Inspired by the “Pilgrimage of the Relics of St. Maximilian Kolbe,” UNC students embodied the life of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. in five contemporary vignettes. TheNewman Catholic Student Center Parish, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel HillSpring Mission Trip participants (financially supported in part, and spiritually supported in full, by our province) were able to reflect on their experiences of service and justice through the life of our Martyr of Charity. The Campus Minister and Pastor of Newman Center Parish is Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Good Works in Philadelphia, PA: Students from the UNC Newman Center had the opportunity to serve meals to the homeless, package food for those in the area suffering from food insecurity, serve in Philadelphia schools, and work with adults with disabilities in a nursing home. They look forward to using all they learned in Philadelphia back in Chapel Hill and wherever life may take them!
Franciscan Action Network (FAN) in Washington, DC: “This spring break mission trip exposed our group to outreach and the importance of advocating for structural change in order to combat cyclical issues such as hunger and food waste. First-hand experiences with policy-makers and policy-changers allowed us to garner attention around an important piece of legislation (HB 4184, the Food Recovery Act) and even gain a signature from Congressman Brad Ashford (Nebraska). As young Catholics, we learned how we can advocate and change policy on an institutional level.”
Medical Mission to San Juan Pueblo, Honduras: “We traveled to San Juan Pueblo Honduras and treated 530 patients and 200 for eyeglasses! The construction team built new shelving and did electrical wiring and lights for the Natural Health Clinic at Padre Marco’s (a former Conventual friar) church in Santa Ana. The school team taught English for 4 days to seniors at the local high school and we all got to visit the school of special needs. After the clinics were over, Franciscan sisters prepared homemade pupusas for us…what a treat!”
Work-fest in Martin, Kentucky: Undergrads traveled to Martin, KY (in the Diocese of Lexington and Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., a Conventual Franciscan from the Our Lady of Consolation Province) to work on home repair projects with Christian Appalachian Project. They joined students and adult leaders from four other universities around the country and helped six families improve or eliminate substandard housing conditions. They encountered God in each other and in the families served, improved their understanding of injustice and solidarity, and enjoyed great weather with beautiful spring mountain views.
Conventual Franciscan Custody/Novitiate in Medellin, Colombia: The friars in Colombia opened their doors to seventeen Spring Mission participants from Newman Catholic Student Center Parish. They lived with the friars in their friary and each day the friars and novices accompanied them to the work-sites. Two of the days were spent working with the elderly and disabled. Mid-week, they spent a day at our parish in a poor part of the city, walking with the novices and Eucharistic ministers to visit the sick and give communion to the home-bound. The other two days were spent working with the friars in a conflict-resolution program they created for a pueblo on the outskirts of the city, where the displaced have erected housing on an abandoned railroad.
Please keep all of our friars, those we serve & those served in unity, in your prayers.
Sampling of the Baltimore Religious Leaders – “From Hope to Wholeness” Interfaith Prayer Service
Twenty-seven of our friars from Our Lady of the Angels Province serve the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore through over 20 ministries. On Monday, April 25, 2016, several of these friars were on hand, as a large group of faith leaders from multiple religious communities who serve specifically in the Baltimore City area, participated in an interfaith prayer service “From Hope to Wholeness,” on the one year anniversary of the nationally spotlighted Baltimore unrest, held at America’s First Cathedral – the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Baltimore, Maryland. The service brought together people of all faiths to pray for peace, healing and unity in Baltimore City, including (but not limited to) faith leaders and congregants from the United Church of Christ, the Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore, the Temple Oheb Shalom, the Union Baptist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church Delaware-Maryland Synod, and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The Rev. Dr. John Deckenback, United Church of Christ – Imam Earl El-Amin, Muslim Community Cultural Center of Baltimore – Rabbi Dr. Steven Fink, Temple Oheb Shalom – Reverend Dr. Alvin C. Hathaway, Sr., Union Baptist Church – Reverend Wolf gang Herz-Lane, Evangelical Lutheran Church Delaware-Maryland Synod – Most Reverend William E. Lori, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore – Most Reverend Denis J. Madden, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore – Rev. Dr. Frank Reid, III, Bethel AME – and – Rev. Fr. Donald A. Sterling, D. Min., New All Saints Catholic Church ( first African American priest in the Archdiocese of Baltimore) organized the event. Most of these leaders traveled to Rome together last month in a pilgrimage to meet with Pope Francis and to pray for peace in Baltimore. The group has been in regular dialogue over the past year to discuss ways to work together to promote peace and to address underlying problems on behalf of the City. Leaders, ministers and congregations of all faiths were invited to participate and the friars from our province were please to participate.
Please take a moment to view this video on the ongoing interfaith work of the Baltimore City religious leaders as presented by the Racial Justice Ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church Delaware-Maryland Synod
Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Ericson de la Pena, OFM Conv., of the Campus Ministry Office of The Catholic University of America (top left) pictured with some of the 65 CUA students who participated in Mission Trips this school year.
