News from the Convento San Francesco

Dear Brothers:

Little by little, the academic year is coming to a close at our convent of St. Francis, and although fatigue is becoming evident as we go through this exam period, this has not dampened the celebratory spirit of certain events.

From May 20 to 22, we welcomed the visit of the Provincial Minister, Br. Patrick Boyle, who participated in the meeting of new provincials and paid a fraternal visit to our house of formation.

On May 20, we celebrated the birthday of our brother Gabriel Rojas, a senior theology student.

On the 23rd, we were at the Church of Santi Quaranta Martiri to lead the liturgy of the Pentecost Vigil through singing and altar service. Afterward, the community invited us to dinner with them.

On Sunday, the 24th, the Solemnity of Pentecost, our brother Eduardo Alvarado, a student in the Master’s program in Sacred Scripture, celebrated his birthday.

Continuing with the list of those celebrated, June 8 was the birthday of Br. Pierre Farrugia, Master of Students and Provincial Definitor.

Finally, on June 13, we celebrated the name day of Fr. Antonio Riccio, Guardian of our Convent, with a fraternal lunch.

We give thanks to God for the gift of life and the vocation of each brother, and we ask for your prayers so that we may successfully conclude this academic year and begin our experience as a family and in the various communities of the Province.

Br. Manuel Eduardo Alvaraado, O.F.M.

Mark Your Calendars

Upcoming dates

June 29, 2026- Convento San Francesco, Rome

Renewal of Vows of temporary professed brothers

Fr. Antonio Riccio, O.F.M., Guardian, has been delegated to receive their vows

October 10, 2026 Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua, Rome

Solemn Profession of Vows of Br. Dagoberto Hernandez Lopez, O.F.M.; Br. Efrain Gabriel Rojas Mendieta, O.F.M; and Br. Kevin Ottoniel Hernandez, O.F.M.

October 11, 2026 Basilica of Saint Peter, Vatican City

Ordination to the Diaconate of Br. Dagoberto Hernandez Lopez, O.F.M.; Br. Efrain Gabriel Rojas Mendieta, O.F.M; and Br. Kevin Ottoniel Hernandez, O.F.M.

Ordaining Bishop: Most Rev. Mauro Cardinal Gambetti, O.F.M. Conv., Archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter.

Regional Meetings

 As recommended by the Visitator General and approved by the Provincial Chapter of 2025, it was decided at the meeting of the PRovincial Definitorium, held at the Provincial Curia on June 2, 2026, to re-activate the regional meetings of the Province. The Definitorium appointed the following as coordinators for each region. It will be simply their duty to schedule the first meeting. At these meetings, the region can then elect their own regional coordinator. 

           New York Downstate- Michael Corcione 

           Upstate- Wappingers, Troy, Winsted- Mario Julian

           New England- Boston, NH- Michael Ledoux

           Canada - Charles Grech

           Central America-  Rafael Fernandez

Ohio Region- Includes three friars in Youngstown and Fr. Charles Soto

           Vit Fiala

Franciscan Martyrs of Georgia to be beatified in October

The five Spanish Franciscan friars collectively known as the “Georgia Martyrs” will be beatified in Savannah, Georgia, on Oct. 31, according to a recent Vatican announcement.

Cardinal Francis Leo of the Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada, will celebrate the beatification, according to the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

In September 1597, the five Franciscans were killed for defending the sanctity of marriage at a mission in present-day Georgia. In January 2025, Pope Francis recognized Father Pedro de Corpa, Father Blas Rodríguez, Father Miguel de Añon, Brother Antonio de Badajóz, and Father Francisco de Veráscola as martyrs.

The missionaries left their homes in Spain to evangelize and minister to the Indigenous people, about two decades before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. They lived among the native Gaule people along the coast of Georgia, evangelizing, catechizing, and providing sacraments. Often a single Franciscan friar would serve in a village of 1,000, according to the Georgia Martyrs website.

Conflict arose when an heir to a Guale chiefdom, a young Indigenous man named Juanillo, sought to take a second wife as was the Guale custom. Father de Corpa told him that as a baptized Christian, he couldn’t have multiple wives and that he would oppose his succession as chief if he persisted.

In response, Juanillo killed the priest with a stone hatchet on Sept. 14, 1597. He and a band of men proceeded to attack the other Guale missions in the area, killing all of the friars except one, Francisco de Avila, whom they kidnapped and tortured for 10 months until the governor of St. Augustine secured his release.

