2016 marked the 800th Anniversary of the August 2nd Portiuncula Indulgence. You will notice that our province logo incorporates the Portiuncula graphic. This is because the Portiuncula (the small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels nicknamed “Little Portion” by St. Francis of Assisi) is located within Assisi’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Franciscans around the world celebrate August 2nd as the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels but we friars who are members of a province named in her honor, hold the day in special regard.
All over the world August 2nd is celebrated as the Feast of Our Lady of the Angels. For our province friars, it holds especially dear as it is also our Patronal Feast Day. There will be many opportunities to join our friars for live and virtual celebrations throughout the twenty-one Diocese in which the friars of our province live and minister. We encourage all to find a ministry location nearest to you, to join with us in celebrating Our Lady.
Visit our ministry locations page for links to our various ministries’ websites.
In the words of our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.: “May Our Lady intercede for each friar,
for all of our fraternal communities,
and for all of the people whom it is our humble privilege to serve
in the various ministries where we are engaged.”
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More on the Feast Day and Il Perdono (the Portiuncula Indulgence): The small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (Our Lady of the Angels) was very dear to St. Francis of Assisi. He referred to it as the Portiucula (aka “Little Portion” and pictured at right) and it is considered the cradle of the Franciscan Order. In 1209, as the quarters of Rivo Torto became too small for the newly forming Religious Order, St. Francis obtained from the Benedictines the use of the Portiuncula, for which he paid a basket of fish. The chapel and the surrounding small parcel of land were is disrepair. Just as he had done at San Damiano, St. Francis rebuilt the chapel, adding small huts (cells) and enclosing it all in a protective hedge. It was there that St. Francis gained a more vivid understanding of his own vocation. He held the annual meetings of the friars (Chapters) there and it is where he desired to spend his final earthly moments; dying in his nearby cell October 3, 1226.
St. Francis felt that the Portiuncula was a place filled with God’s grace. In 1216, at the request of St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Honorius granted special privilege (plenary indulgence – a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins) to all those who would visit the little chapel.
Although limited to include from noon on August 1st to midnight on August 2nd, the privilege continues to be granted to this day; not only to those who visit the Portiuncula, but to anyone who visits any church where Franciscan Friars live and minister. To receive this privilege (for yourself or for someone else – living or deceased), in addition to the visit, one must receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation within several weeks of the Feast Day, go to Mass and receive the Eucharist, recite the Our Father and Apostles Creed, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father.
The beautiful Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (below) that now surrounds the Portiuncula chapel was begun in 1569 (completed in 1684) by decree of Pius V. It was meant to accommodate the huge crowds of pilgrims who came on August 2nd for Il Perdono (Portiuncula Indulgence). This is an important feast day for all Franciscans and is celebrated in Franciscan churches throughout the world.
After the Profession Liturgy, Friar Tim, Friar Franck and Friar Rich take a group photo with the Choeur de Marie Reine du Monde, of Saint Camillus Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD & Fr. James.
July 30, 2021: Three of our province friars professed their solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, in the presence of many of their confreres, family, and friends. Others were afforded the opportunity to virtually join in the celebration of Friar Timothy Blanchard, OFM Conv., Friar Franck Sokpolie, OFM Conv., and Friar Richard Rome, OFM Conv., as the Solemn Vow Liturgy was livestreamed at 11:00 a.m., from Saint Louis Church, in Clarksville, MD. Br. Tim is a friar brother who has been assigned to work in communications for our Athol Springs, NY ministry of St. Francis High School, beginning in the 2021-2022 academic yearFriar Franck and Friar Rich will continue their studies to be ordained as friar priests. More photos are posted on our Province Facebook Page.
After the Litany of the Saints, and while those to be professed still lay prostrate in front of the altar, Friar James prayed over them.
“Almighty, Eternal, Just and Merciful God, Grant to our brothers the Grace to do for Your sake what they know to be Your Will, and ever to will what is pleasing to You…“
Friar Richard Martin Rome, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Martin Kobos, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Friar Timothy John Blanchard, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Br. Jim Moore, OFM Conv. and Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv.
Friar Franck Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Eric de la Pena, OFM Conv. and Fr. Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv.
Altar Servers:
br. Cristofer M. Fernández, OFM Conv.
friar Antonio Moualeu, OFM Conv.
friar Raad Eshoo, OFM Conv.
friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv.
friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv.
friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv.
friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
friar Joseph Krondon, OFM Conv.
Choir:
Choeur de Marie Reine du Monde,
of Saint Camillus Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD
Master of Ceremonies:
Fr. Brad Milunski, OFM Conv.
