The Franciscan Place is a ministry of Our Lady of the Angels Province and Assumption Church in Syracuse, N.Y.
October 11, 2024, marked a beautiful milestone as The Franciscan Place (TFP) celebrated its 25th anniversary of service at Destiny USA, an enormous mall in Syracuse, N.Y. For a quarter of a century, this sacred space has been a haven of peace, prayer, and spiritual renewal for all who seek it.
As a ministry of Our Lady of the Angels Province and Assumption Church, TFP shares a common vision to be a vibrant, inclusive, and loving community where we serve the physical, mental and spiritual needs of those thirsting for meaning and purpose in Syracuse and beyond. “We care for all of God’s creation. We welcome and honor all; singles and families, rich and poor, young and wise, devout and searching, those differently-abled, LGBTQ+, immigrants and refugees. Whether you’ve stopped in for a quiet moment of reflection, attended Mass, finding a thoughtful faith-based gift, or sought the sacrament of Reconciliation, The Franciscan Place has been a source of grace and light in the heart of the Central New York community.
“We are deeply grateful for the countless lives touched and transformed here over the past 25 years,” the wrote in a Facebook post. “Join us in giving thanks for the continued presence of this special ministry, and may it continue to shine as a beacon of hope and love for many more years to come!”
People shared their stories about the storm and its impacts. (Gabriel Swinney)
SWANNANOA, N.C. — About 200 people lined up outside St. Margaret Mary Church in the small mountain town of Swannanoa, one of the area’s hardest hit by the Sept. 27 floods. They waited for a visit by Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv. – some with smiles, but also many in tears or shocked despair.
They brought the bishop stories of ruined houses, lost possessions and life without electricity or water – and no idea when those things would be returned to them. Many also knew of worse stories from farther up the Swannanoa Valley, where some people went looking for family members or friends and discovered they were missing, their houses washed away.
The bishop comforted people and prayed with them, listened to dramatic and frightening stories of living through the storms, and blessed babies and children.
A look at the devastation just outside St. Margaret Mary Church in Swannanoa.
To get to the church, many had to make a grim drive through downtown Swannanoa, where the town’s namesake river exploded from its banks a week ago and left much of the area looking like a war zone. Houses, trailers and cars were torn apart by the water and flipped upside down. Roads have washed away into jagged small cliffs, water pipes and propane tanks litter the riverbanks, and people’s possessions – bed sheets, clothing, a child’s wading pool, a picnic table – dangled from trees along the river.
“The bishop has lifted a lot of people up by coming here,” said Claudia Graham, secretary at St. Margaret Mary Parish, who has been leading relief efforts as they await the appointment of a new pastor. She announced Bishop Martin’s visit on Thursday afternoon and by Friday morning people had come from all around the area – many taking long circuitous routes because their usual roads were wiped out.
Whole families came out to greet the bishop, who wanted to survey the damage firsthand and offer spiritual comfort.
Parishioners Joe and Mary Lewis drove 40 minutes instead of their usual 10 from Scenic Mobile Home Park, a senior citizens community in east Asheville, just for a moment of prayer with Bishop Martin. While their home and most of their neighbors wasn’t destroyed, the complex is without power or running water, and residents have been collecting buckets of water from a community swimming pool to flush toilets.
“This whole thing is devastating, but I know we’re going to get through it,” Joe Lewis said.
Mary Lewis wiped away tears and said the couple is coping by providing what help they can. They own a generator so have opened their home to neighbors who need to charge cell phones or get some cool air.
“Those who help people don’t realize how much they’re doing for others,” she said. “We had some people show up the other day who had a carload of dog food. They don’t realize that with a gesture like that, they’re not just feeding somebody’s dog but also feeding people’s souls.”
Candy brought by the diocesan team was a hit with local kids.
While the bishop greeted people outside, inside the small church some people prayed, seeking a moment of peace against the constant buzz of helicopter blades above the Swannanoa Valley. A fleet of helicopters – Chinooks from the U.S. Army, Coast Guard search and rescue, Forest Service and some privately owned ones – crisscrossed the sky overhead, some surveying damage and others transporting supplies and flood survivors.
