Franciscan Friars

Province of the Immaculate Conception

Provincial Update April 2023

There is also a community aspect to going to the movie theater.  Hearing the people reacting to certain scenes- whether it is laughter or any other emotion, can also provoke these same emotions in ourselves.  Going to the theater with friends also enhances the experience.  Perhaps after the movie, we are accustomed to going out for a bite to eat.  Whatever the preference is, there are pros and cons to going out to a movie theater versus staying at home.

Unfortunately, this attitude seems to be endemic to our society.  Shopping centers and malls are closing with the proliferation of online shopping.  Certainly, while Amazon may be doing a booming business, there is also a loss of interpersonal relations when it comes to shopping on the computer.

We have all heard of the problems of our young people whose sole relationships come from such online applications as Facebook, Twitter, and even TikTok.  Living here in Manhattan we constantly see people walking down the streets with their noses buried in their phones- not paying attention to anyone or anything which may be happening around them. 

This becomes a problem for the church also.  Although during the Covid crisis, many churches adapted to online or zoom broadcasts of Masses and services, and today this seems to have continued.  Not that these things aren’t valuable, especially to the aged and shut-ins, but many people still have not come back to church. 

Certainly, this is not something new.  For years educators argued against home schooling- how our children are deprived of the socialization that comes from being with other children, of participating in school activities and sports, and how many of our teens seem lonely and isolated.

We know that a big aspect of our lives as humans is that we are social beings. We cannot live quality lives in isolation- yes, we need one another.  This is why God, from the very beginning, called a “People”- Israel, to be His own, and that is why Jesus established a “Church”- a community of believers.  Any reading of Acts of the Apostles reminds us of the importance of this.  And we can ask, how can we love one another and practice all of the Christian virtues of compassion, and caring, and empathy if we don’t come into contact with one another.

And that is why St. Francis founded an order.  Certainly, we may think we can live in poverty, chastity, and obedience by ourselves- and maybe for some, living alone may be easier, but in fact, this was not the model God gave us or the model Jesus commanded when he said “Love one another.”  And certainly, St. Francis saw the great value of living in community.

The lesson of the Easter season is clear- we are called to be people of the Resurrection and New Life by bringing the love of God to others, by living in fraternity and sharing the love of Christ with others.

Happy Spring!

News from the Convento San Francesco

Dear brothers 

The Lord has risen, he has truly risen. 

And with the joy of the risen Christ, we begin the Easter Season within the Church and continue on our formative journey. 

In this month, we have lived many experiences that have helped us to enter into communion with the life of our Province, the Order and the Church. 

In the middle of March, we had the fraternal visit of Fr. Octavio Salinas OFM, who is parochial vicar of Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, and assistant in the formation of postulants in our province. We had the opportunity to receive our brother who also serenaded us with his lovely voice and singing.  

On March 24 the youngest of our community is growing up: Fra Aldair “Ciuffo” turned 24 years old. We are grateful for the gift of life and the vocation of our brother. As is the custom, we celebrated a delicious lunch prepared by our dear Daniela, accompanied by a good chocolate cake. 

During Holy Week, in preparation for Easter, we participated in our Lenten spiritual retreat, together with the students of the Franciscan provinces of southern Italy. We were received in the Convent of the Holy Trinity of Baronissi, Salerno. The retreat was preached by Don Franco, rector of the diocesan seminary of Nola. The theme of the meditations was on the Rule of Saint Francis in the light of the Resurrection. 

After the retreat, the Guardian and Master gave us the opportunity to experience various ministries around Italy, where we would also live the Easter Triduum: four of us went to Milan to the parish of Lachiarella, two to Benevento to the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie and six to various ministries throughout Calabria. It was truly an enriching experience on a spiritual level, of communion with the People of God and the Order. What moved us the most was the generosity and affection of the people who awaited our arrival. 

In short brothers, as we continue our journey, the light of Christ continues to guide us. We ask for your prayers, just as we continue to pray for you all. A brotherly embrace to all. 

Peace and good, 

Br. Kevin Gabriel González V. 