Lectors:
First Reading – Mr. Kenneth Rome, father of Friar Richard
Second Reading – Fr. Santo Cricchio OFM Conv.
Intercessions – Mr. Richard Blanchard, father of Friar Timothy
A reflective moment captured by Fr. Gerry Waterman, OFM Conv.
Fr. Emanuel Vasconcelos, OFM Conv. and Fr. Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv.
Friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv.
Friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
witnessed by
Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. and Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv.
Gathering for the Noon Mass celebration, in our Chapel of The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD, were friars from all over our province, as well as several of other provinces, family members, friends, and shrine pilgrims.
It was a day of fraternal joy, virtually shared in a Livestream via our Companions of St. Anthony ministry’s Facebook page:
Rite of Simple Profession
CALLING
After the gospel the celebrant and people are seated. The Prefect of Formation calls by name the friars to be professed.
They answer: Present.
Celebrant: My dear brothers, what do you ask of the Lord and of his holy Church?
Friars to be professed: The mercy of the Lord and the grace to serve Him more faithfully in the fraternity of the Order of the Friars Minor Conventual. All: Thanks be to God
HOMILY
EXAMINATION After the homily, the friars to be professed stand and the celebrant questions them:
Celebrant: My dear brothers, you have already been consecrated to the Lord and have died to sin through Baptism. Do you wish to be more closely united to Him through the new and special title of religious profession in our Seraphic Order?
Friars: I do.
Celebrant: Do you wish to love God with all your heart in chastity, to embrace the most high poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ and His poor mother, to live in the obedience of the Son of God who place His own will into the Father’s hands, that you may follow his footprints in all things after the example of St. Francis?
Friars: I do.
Celebrant: (Acknowledging their decision the celebrant responds in these or similar words) May almighty God grant you this by His grace.
All: Amen
Celebrant: May God who has begun this good work in you bring it to fulfillment before the day of Christ Jesus.
All: Amen
Celebrant: Let us pray. [All pray for a short time in silence.]
Celebrant: Lord, look upon these men your servants who today are making their profession before the Church. In their desire to imitate your poor and crucified Son, Jesus Christ, after the example of Saint Francis, they desire to offer You their lives by following the evangelical counsels. Pour into their hearts the Spirit of your love, that they may serve you eagerly and love you sincerely. By the steadfast fulfillment and faithful observance of their vows may they advance with perfect joy along the way of love. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen
PROFESSION When he has finished the prayer, the minister is seated. Two professed friars come forward and stand nearby to assist as witnesses. Each candidate presents himself to the minister by placing their hands in his and reads the formula of profession, which they have previously written in their own hand. Since for the glory of God the Lord has given me this grace of living more perfectly and with firm will the gospel of Jesus Christ I, Friar ____________ in the presence of the assembled Friars, and into your hands, Friar James McCurry, vow for three years to live in obedience, without anything of my own, and in chastity, according to the Rule of St. Francis confirmed by Pope Honorius III and the Constitutions of the Friars Minor Conventual. Therefore, with all my heart I give myself to this brotherhood, that through the work of the Holy Spirit, the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, our Father Francis, and all the saints, and with the help of my brothers, I may fulfill my consecration to the service of God and of the Church.
Celebrant: I, in the name of the Church and our brotherhood receive your vows. And on the part of Almighty God, if you observe them, I promise you life everlasting. Receive, Michael, Edgar, Jonathan, Sebastian, the Rule of our Order, which is the book of life, a marrow of the Gospel, the way that leads to perfection, and to paradise and the pledge of an eternal covenant. By observing it faithfully may you attain the perfection of charity.
The newly professed, the witnesses and the celebrant go to the altar and sign the book of profession.
Two witnesses assist in placing the knotted cord around the waist of the newly professed.
Hymn while placing of the knotted cord – O Patriarcha O Patriarcha pauperum, Francisce,
tuis precibus auge tuorum numerum
in caritate Christi,
quos cancellatis (quos cancellatis) manibus caecutiens,
ut moriens Jacob, benedixisti.
Fr. Aidan is a friar of our Blessed Angellus of Pisa Custody.
This month, he celebrated his Golden Jubilee – 50th Ordination Anniversary.
Take a few moments to listen about his life, including his vocation story.
Watch through the end for a special blessing.
For more information on becoming a Franciscan Friar Conventual of our province,
contact Br. Nick Romeo, OFM Conv. at vocations@olaprovince.org.
This week, our province will joyfully celebrate the Simple Profession of Vows of four of our friars, as we gather at our Chapel at The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. Over the past year, friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv., friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv., friar Jonathan García Zenteno, OFM Conv., and friar Bram (taking the name Sebastian) De Backer, OFM Conv. spent a “year and a day” as Our Lady of the Angels Province Novices, in the Franciscan Friars Conventual Inter-Province Novitiate, in Arroyo Grande, CA, along with two other friars of other provinces.