Parishioner Cecilia Meredith was happy to see the bishop and said her faith has helped her get through the past week as she’s worked on one of the medical response and search-and-rescue teams in the area.
The bishop joined in prayer and offered spiritual consolation to those who had gathered on the church lawn. (Gabriel Swinney)
“We’ve been doing wellness checks, looking for some missing people, and bringing supplies to people,” Meredith said. “I woke up crying this morning because I know people who have died and I’ve had to see people suffering.”
Directly across from the church, Grovemont Park is serving as a green island of peace in the middle of the flooded valley. For the past week, area residents have met there daily for support and fellowship. Volunteers cook free hot meals and others offer supplies including fresh vegetables, household cleaners and toiletries.
“This is one of the good things that has come out of all of this,” one woman said, gesturing at the crowded park. “People are connecting with each other again.”
You can make a disaster relief donation to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charlotte through this link.
Friar Joseph Benicewicz, OFM Conv., a Franciscan Friar of Our Lady of the Angels Province, died unexpectedly on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Kensington, Conn. Born on Feb. 29, 1960, in Baltimore, Md., he was the son of the late Walter and Theresa (nee Niemczyk). He was predeceased by his brother, Walter, Jr.. He is survived by his sister, Lorraine Ludwig, along with several nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.
Upon graduation in 1978 from Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, he entered the Franciscan Friars novitiate in Ellicott City, Md. He attended St. Hyacinth College Seminary in Granby, Mass., where he earned a B.A. in philosophy in 1983. He taught for a year at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, N.Y., then continued his studies in theology at St. Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary in Rensselaer, N.Y., where he was awarded a Master of Divinity in 1988.
Friar Joseph was ordained a friar priest on May 28, 1988, in Albany, N.Y. Following his ordination, he re-joined the faculty of St. Francis High School for 18 years. While at the school he was a math and religion teacher, baseball coach, department chairperson, assistant principal, principal, and lastly president of St. Francis.
In 2005, he was elected to serve a five-year term as treasurer of St. Anthony of Padua Province. In 2010, he was appointed president of Archbishop Curley High School where he served until being appointed pastor and rector of St. Stanislaus Basilica in Chicopee, Mass. His final assignment was as pastor of St. Paul Catholic Church in Berlin, Conn.
Visitation hours will be on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at St. Paul Catholic Church, 461 Alling St., Berlin, Ct., with a Franciscan Wake Service at 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Wednesday, Sept. 11, at 11 a.m., at St. Paul Catholic Church. A second Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church at 11 a.m., on Saturday, Sept. 14, followed by interment at St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Baltimore. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Franciscan Education Fund (12300 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City MD 21042).
The Boston-born Black missionary to Brazil died 25 years ago this summer (June 22, 1999) and was the first African-American to join the Conventual Franciscans.
A devotee holds a Portuguese prayer card of Servant of God Martin Maria de Porres Ward at his grave on June 22, 2024, in Andrelândia, Brazil.
The sainthood cause for Servant of God Martin Maria de Porres Ward has received approval from the Vatican to proceed to its next stages, according to the Order of Friars Minor Conventual.
Br Douglas McMillan, OFM Conv., shared that an official biography of the late African-American friar is now underway, part of the Roman Phase of the canonization process. Ward, a Boston-born missionary who spent his ministry in Brazil, died 25 years ago this summer and in 2020 became the seventh Black Catholic sainthood candidate from the United States.
“As of July 1, we received notice, through the Brazilian Historical Commission, that we have official approval from the Dicastery of the Causes of Saints,” McMillan told BCM. “We are now in the process [of] working on putting together the final copy of the positio for the dicastery.”
The positio is an official dossier on the life of a sainthood candidate that, if approved by Rome, allows the pope to issue a decree of heroic virtues, granting the title “Venerable.” There are currently four African Americans to have reached that stage—the most recent being Venerable Mary Lange, who founded the nation’s first order of Black nuns.
