Congratulations to Sr. Gretchen Trautman, newly appointed provincial for the Marianist Sisters in the United States.

Sr. Gretchen has just completed five years on the FMI General Council and was installed as the new U.S. provincial at the end of the Sisters' recent General Chapter.

We offer Sr. Gretchen our fraternal best wishes, support and prayers.

For more than 10 years now, we have had coordinators in six areas of the province: Hawai'i, St. Louis, California, Northeast, Ohio and Texas. These brothers have provided a variety of services, including meeting with local directors, organizing Marianist events, and serving as representatives of the Provincial Council at times. At the recommendation of the General Administration, we are exploring the possibility of increasing their mission and service.

As a first step, the six area coordinators -- Frs. George Cerniglia and Tim Kenney, and Bros. David Betz, Richard Thompson, Dan Klco and Jack Ventura -- will meet with the Provincial Council on Aug. 19 for a day of discussion and visioning. Thanks to these brothers for their willingness to come to St. Louis for this meeting. I'll have more to report after our meeting next week.

The Provincial Council will also meet with Fr. Tim Kenney and Bro. Jack Ventura, co-chairs of the 2018 Province Assembly. The assembly committee has been meeting regularly in recent months; stay tuned for more details.

You may be aware that Bishop Nelson Perez has been named the new bishop of Cleveland.

Bishop Perez has been serving as auxiliary bishop in the Rockville Center Diocese, home to our brothers of the Province of Meribah. The new bishop knows the Marianists well, and I understand that Fr. Garry Long has been asked by Bishop Perez to make his new crosier.

Because we now have two sponsored high schools in the diocese (Villa Angela-St. Joseph and St. Vincent-St. Mary), Bro. Tom Giardino and I plan to attend the installation if we can get tickets.

Please remember Bishop Perez in your prayers.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the province jubilee celebration in Douglaston, New York, last weekend such a happy event. The final jubilee celebration will be in Dayton on Saturday. Let's pray in gratitude for all of our 2017 jubilarians, giving thanks for their witness and service.

Jubilarians at New York celebration

Some of our sponsored ministries will be starting a new academic year soon. Best of luck for a good beginning! Let's also keep in mind the preparations underway for the General Chapter next July. More information about the chapter will be sent when it's received from the preparatory committee.

I am pleased to announce that the Provincial Council has approved Bro. Armando Añeses' request for ordination to the priesthood.
     
The Mass of Ordination will be Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. at Parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Río Piedras. Archbishop Roberto O. González Nieves, OFM, of San Juan de Puerto Rico, will be the ordaining prelate.

There will be a Mass of Thanksgiving in Puerto Rico on Sept. 24 at Parroquia San Carlos Borromeo in Aguadilla. Armando will also celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at Our Lady of the Pillar in St. Louis on Oct. 7 as part of the Directors Weekend.  Watch for more information on the St. Louis celebration in the coming weeks.

Let us join in prayer with Armando as he prepares to answer this call of priestly service in the Society of Mary and the Church.

Any brother planning to attend the ordination should know the province will cover the cost of up to three nights lodging in Puerto Rico. All other travel expenses would be a responsibility of the individual brother. There will be information about lodging enclosed with the invitations.

If you are interested in a great late-summer read, there is one coming your way soon. Really!

When I was in Rome recently for the meeting of the SM assistants for education, I received a copy of the book, "Identity of Marianist Education: Roots and Heritage." I read it cover to cover. I was fascinated by what I learned, and I was encouraged for what we are about in our educational ministries. I was charmed by the section, "A Day in the Classroom, Around 1830."

This is Volume 4 of the series published by our General Administration titled, "Marianist Education Heritage and Future." It is the last of the eight-volume series that was sent to communities and educational ministries in 2015. Volume 4 is being sent to your community this week and will also be sent to our educational ministries.

You may also want to dip into it via the electronic versions available in both pdf and e-book versions.

We're pleased to invite you to the official opening of the Marianist Archives in San Antonio. We encourage local brothers, as well as Marianist Sisters, affiliates, MEAs and Lay Marianists to mark their calendars for this event:

For some time now, the Provincial Council has been reviewing our situation at the Siena Woods health care facility in Dayton. 

We have communicated to the administration at Siena Woods and to the brothers of that community that we are seriously considering a move to St. Leonard Center in Centerville. Bro. Paul Hoffman and the core team at Siena Woods have been involved in these discussions, along with the members of the Chapter temporalities committee.   

Although we've not made a final decision, we wanted to share this news with the wider province. When we first moved to Mercy Siena many years ago, we favored its Catholic and private character. We hope that this can once again be the environment for our brothers if we move to St. Leonard.

I'll let you know more as the decision-making process unfolds.