the date Our Lady of Fatima Parish was inaugurated. Learn more about the events of the parish, on the parish’s Facebook page, where you can also virtually join in the parish’s weekend Masses. Festa 2022, has its own Facebook page.
Bem Vino ao Frei Pedro de Oliveira!
(The Sunday July 3rd welcome Mass of Friar Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv.)
Friar Pedro blesses the newly installed statue of Saint Joseph, on the parish grounds (08-30-2022).
Responding to the war in Ukraine, (Our Lady of the Angles Province Friar) Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv., General Delegate for JPIC/GPIC, the Capuchin Franciscans & Ukrainian Secular Franciscans organized a Social Theatre Workshop to provide new skills to assist those suffering from war trauma, especially children.
From our Order’s Curia: Relics of three Conventual Franciscan martyrs, Blessed Michał, Blessed Zbigniew (Martyrs of Pariacoto, Peru), and Blessed Carlos (Martyr of Argentina), were enshrined at the San Antonio-Ysleta Mission Church in El Paso, Texas, USA.
Varied artistic renderings of the Franciscan Coat of Arms can be found throughout the ministries, friaries, missions and sites served by the many Orders of Franciscan Friars. All have the same key elements: the image of the crossed arms with nail wounds in the hands – one representing Christ and the other St. Francis of Assisi who bore the Stigmata (wounds of Christ). There is also a form of the cross often depicted as the letter “T.” It is actually a “Tau,” the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
It was wonderful to revive this tradition that brought parishioners and the people from the greater community together. There were games and activities for the kids, a car show for the youth, lots of music and dancing. The clown was a crowd pleaser, and the food was fantastic. Most of all, everyone had a great time and the Festival was a success, as is evident by the joy in these great photos.