Photos below: Palm Sunday at the General Curia

Holy Week in Calabria,Benevento, and Milano.

ESC Provincials Meet in Dublin, Ireland

From April 17-21, the Provincial Ministers of the English Speaking Conference of the Order met in Dublin, Ireland. Above is a photo of the group.

Custody of the Holy Land’s Cultural Heritage Office establishes Museum

 Hidden Treasures Now Can be seen by the Public

Fr. Stephane Milovitch, O.F.M., Director of the Cultural Heritage Office for the Custodia Terrae Sanctae in Jerusalem has establish a museum to share the great treasures of the Holy Land with the public.  A group of foreign guests were treated to some of the artifacts which have been part of the eight hundred year history of the Franciscan Order of Friars Minors as Custodians of the Holy Land.

Fr. Stephane revealed a chasuble that is part of the collection of vestments that the Bishop of Parish, France, wore for the marriage ofg Napoleon II with the Empress Eugienie and which the Empress later donated to the Church in the Holy Land.  

The gift was part of an imperial tradition, it turns out, that accounts for no small number of European religious art, objects and other treasures collected and preserved in the Holy Land, even as similar treasures back home were lost, looted and destroyed over the course of European history.   Many of these objects were cared for by the Franciscans in the Holy Land, including a collection of 13 church bells dating back to the Middle Ages that were discovered hidden in Bethlehem and have traveled to some of the great museums of the world. 

But now they will have a permanent home in Jerusalem, as the Custody of the Holy Land moves forward with creating a new Historical Section of its popular Terra Sancta Museum, which opened to the public in 2017 and is situated at the Church of the Flagellation, the first station on the Way of the Cross. Until now, that section has been limited to archeological artifacts from the first millennium. 

The new section of the museum will serve as a point of dialogue and exchange with the local Arab, Jewish and Christian communities — as well as pilgrims and visitors of all faiths and backgrounds who come to Jerusalem to explore its history and cultures. 

The Holy City has its Jewish Museum and a Museum for Jewish Art, but as Father Stéphane likes to say of the need for a Christian-sponsored historical museum in the Holy Land: “If you aren’t present, you don’t exist.”

“We want to make a Christian museum here in Jerusalem so there is something Christian to occupy the space of culture even if you are only one-and-a-half percent of the population.  The Church is still here and has 2,000 years of presence here; it can be a bridge with the different communities.”

The Franciscan Friars arrived in the Holy Land in the 13th century and have had an uninterrupted presence here for the subsequent eight centuries. During that time, they have occupied a unique footing as caretakers of the holy places, a source of spiritual care to pilgrims from abroad, and of service to the local Christian communities of the region, including Bethlehem and Jerusalem. 

Today, the Custody cares for some 50 Christian shrines and parishes. Until 1850, it was the only Catholic religious order serving the Holy Land. That meant the Franciscans were in a unique position to serve as a voice for the Church with the various Islamic and other dynasties — some of which had hostile relations with Catholicism following the Crusader era. 

Over the centuries, European monarchs sent gifts and religious treasures for use in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which have been preserved here. But the Custody also preserved centuries of its own archives, containing singular records of communications with the local dynasties as well as baptismal and marriage documents of the local Christian community. 

One well-preserved collection is that of some 450 earthenware pharmaceutical pots from the 17th and 18th centuries, underscoring the role played by the Friars as medical doctors and pharmacies: The first friar-doctor sent to the Holy Land by Pope Pius II in 1460 was Brother Baptist of Lubeck. The medically trained friars cared for visiting pilgrims as well as local residents. 

“We had the biggest pharmacy in the Middle East,” Father Stephane said with pride. “Even today the Christian hospital, St. Joseph, receives patients from many cultures. Many women go to give birth at St. Joseph Hospital but also many Muslims from the West Bank come to be cured. We try to make bridges with the community. We would like to display the pharmacy and how it used to be before. Through some works of art, we can show the Church took care of the body and health of everybody, and not just since the Second Vatican Council but even before.” 