Raised in Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., Ward converted to the Catholic faith as a teenager and felt a call to religious life thereafter, first to the Salvatorians before a health condition precipitated his exit from the seminary. He followed his call in an era when African Americans were typically barred from entering formation for the priesthood in the United States, save for a few religious communities.
Ward later overcame the obstacles of American racism to become the first African-American member of the Conventual Franciscans and was ordained in 1955 in upstate New York. He is revered as a uniquely holy figure in Brazil, where he worked for more than four decades as a missionary teacher, pastor, vocations promoter, spiritual director, and chaplain.
He was christened a “Citizen of Andrelândia” in 1995, an honor named after the municipality in Southeast Brazil where he worked for most of his priesthood. Four years later, Ward suffered a series of heart attacks and died at the age of 81.
On June 22 of this year, the local province of friars marked the 25th anniversary of Ward’s death with a special Mass and procession, the latest in a series of regular celebrations honoring his legacy of service and holiness.
“For many of the faithful, his simplicity and joy were a sign of the presence of God,” the province shared after the event, where devotees prayed for Ward’s intercession at his tomb.
Ward’s cause for sainthood is headed by the Diocese of São João del Rei, with the Brazilian research commission aided by friars in the U.S., including McMillan. The Archdioceses of Washington and Boston, where Ward lived before becoming a priest, are not expected to officially join the cause.
Should the efforts succeed, and with a miracle approved by the Vatican, Ward could become the first beatified African-American in history. He would also be the second in Brazil, after Blessed Francisco de Paula Victor, a formerly enslaved man who later became a priest and was beatified in 2015.
Prayer for Beatification and Canonization of Fr Martin Maria de Porres Ward, OFM Conv.
O Glorious, most high God, who deign to glorify in heaven the souls of those who served and glorified You on earth, hear our prayers for [petitions in silence] and according to the design of Your Divine Providence, Deign to glorify your Servant Martin Maria de Porres, who by his love desired to offer his life for the education and service of the youth, the poor and the sick, that like our ‘compadre’ we too may progress in the service of the most needy. Amen.
On the Feast Day of Saint Clare of Assisi (Aug. 11, 2024), six young adults were commissioned as the 26th group of FrancisCorps volunteers by Friar Gary Johnson, OFM Conv., vicar provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province. The commissioning was held at Assumption Church in Syracuse, N.Y.
On their Facebook page, FrancisCorps 26 said, “Thank you for saying ‘Yes’ to the Spirit of Assisi, ‘Yes’ to service of others, and ‘Yes’ to FrancisCorps. We are so excited and blessed to accompany FrancisCorps 26 during the next year! As they begin their first day at their service sites, we ask for your continued prayers.”
The FrancisCorps experience is a year of real Gospel service for young adults aged 21 to 25. The FrancisCorps experience is not one of prayer, service, or community at any one given time, but an experience of prayer, service, and community at all times.
Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (l-r), Friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv., Friar Cristofer Fernández, Friar Raad Eshoo, and Friar Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv.
As their Franciscan journey continues, Friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv., Friar Cristofer Fernández, OFM Conv., and Friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv., made their Solemn Vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024, at St. Louis Catholic Church, Clarkesville, Md. Each friars’ request to make solemn vows was granted by Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., and the Definitory. Before Friar Michael, they proclaimed their vows, “for the entire time of my life.”
More than 60 friars attended the Mass.
The Franciscan Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi from Holyoke, Mass.
“Our Lady of the Angels Province is so blessed to have Raad, Joe and Cristofer as full members of our Order,” said Friar Michael, who celebrated the Mass. “All three come from different backgrounds and experiences yet they are able to live together as brothers in fraternity. In a world that is so divided, the Franciscan Friars, and these three in particular, try to be a witness that living together, even with many differences, is possible. The love of Jesus Christ, and the example of Saint Francis unites us in a bond of fraternal love and charity.”
