St. Francis felt a call to be a missionary. He desired with his whole heart, mind and soul to spread the Good News, especially to those who had never heard of Jesus Christ. In 1219, he set out for the Middle East, where he met the Sultan and fulfilled his dream of preaching the Good News to the Saracens.

Inspired by the example of St. Francis and imbued with his missionary spirit, friars of Our Lady of the Angels Province have responded to the call to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth. In the fall of 1952, friars traveled to Japan and established foreign mission. The province’s desire to assist in the Church’s missionary effort is still strong.

In the fall of 1976, friars departed the States for Ghana, West Africa, to establish the Franciscan presence there. In recent years both of these missions have become Custodies of their own and no longer require direct sponsorship. However the support did not end there. In recent years, a grant assisted our Ghannaian confreres in purchasing some books for their library serving the novices in Saltpond, Ghana, West Africa. We still have friars serving and a strong support in Brazil.

In 2011, our friars gave our Jamaica Mission and Parish back into the hands of the Archdiocese of Kingston. We are blessed to be able to continue to support the needs of the Jamaican people through the Cupertino Education Program and the Fasini Feeding Program that will be funded as a sign of our continued presence and service.

Through the last several years, Our Lady of the Angels Province has promoted specific support for Russia, Brazil, Ghana and Uganda, as we sponsored friars working in those areas, who were in the U.S.A. preaching in parishes on the East Coast. Through the Franciscan Mission Association the friars offer much needed financial assistance to former missions as well as to missionaries in Sri Lanka, Kenya, Peru, the Philippines and Honduras. The province also assists with the missionary works of friars around the globe in addition to our continued help and supportive ministry to the poor here in the United States.