The new Historical Section of the Terra Sancta Museum will be installed in the heart of the Franciscan headquarters at St. Saviour’s Monastery. It will be divided into two parts: the history and mission of the Custody of the Holy Land, and the Treasures of the Holy Sepulchre. 

Rare collections of paintings, sculptures, archival documents, gifts from European courts — even a 13th century gilded copper crosier of the bishop of Bethlehem — will allow pilgrims to deepen their knowledge of the sanctuaries and discover the beauty of the liturgy in the Holy Land, according to the museum’s organizers. There is also a research element to the project with international partners anxious to assist and learn from the collection. Likewise, researchers from France are keen to explore the local icons produced in Jerusalem over the centuries and to understand how the Jerusalem school of iconography compares with other iconography styles. 

The museum also will include an extensive collection of locally produced mother-of-pearl religious objects along with Palestinian jewelry. Mother-of-pearl craftsmanship was introduced by the Franciscans in the 16th century to enable Christian families in Bethlehem to support themselves. That art is now part of Palestinian cultural heritage. 

The Franciscan collection also includes a one-of-a-kind set of written communications with the Mamluk Sultanate dynasty from Egypt, which held sway in the Holy Land but for which little documentation survived. 

Cabrini Center of Westchester Hosts

Mass for Renewal of Vows with

Friars Patrick Boyle and Angelo Monti.

On April 3, 2023, Cabrini Center, Located in Dobbs Ferry, hosted a special Mass and celebration for resident religious and priests living at the facility.  Friar Angelo Monti has been here recuperating before his transfer from Kolbe Friary in Mt. Vernon and the Franciscan Mission Associates, where he has been working for many years, to St. Christopher Friary in Boston.  Present for the Mass was Fr. Patrick Boyle, Vicar Provincial.  The main celebrant for the Mass was Bishop John S. Bonnici, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of New York.  The welcome was given by Patricia Krasnausky, President and CEO of the Cabrini Center.  There are several priests and brothers at the Cabrini Center, including friars from Holy Name Province.  

Fr. Rafael Fernandez, O.F.M., Pastor of Iglesia Inmaculada Concepcion in Ataco, Ahuachapan, El Salvador, sent photos of the parish's Forty Hours Devotion, held on March 25-26. It was the first time since the pandemic, almost 3 years without celebrating these Eucharistic moments. It was a true blessing and an expression of faith from all the faithful of the local people, not only of the parish but Ataco and its surrounding areas. On Saturday March 25 they went out at night with the Blessed Sacrament visiting houses and altars; it was a very blessed time.

On the 1st of April 2023, Madeline Bonnici, a dedicated First Order affiliate, celebrated an incredible milestone: 60 years of service to the Franciscan Mission Associates (FMA). Madeline has spent 37 of those years as the Executive Director, but her dedication to the organization began even before that, as a volunteer when FMA first started in the basement of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Mount Vernon, NY.

On April 5th, Fr. Robert, the Provincial, celebrated a Mass for benefactors at the FMA office. This was followed by a surprise celebration. Fr. Robert presented Madeline with a beautiful Crystal Tower, etched with a dedication that read: “to celebrate 60 years of inspiring excellence and unwavering devotion to Franciscan Mission Associates and the Province of the Immaculate Conception.”

Despite her reluctance to draw attention to herself, Madeline enjoyed a simple breakfast and cake with her colleagues and friends, who were thrilled to honor her remarkable dedication and service to FMA, the Province of Immaculate Conception and the Province’s Missions.

Throughout her six decades of service, Madeline has been an integral part of FMA's growth and success, guiding the organization through various challenges and helping to expand its reach and impact. Her tireless dedication to the Franciscan ideals has made a profound impact on countless lives. May her example continue to guide and inspire us as we work towards building a more just, compassionate, and loving world.

Take time to wish our brothers born in May a very

 Happy Birthday!

Courtland Campbell - May 6th - 68

Luis Antonio Hernandez- May 6th-37

Gabriel Rojas Mendieta- May 20- 36

Richard Donovan - May 26th - 71