In an April 22, 2016 email from Amy Rowland, Program Coordinator for Community Service in the Office of Campus Ministry, at The Catholic University of America, she thanked the friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province for the “generous grant which helped to fund our trips (Kingston, Jamaica and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) this year. We were able to send about 65 students on four different trips. So far, we’ve received wonderful feedback – our students truly are transformed by their time serving the poor and getting to know Christ through others.”
Instituted by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv., DNP, APRN-BC, caRe vaN provides free healthcare to the homeless and under-served in the Chicopee (MA) area, including services such as blood pressure checks, blood pressure checks, foot care, first aide and minor wound care. For more information or to make a donation to this effort, please email Brother Duffy, at bro_duffy@hotmail.com.
On April 17, 2016, the Elms College School of Nursing and the Elms College Care Van took part in the Annual Health Fair (Chicopee, MA) where participants could get their eyes checked, win a door prize, talk with a mental health provider, sign up for MASS Health, get a hair cur or foot care; even enjoy some snacks and music! Arial View of the Event
12th Station: “Jesus Dies on the Cross” by Leonard Porter Studio (2010) Commissioned by the Church of Christ the King (New Vernon, NY)
On Friday, March 18, 2016, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) issued a YouTube Stations of the Cross Video Series. Each station was narrated by representatives of CRS, our Bishops and dignitaries from other Catholic organizations. The 12th Station, Jesus Dies on the Cross, was narrated by Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Robert Twele, OFM Conv. Esq. who serves CRS as Director of Legal Counsel. Please take a few moments of your Holy Week and watch these beautiful reflections.
Our province provides several grants to outreach, service, mission and ministries affiliated with the work of our individual friars’ ministries. One such outreach is the Jamaica Service Trip International Clinical Experience led by the College of Our Lady of the Elms Professor and Coordinator of the Accelerated Second Degree Program, Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Br. Michael Duffy, DNP, APRN-BC (pictured top row second from left). Throughout the year, he takes Senior students from Elms College’s accelerated second degree nursing program to several locations in Jamaica, for community clinical service in a variety of settings. The underwriting for these clinics includes funds provided from grants from our province.
This is one of three clinics underwritten by the generous support of the Friars and Our Lady of the Angels Province. In just two days at Holy Spirit Clinic, almost 100 patients were seen.
Friar Israel, Friar Patrick (at left), Friar Manny (not pictured), Friar Andrew and Friar Brad (at right) joined the Washington Hebrew Congregation and Rabbi Bruce Lustig for a Day of Service.
Friars Andrew & Patrick
Many of our ministry sites participated in a Day of Service in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 18, 2016). In Washington DC, our friars in the Post Novitiate stage of Formation joined approximately 700 students, faculty, and staff from the Catholic University of America (whose Campus Ministry is led by our friars) in serving their Washington, D.C. community.
Friar Israel’s Joyful Service
A message from Fr. Brad Milunski, OFM Conv. – Vicar Provincial and Formation Director for Our Lady of the Angels Province: “On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, four of the friars in initial formation joined hundreds of their classmates at the Catholic University of America (aka CUA) for a “day on” of service. Friar Patrick Roth, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province), Friar Manny Wenke, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of the Angels Province), Friar Andrew Hennessy, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of Consolation Province) and Friar Israel Arauz-Rosiles, OFM Conv. (St. Joseph Cupertino Province) and I traveled in a three-bus caravan from the campus to the Washington Hebrew Congregation (a 3,000-family Reformed synagogue founded in 1852) which does tremendous outreach to our nation’s capital. There we joined scores of others groups in various service projects. Our assigned task was to join the assembly line of volunteers chopping fresh vegetables and preparing casseroles. After an hour and a half of work, Rabbi Bruce Lustig took the CUA group on a tour of the synagogue during which Friar Israel was honored to hold one of the Torah scrolls.
Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (top left) with Senior students of Elms College, School of Nursing, who traveled to Holy Spirit Clinic, Maggoty, St Elizabeth, Jamaica, WI, for their Clinical Rotation.
Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (DNP, APRN-BC) is the Coordinator of the Accelerated Second Degree Program and a Professor at the School of Nursing of the College of Our Lady of the Elms, in Chicopee, MA. His vast education (B.S. American International College, M.S. University of Lowell and D.N.P. Regis College) and extensive experience as a Nurse Practitioner and Educator (Teaching at Elms College 1988-1997 and 2011 – today) is enhanced by his six years of service as a Missionary in Jamaica; managing a clinic, while serving the people of the area through the parish education and outreach needs (St Mary’s, Above Rocks, and Missions consists of: St Mary’s, Above Rocks; Holy Family, Cassava River; and Sacred Hearts, Pinto; in St Catherine Civil Parish, Jamaica, WI.). When the friars arrived in Jamaica they were instructed by the local clergy to give the people good Liturgy and take back the schools, to help stop the hand out mentality, to preach stewardship and to encourage evangelization and catechesis. For six years Brother Michael and the other friars serving there made it a point to have the church open daily while keeping the Sunday celebration of Eucharist central to the life of the Mission. They also committed themselves to weekly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. They took back the schools, helping them return to a better sense of order, with good principals, weekly Mass, and regular participation in school devotions, meetings and functions.They made great strides in bringing order to chaos and dignity to charity. They preached, encouraged and participated in every evangelization effort that the vicariate or archdiocese offered, while reviving an effective Sunday School and sacramental catechesis. When they left the missions, the seed for success was implemented as the people served took over the reins.