More than 60 friars joined the celebration, including Friar Bishop Michael T. Martin, bishop of Charlotte. Several members of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi from Holyoke, Mass. also attended. Friars Eshoo, Fernández, and Krondon completed their Solemn Vows Retreat in Holyoke. They decided that since Friar Raad is not allowed to travel due to visa issues, they would forgo their retreat in Assisi in order to prepare for vows together in Massachusetts.
A native of Mosul, Iraq, Friar Radd said solemn vows, “Embody a profound commitment that resonates deeply within me. They represent promises made with unwavering sincerity and conviction, binding me to a path of integrity and purpose. Each vow is a testament to my values and aspirations, a declaration of dedication to a cause or relationship with immense significance.”
Friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv., (right) with Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
The son of Honduran and Salvadoran immigrants, Friar Cristofer said making solemn profession, “Reaffirms and binds the commitment I made at first profession of vows as a Franciscan friar. Through these vows and with all my imperfections, I consent to God remaking me in the invitation to a transfigured existence, that is religious life, so that through me God might christify the world!”
Friar Cristofer Fernández, OFM Conv., (right) with Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Friar Joe, who grew up in Baltimore, Md., not far from where Our Lady of the Angels Province is headquartered, said, “Solemn Profession is my saying, ‘Yes’ to being further conformed to Christ Crucified in the footsteps of Holy Father Francis, and that “Yes” being received by the Brothers who have helped form me into the man I am today. Solemn Vows for me is an outpouring of gratitude to a Community I can only hope to give back a portion of what I have received.”
Friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv., (right) with Minister Provincial Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Current Assignment Taught at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore, Md. During his fraternal apostolic year.
Assignments since joining Our Lady of the Angels Province His main assignment is finishing his studies at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.
Home Diocese Diocese of Saskatoon, Canada
Education B.A. Theology and Religious Studies, Catholic University of America, 2023
Friar Cristofer Fernández, OFM Conv.
Birthplace
Alexandria, Virginia
Parents Maybelis and Manuel Fernández
Siblings Alessandro, Amanda, Eric
Current Assignment Franciscan Northside Ministries, Syracuse, N.Y.
Assignments since joining Our Lady of the Angels province Summer Assignments St. Anne-Pacelli Outreach Center/St. Benedict the Moor Soup Kitchen/Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Columbus, Ga. (2021)
St. Junipero Serra Parish, Seaside Park, N.J. (2022)
Other Volunteering/Ministry during Formation Volunteer, St. Thomas of Canterbury Soup Kitchen, Chicago, IL (2018-19)
Elementary School Tutor, St. Thomas Canterbury School, Chicago, Ill.
Activities Volunteer, St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly, Palatine, Ill.
Volunteer, Little Portion Farm, Ellicott City, Md. 2019-22)
Spiritual Care Volunteer, Volunteer Services, Marian Regional Medical Center, Dignity Health, Santa Maria, Calif. (2019-20)
Spiritual Counselor Volunteer-Chaplain, Adult Jail Services, San Luis Obispo County Jail, Restorative Partners LLC, San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Catholic Climate Justice Coalition (Semester) Intern, Catholic Climate Covenant, Washington, D.C., (Fall 2021)
Circle Facilitator and Graduate Student Liaison, Solidarity Circles Program & CCE Events, Center for Cultural
Engagement, Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (Spring Semester 2022)
Ministerial Assistant, Parroquia Inmaculada Concepcion, Jose Leon Suarez, Buenos Aires, Ariz., (Spring 2023)
Fraternal-Apostolic Year Most Holy Trinity Friary, Brooklyn, N.Y., (2023-24)
Pastoral Intern, Most Holy Trinity-St. Mary Parish, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Friar Intern, Franciscans International, New York, N.Y.
Home Diocese Diocese of Arlington, Virginia
Education Hayfield Secondary School
Alexandria, Va.
B.S. Environmental & Conservation Biology
George Mason University, 2017
M.A. Theology, Religion, Culture
Catholic University of America, 2023
Certificate in Franciscan Philosophy
Franciscan School of Theology, 2023
Friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv.