De Avila refused to testify against the men in a trial because he knew they would be put to death. His personal account of the episode would later be used as a source by Luís Gerónimo de Oré in The Martyrs of Florida (c. 1619). Though the original manuscript was never recovered, it, along with two other primary sources, are the principal sources of information for the martyrs’ stories.

The cause for canonization of the Georgia Martyrs officially began in 1950. A documentary of their lives, For the Sake of the Gospel, released in 2024.

Province-Wide Under 10 Gathering

(Lynn, MA) – August 9–12, 2026

In response to the recommendations of the 2025 Provincial Chapter, and with the encouragement of the Provincial Minister, the Province will host a Province-Wide Under 10 Gathering from August 9–12, 2026, in Lynn, Massachusetts. This time will provide space for prayer, dialogue, and shared reflection on our life and ministry as younger friars, fostering ongoing accompaniment, mutual support, and a renewed spirit of fraternity within the Province.

While our pastoral and missionary commitments in parishes and other ministries remain central to our vocation, this gathering highlights the essential place of fraternal life and ongoing formation. Strengthening relationships among friars in similar stages of formation and ministry sustains our shared vocation and helps us remain grounded in our identity as brothers sent together in mission.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP in response to the email invitation sent by the Secretary of the Province for logistical planning and hospitality purposes.

We hope many of you will be able to join us for this time together in fraternity.

Province Retreat Marking the EIghth Centenary of the Transitus

September 8-11, 2026

Mount Alvernia Retreat Center, Wappingers Falls

“St. Francis and the Grace of

Being Stripped and Clothed Anew”

Brothers, please mark your calendars and get the coverage needed so that you can join us at Wappingers Falls Monday, Sept. 7^th arrival day. (Late arrival Tuesday, September 8th before noon.) to Friday, Sept. 11 (departure after breakfast) for a fraternal gathering and retreat in honor of the 800th anniversary of the death of Francis. The retreat will be facilitated by our own Michael Della Penna and Rick Martignetti, who will likely be joined also by one of our Franciscan sisters. Please contact guardian Mario Julian as soon as you know when you will arrive. Let’s make every effort to attend and celebrate the gift of our brotherhood during this historic moment in our Order’s history. God’s peace to you!

Fr. Claudio Moser, O.F.M.., a member of the Province of Saint Anthony of the Friars Minor, Trento, Italy, died May 22, 2026 at the age of 87. Our friars will remember him fondly for his many years of fraternity and ministry in our own province, before returning to his home Province in 2024.

Fr. Claudio came to our Province in 1969 and ministered at Saint Leonard Church in the North End of Boston. In 1977 he was assigned to Toronto, Canada, where he served as an associate pastor of Saint Charles Borromeo Church, and then as pastor of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal and Saint Peter Church. In addition to his pastoral ministry, Fr. Claudio served the province as guardian, procurator, formation director, and treasurer of the Saint Francis Foundation of Toronto.  

                                                                                                                                                When Fr. Claudio decided in 2024 to return to his home province, in Italy, Fr. Robert Campagna, O.F.M., Provincial Minister, wrote these words in a letter read at his farewell Mass: “I can only imagine the thousands of people who have been touched by your ministry, those you baptized, couples that you married, grieving families that you consoled at funerals, young people you instructed in the faith, and all those who through the years came to know and love God through your preaching and example. Even more than your own ministry, the example of faithful service to the Gospel that you demonstrated through the years as a Franciscan Friar and priest stands as a testimony to the love that God has for all of us and the love that you have for God’s people. You have been and remain a shining example of sacrifice, Christian charity, and service to the poor and the needy. You will never be forgotten by all those who have been touched by your life.”

Let us all remember our brother, Fr. Claudio, in our Masses and prayers. May he rest in the peace of Christ.

July Birthdays

Take time to wish our brothers a Happy Birthday!

John Bucchino - July 2 (81)

Albert Gauci - July 7 (79)

Joseph LaGressa - July 10 (78)

Francis Walter- July 13 (76)

Kevin Leonel Flores Godoy - July 22 (31)

Michael Corcione - July 23 (65)

Jose Alvin Te - July 25 (52)

Primo Piscitello - July 27 (92)

Claude Scrima - July 28 (92)

BROTHERS:

Please print out a copy of this newsletter to share with those in your community who do not have email. We hope that every friar in our province will have access to the Newsletter and that a printed copy will be posted on your friary bulletin board.

Thank you