Br. Michael, or “Duffy” as he is affectionately known, has worked in several states and holds a special place in his heart and ministries for those he calls the underserved, including his implementation of the carRe vaN, a mobile healthcare unit serving the poor in the Chicopee area. “Having worked in street clinics in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, I know how important it is to bring healthcare to the homeless rather than asking them to come to you.” This program also provides nursing students with clinical experience, while providing blood pressure, blood sugar, foot, episodic first aid and minor wound care, as well as patient education and other healthcare needs that may arise.
In addition to working with Br. Michael through the caRe vaN project, students have the opportunity to join him as he returns to Jamaica so they can participate in a population health and community nursing experiences. Work continues with the doctoral students to further develope ways to provide primary care to the under-served of the Chicopee area.
The Ladies from St Mary’s , Above Rocks pictured with Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv., after Mass at St. Paul of the Cross Cathedral in Mandeville during their annual retreat at the adjacent Passionist Retreat House. They send greetings to all the Friars who served their community.
January 15, 2015: Second bush clinic (flash clinic) in the Morgan Forest District in Clarendon, JA, where they saw served 102 people. The group is pictured here in front of the building dedicated as “Barb and Fran Homework & Community Centre” which served as their clinic for the day. Br. Duffy and his student are very grateful to our friars and our benefactors for your continued support, especially over those 13 days in Jamaica.
Ky Bui, Jonathan Byrum and Jason DeMartini, Postulants of the Our Lady of the Angels Province, visited Baltimore-MD to join Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, Bishop Denis J. Madden, the parishioners of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church and others, Friar Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Friar Dennis Mason, OFM Conv., Friar Julio Martinez, OFM Conv. and the pastor of St. Wenceslaus – Fr. Timothy Dore, OFM Conv. for a “Prayer Walk for Peace” in the neighborhood, the evening of December 1, 2015. The three men are currently spending their time of study at the St. Bonaventure Friary Postulancy, in Chicago, IL.
The evening was filled with peaceful joy and fellowship with the Baltimore Community.
Inspired by the “Pilgrimage of the Relics of St. Maximilian Kolbe,” UNC students embodied the life of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, OFM Conv. in five contemporary vignettes. The Newman Catholic Student Center Parish, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Spring Mission Trip participants (financially supported in part, and spiritually supported in full, by our province) were able to reflect on their experiences of service and justice through the life of our Martyr of Charity. The Campus Minister and Pastor of Newman Center Parish is Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Good Works in Philadelphia, PA: Students from the UNC Newman Center had the opportunity to serve meals to the homeless, package food for those in the area suffering from food insecurity, serve in Philadelphia schools, and work with adults with disabilities in a nursing home. They look forward to using all they learned in Philadelphia back in Chapel Hill and wherever life may take them!
Franciscan Action Network (FAN) in Washington, DC: “This spring break mission trip exposed our group to outreach and the importance of advocating for structural change in order to combat cyclical issues such as hunger and food waste. First-hand experiences with policy-makers and policy-changers allowed us to garner attention around an important piece of legislation (HB 4184, the Food Recovery Act) and even gain a signature from Congressman Brad Ashford (Nebraska). As young Catholics, we learned how we can advocate and change policy on an institutional level.”
Medical Mission to San Juan Pueblo, Honduras: “We traveled to San Juan Pueblo Honduras and treated 530 patients and 200 for eyeglasses! The construction team built new shelving and did electrical wiring and lights for the Natural Health Clinic at Padre Marco’s (a former Conventual friar) church in Santa Ana. The school team taught English for 4 days to seniors at the local high school and we all got to visit the school of special needs. After the clinics were over, Franciscan sisters prepared homemade pupusas for us…what a treat!”
Work-fest in Martin, Kentucky: Undergrads traveled to Martin, KY (in the Diocese of Lexington and Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., a Conventual Franciscan from the Our Lady of Consolation Province) to work on home repair projects with Christian Appalachian Project. They joined students and adult leaders from four other universities around the country and helped six families improve or eliminate substandard housing conditions. They encountered God in each other and in the families served, improved their understanding of injustice and solidarity, and enjoyed great weather with beautiful spring mountain views.
Conventual Franciscan Custody/Novitiate in Medellin, Colombia: The friars in Colombia opened their doors to seventeen Spring Mission participants from Newman Catholic Student Center Parish. They lived with the friars in their friary and each day the friars and novices accompanied them to the work-sites. Two of the days were spent working with the elderly and disabled. Mid-week, they spent a day at our parish in a poor part of the city, walking with the novices and Eucharistic ministers to visit the sick and give communion to the home-bound. The other two days were spent working with the friars in a conflict-resolution program they created for a pueblo on the outskirts of the city, where the displaced have erected housing on an abandoned railroad.
![Carevan_logo_1[1]](http://olaprovince.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Carevan_logo_11.jpg){kind=logo}