Birthplace
Baltimore, Md.
Parents Gail and Mike Krondon
Current Assignment Assumption Church/Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, Syracuse, N.Y.
Assignments since joining Our Lady of the Angels Province Postulancy in Chicago, Ill.
Novitiate in Arroyo Grande, Calif.
Three years of post-novitiate in Silver Spring, Md. with at The Little Portion Farm, Ellicott City, Md.
Home Archdiocese Baltimore, Md.
Education Archbishop Curley High School
Baltimore, Md.
He studied at Catholic University of America and is finishing his degree at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y.
During the Mass, the three friars lay prostrate during the singing of The Litany of the Saints.
Terry Steele, Shrine Advisory Council member and Catholic member of the Algonquin nation, explains the Native practice of the penitential rite.
The inspirational example of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha was celebrated at her U.S. National Shrine July 12-14, 2024, in honor of her feast day.
The feast day of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, patron of ecology and the environment and of Indigenous Peoples, was celebrated over the course of three days at her U.S. National Shrine, outside of Fonda, New York. Celebrations began with a Spanish Mass on Friday evening and concluded with the semiannual burning of prayer petitions after Sunday Mass, which fell on Saint Kateri’s U.S. feast day, July 14. The occasion was also marked with a Vigil Mass on Saturday and presentation by Dr. Damian Costello, NAIITS, on the Old Testament tribal roots of the Eucharist, to which Saint Kateri had a great devotion. As is traditional at the Shrine that was the home of this Mohawk-Algonquin saint for most of her life, the penitential rite included purification with Native sacred herbs as the incense and the Four Directions blessing; the sung portions of the Mass took place in Mohawk, courtesy of the Akwesasne Catholic choir.
Friar Joe Freitag, OFM Conv., takes part in the penitential rite.
Anyone interested in learning more about Saint Kateri’s life is encouraged to visit her Shrine on Route 5, Fonda, New York, which is operated by Our Lady of the Angels Province, Conventual Franciscan Friars. The grounds, which include Saint Kateri’s baptismal spring and the archaeological site of the Mohawk Village of Caughnawaga, are available to the public year-round. Special events focusing on spiritual, cultural, and historical topics are held May through October. For more information about Saint Kateri or the Shrine or Historic Site, please contact info@katerishrine.org, call 518-853-3646, or visit https://www.katerishrine.org.
St. Francis of Assisi Novitiate in Arroyo Grande, Calif., was the setting on July 12, 2024, for the investiture of our three novices: Friars James Muzzey, Patrick Allen, and Paulo Moonjeli.
After being clothed in the habit of our Order, they will remain California for a year and a day in fraternity, in private and communal prayer, in classes, workshops, seminars, experiencing manual work, and other activities in line with the goals of this stage of formation. Please keep our novices close in prayer. They will profess their first vows on July 15, 2025.
The events of this past weekend give us an opportunity to look not only at our society, our Church, our Province, but most importantly to look inside of our hearts and recommit ourselves to love. We ask the Lord to cast out all anger, hatred, and violence in our hearts and lives. Our brother Maximilian Kolbe reminds us, “Hatred destroys. Only love creates.” Jesus, risen from the dead, stands before us to remind us that hatred never wins and that new life comes through love.
Friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv., renewed his simple vows on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at Our Lady of Angels Chapel in Enfield, Conn., at the 4 p.m. Mass. Presiding and preaching at the Mass, Friar John Koziol, OFM Conv., received Friar Sebastian’s vows. The friars and sisters at the infirmary joined in the celebration.
Our three friars on their solemn vow retreat in Holyoke, Friar Cristofer Fernández, OFM Conv., Friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv., and Friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv., also joined the celebration as did Friars Brad Milunski, John Ruffo, Joseph Freitag, and Luis Palacios-Rodriguez. Friars Tony Kall and Vincent Vivian were the official witnesses for the renewal of vows. A fraternal gathering and pizza party took place after the Mass.