On Thursday, July 29, 2021, they will profess their first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience before moving on to continue their studies at The Catholic University of America, living in community with other student friars and their formators, in Silver Spring, MD.
Keep them and their vocation journey in your continued prayers.
Friar Michael Boes, OFM Conv. is from Scotch Plains, NJ. After high school, he enrolled at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, a Benedictine foundation whose members were inspiring enough for him to join the Order after graduation. He loved the life, but took some time away from the monks while discerning a desire for a more active life. Michael has always had a service-oriented personality. Before joining the friars he trained as a Medical Technician and a Personal Care Assistant. He also worked as an assistant teacher in a number of settings, but mostly enjoyed his time working with special need and autistic children.
Friar Edgar Varela, OFM Conv. is from Phoenix, AZ. He met the Conventual friars while he was a Carmelite studying at Loyola University in Chicago, and again at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Some years after leaving the Carmelites, his continued desire for religious life inspired him to reach out to the Conventual Franciscans since he had been impressed by the fraternity they witnessed from his time together with them in school. In his free time, Edgar enjoys hiking, listening to music, playing volleyball, and experimenting with cooking and baking.
Friar Jonathan Garcia Zenteno, OFM Conv. is from Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacan, Chiapas, Mexico. He had been a Conventual friar in his home country for a number of years. After he left the community, he worked in a state office as an archivist and researcher. He also taught some classes on Franciscan history to the Poor Clares in his home town. Ingrained with the ideals of service – especially through his family’s foundation of assisting the poor with healthcare – Jonathan felt a strong desire to return to religious life. He petitioned to return to the Conventuals in the U.S., a new home country.
Friar Bram De Backer, OFM Conv. is from Zottegem, Belgium. He received a degree in theology from the Katholieke Universiteit in Louvain. Always having a great interest in mental health issues, Bram worked as a caregiver for adults with severe learning disabilities. He also ministered as a lay chaplain at a psychiatric hospital, and then served as a lay missionary in Cambodia, again working with physically disabled youth. Having discerned religious life for a number of years, he discovered the Conventuals on the Web, immediately felt attracted to their way of living out the Franciscan charism. Friar Bram will be taking a new Religious name. As of his Simple Vow Profession, he will become Friar Sebastian De Backer, OFM Conv.
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For more information on life as a Franciscan Friar Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, check out our Vocation Page and Franciscan Voice.
On Wednesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Buffalo, New York’s Niagara Square, the Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, hosted a prayer gathering for the community, in response to a high level of violence in the City of Buffalo and Western New York. Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (left) and Fr. Max Avila, OFM Conv. (right) were among those present, which included government officials and representatives of New York Pastors for Life, Buffalo Peacemakers, PeacePrints of WNY, Stop the Violence Coalition, as well as other members of area faith communities and concerned citizens. They all gathered to pray for peace and an end to the violence threatening their community. Both of these friars as assigned at our St. Francis High School, in Athol Springs, where we have six friars of our province serving in varied capacities. Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. will begin the new 2021-2022 school year as Principal and Fr. Maximilian Avila, OFM Conv. has served as an instructor there since August 2018.
July 15, 2021: On the Feast of St. Bonaventure – Seraphic Doctor of the Universal Church, in the hands of our Minister Provincial, the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv., witnessed by Friar Martin Kobos, OFM Conv. (Guardian of Mother Cabrini Friary and Pastor of Mother Cabrini Catholic Church, Shamokin, PA) and Friar Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. (Province Commission Chairman of the JPIC and Pastor of St. Patrick Parish, in Trevorton, PA & Our Lady of Hope Parish, Coal Township, PA), Our Lady of the Angels Province friar, Fr. Angelo Geiger, OFM Conv. professes his Solemn Vows as a Franciscan Friar Conventual and takes the name Friar Timothy Geiger, OFM Conv. during the Noon Mass in our Chapel at The Shrine of St. Anthony, in Ellicott City, MD. Fr. Tim is the former Rector of The Shrine and currently serves our province as Parochial Vicar at St. Patrick Parish and Our Lady of Hope Parish.
Also on hand to celebrate were Fr. Richard-Jacob Forcier, OFM Conv. (Province Secretary, Director/Rector of The Shrine of St. Anthony and Spiritual Director of the Companions of St. Anthony), Fr. Louis Maximilian Smith, OFM Conv. (Associate Chaplain at The Catholic University of America), Fr. Tom Lavin, OFM Conv. (Guardian of St. Joseph Cupertino Friary and Chaplain of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney, MD) Br. Paschal Kolodziej, OFM Conv. (Staff Friar – The Shrine of St. Anthony), Br. Brian Newbigging, OFM Conv. (Director of Franciscan Soy Candles), Br. Douglas McMillan, OFM Conv. (In Residence at St. Joseph Cupertino Friary), friar Bram De Backer, OFM Conv. (to be Simply Professed on July 29, 2021), and Fr. Paul Schloemer, OFM Conv. (Our Lady of Consolation Province friar and Formation Director – St. Bonaventure Friary, Silver Spring, MD).
Top Row Left to Right: Br. Paschal, Fr. Louis Maximilian, Fr. Tom, friar Bram, Fr. Michael, Fr. Martin, Fr. Paul – Bottom Row Left to Right: Fr. Richard-Jacob, Fr. Tim, Fr. James, Br. Brian
Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, O.F.M.Conv., Feast of St. Bonaventure, 15 July 2021 Theme:
“Wisdom I loved and sought after from my youth, as my bride.”
Wis 8, 2-7, 16-18; Subtheme: “We speak in words taught by the Spirit interpreting spiritual things in spiritual terms.”
1 Cor 2, 6-13; Subtheme:
“You are the salt of the earth, you are the light of the world”
Mt 5, 13-19
Truth and the Justifying Power of the Subjective Conscience[1] Who is the instructress of understanding God? How do I know each person’s innermost self? Sacred Scripture answers: With Wisdom. Today, few have doubts that America has potentially dangerous enemies to religious liberty. Some are in high places. Remember how Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s ascension to the High Court bench not long ago brought promise for the future of religious liberty in America?[2] What is religious liberty? What is truth? What is conscience? These questions call for a thicker development.
If I claim that the judgment of conscience is always right, that has to mean my own truth. How does my subjective truth fit into the broader world where we are all brothers and sisters? If we think it through, this brings human existence and freedom, into the realm of something deeper. Does truth align with the justifying power of the subjective conscience?
Today we find ourselves asking: what if a person takes the judgment of conscience to be always right? What if judgments of conscience contradict each other? First, it is undisputed that a person must follow a certain conscience, or at least not act against it. Second, we are at the core of the moral problem, existence itself, and the story of our own encounter with the problem of existence.
Being Christian is to recognize that God came to fulfill the law and the prophets, … not the smallest part of the letter of the law shall be done away with (Mt. 5, 18). God cares about everyone and allows many unbelievers in good conscience. A person in good conscience can still achieve salvation. Vatican II states: the Catholic Church (NA 2) rejects nothing of what is true and holy in the different peoples and different religions, but proclaims Christ as the way, the truth and the life (Jn. 1:6).
The high road to truth challenges. To retreat into oneself may seem comfortable but does it lead to the discovery of beauty that lies in truth? Is it an imposition to have faith as a Catholic in what constitutes redemption, even a kind of punishment? If God gifts a person with faith, believing and submitting to the faith of the Catholic Church gives rise to joy and the desire to pass the faith on. [Thank God my ancestors had joy and the desire to pass on the faith to me] Living triggers tensions. Often a so called erroneous conscience appears to make life easier, happier, and more human. It is a shock to wake up to say an erroneous conscience is a real grace of God, a normal course to salvation. An erroneous conscience shelters the person from the exacting demands of truth.
Truth connects to the essence of conscience. Great witnesses attest to the Christian doctrine of living according to truth and one’s conscience. St. John Henry Newman[3] is one who chose Catholicism not as a matter of personal taste or of subjective spiritual need, but was taken by the necessity to obey recognized truth as more important than personal preferences. He listened to all views, recognized consensus, but never at the expense of truth. He had no intention to become a Catholic.
Newman’s[4] view of the papacy and the primacy of conscience may be a huge surprise. To our new saint, the papacy is based on the primacy of conscience and guarantees it. To presuppose the opposition of authority to subjectivity is to have difficulty understanding that St. John Henry Newman stands on the side of subjectivity and expresses the very freedom of the person. The truth connects authority and subjectivity. For Newman, his pivoting point is the primacy of conscience.
Fifty years ago, the voice of conscience led me to accept the duties of the Catholic priesthood. When I was ordained, I was familiar with abstract moral principles such as an erroneous conscience. Living hammers abstract principles. For one, St. John Henry Newman’s thought is unequaled on the primacy of conscience vis-a-vis a counterfeit conscience. He said it is impossible to “put into a tea cup.” With the grace of God and Franciscan formation, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Bonaventure, Bl. John Duns Scotus, and St. Maximilian M. Kolbe took deep roots and have been guides to recognition and respect of the personal quest for truth that every person has in life. Following in the tradition they laid down, as a priest, the primacy of conscience and recognition of error never left my pastoral care, especially when preaching.
In his long pastoral and writing career, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, has written about erroneous conscience with a tender heart. He analyzes in the context of tolerance, success, concern about one’s public standing and the need for the approval of public opinion at the expense of truth. These are concepts that a preacher or teacher ought never rush when trying to explain the Catholic Church’s teaching such as on the primacy of conscience. Haste can turn a person who is searching away not towards truth.
I share a story of rushing to explain Catholic teaching. I put my arguments in a “tea cup” that St. Newman warned about. Amy Coney Barrett who was not on the High Court yet, was at Mass with her family. I intended to help persons struggling to form conscience, but I confused them. Instead, I had justified the power of conscience at the expense of truth. First, conscience is not identical to personal preferences. Second, conscience cannot be reduced to some kind of personal or social advantage, or to fit in with group consensus, or to cave into political and social trends. I have never doubted that but on that particular Sunday night I dropped the ball by trying to say too much in too short a time. Justice Coney Barrett’s gentle head shake did not escape me.
Truth and the primacy of conscience in the Franciscan tradition, especially for St. Bonaventure and St. John Henry Newman, as an indisputable honorary Franciscan, guided every moment of their scholarly lives. Justice Amy Coney Barrett may never know that her subtle head gesture rightly challenged my words on conscience as using a “tea cup.” I respectfully thank her.
Living the Gospel, we learn the beauty of lessons about religious liberty, truth, and conscience, together. We are the salt of the earth, together, the light of the world, together, living in the city set on a hill, together. What we say and do cannot be hidden when we are together. If we break what appears to be the least significant of these commands and teach others to do so, we will become the least in the kingdom of God. If we fulfill and teach these commands, we shall be great in the kingdom of God (Mt 5, 19). In our post Christian culture, there is no other way to live the Gospel except together in faith.
Delivered on the Feast of St. Bonaventure, The Life Center, South Bend, IN.
eondrako@alumni.nd.edu
________________________
[1] Joseph Ratzinger, Faith and Politics (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2018), ch. 6: Truth, Values, Power, 95-130.
[2] Ken Starr, Religious Liberty in Crisis (New York: Encounter Books, 2021), see Appendix, 175-178.
[3] E. J. Ondrako, Rebuild My Church (Hobe Sound, FL: Lectio Publishing, LLC., 2021). ISBN 978-1-943901-18-0
[4] C. O’Regan, “Newman: Apostle of Fear and Trembling to Liberal Christianity” in Church Life Journal, McGrath Institute of Church Life at the University of Notre Dame (14 October 2019); “Newman and the Dis-Asters of Modernity” in C L J (10 October 2019). I endorse O’Regan as a most accurate and faithful interpreter of Newman. Proof is that he is a sought-after teacher of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Notre Dame.
Fr. Edward J. Ondrako, OFM Conventual
Research Fellow Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure, Rome
Visiting Scholar, McGrath Institute for Church Life
University of Notre Dame
July 15, 2021
Morning Mass on the Feast of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, with the friars of St. Bonaventure Friary (Toronto, ON), celebrated by Fr. Mark Steed, OFM Conv., former director of our Saint Kateri Tekakwitha National Shrine and Historic Site, in Fonda, NY.
2016 marked the 800th Anniversary of the August 2nd Portiuncula Indulgence. You will notice that our province logo incorporates the Portiuncula graphic. This is because the Portiuncula (the small chapel of St. Mary of the Angels nicknamed “Little Portion” by St. Francis of Assisi) is located within Assisi’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. Franciscans around the world celebrate August 2nd as the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Angels but we friars who are members of a province named in her honor, hold the day in special regard.
More on the Feast Day and Il Perdono (the Portiuncula Indulgence):
Congratulations!
More photos can be found on the 
On Wednesday, July 21, at 11:30 a.m. in Buffalo, New York’s Niagara Square, the Most Reverend Michael W. Fisher, of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, hosted a prayer gathering for the community, in response to a high level of violence in the City of Buffalo and Western New York. Our Lady of the Angels Province friars, Br. Michael Duffy, OFM Conv. (left) and Fr. Max Avila, OFM Conv. (right) were among those present, which included government officials and representatives of New York Pastors for Life, Buffalo Peacemakers, PeacePrints of WNY, Stop the Violence Coalition, as well as other members of area faith communities and concerned citizens. They all gathered to pray for peace and an end to the violence threatening their community. Both of these friars as assigned at our 
