News from the Convento San Francesco

Mission Accomplished… and a Hope Renewed

Greetings from Rome!

This summer has been one of gratitude and quiet joy. We congratulate our three brothers—Kevin, Gabriel, and Dagoberto—who successfully completed their theological studies at the Pontifical Antonianum, each culminating in the successful defence of his thesis. It was a proud moment for our Province and a reminder that years of study, fraternity, and perseverance bear fruit. As they now prepare for Solemn Profession and Ordination in October, we ask all the friars to keep them in prayer.

Following their academic work, the brothers have been serving in the fraternities of San Damiano and Le Carceri in Assisi before beginning their final retreat preparations. Meanwhile, the friary in Rome has entered its quieter summer rhythm. Our student friars are visiting family and then heading to their pastoral assignments. Antonio is enjoying a well-deserved visit to his hometown of Benevento, and we have had the blessing of welcoming visiting families as well as a number of “Under Ten” friars travelling to and from the international Chapter in Assisi.

A particular source of encouragement has been the experience of Br. Daniel Cavalieri, who served on the Preparatory Commission for the 6th Under Ten Chapter of Mats at the request of the Order. His reflections reveal that the strongest theme to emerge from months of worldwide listening and discernment was fraternity. As Daniel wrote, regardless of whether the friars were speaking about their greatest challenges, deepest joys, or hopes for the future, “fraternity consistently emerged as the central concern.”

That conviction found its way into the Chapter’s final message. The assembled friars recognized that “the first conversion to which the Lord calls us today is to a renewal of our personal and community relationship with him in the evangelical quality of our fraternal life.” They challenged one another to build communities marked by prayer, mutual care, co-responsibility, and service, so that our friaries become true homes where brothers can be accompanied, healed, and strengthened for mission.

Daniel also spoke enthusiastically of the desire among younger friars to know one another better, to deepen fraternity across cultures, and to discern together how to live the Franciscan vocation in today’s world. That same hope echoes in the Chapter’s concluding affirmation that “the Franciscan vocation continues to be beautiful, meaningful, and necessary.”

As Secretary for Formation and Studies, I found this particularly encouraging. Formation does not conclude with solemn profession or academic studies; it continues wherever brothers pray together, listen to one another, and encourage one another to live the Gospel more authentically. Seeing our own brothers complete their studies while witnessing the enthusiasm of younger friars from across the world has been a beautiful reminder that the future of the Order is not built merely upon programmes, but upon brothers who truly believe the Chapter’s simple yet profound motto:

“You are all brothers.”

Please continue to keep our brothers in your prayers as they prepare for the next steps in their Franciscan journey.

Peace and all good!

Pierre 

Mark Your Calendars

Upcoming dates

September 8, 2026 San Damiano, Assisi

Reception into the Novitiate of Br. Oscar Gomez

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 in June, 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 four friars in Youngstown /Pittsburgh

           Vit Fiala

UNDER 10 CHAPTER OF MATS HELD IN ASSISI

The VI OFM Under Ten Chapter of Mats was held in Assisi, Italy, from 4 to 12 July 2026, in a context of particular significance for the entire Franciscan Family: the commemoration of the eight hundredth anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi. This anniversary offered an opportunity to renew the spirit that inspired the mission of the Poverello and to rediscover the vitality of a vocation which, through the centuries, continues to generate fraternity, service, and hope in the world.  Representing our own province were Brs. Daniel Cavalieri and Marco Antonio Gomez. Daniel was also part of the organizing team who coordinated the Chapter. Congratulations, Dan. Good job.

The gathering brings together friars of the Order of Friars Minor with fewer than ten years of solemn profession, coming from the various Entities and Conferences of the Order. In this commemorative and jubilee context, the Chapter of Mats presents itself as a privileged space to live international fraternity in a concrete way, to discern the challenges of our time, and to rekindle the Franciscan missionary commitment in today’s world.

The VI OFM Under Ten Chapter of Mats has three fundamental objectives. First, to offer participants an authentic experience of internationality and interculturality: the Order of Friars Minor is present in many countries and cultures, and this diversity is a spiritual and human richness that reflects the universality of the Franciscan charism. Bringing together friars from different regions of the world makes it possible to discover the beauty of a fraternity that transcends borders, languages, and cultural contexts. 

Second, the Under Ten Chapter seeks to open a space for reflection on the realities lived by young friars within the Order. The hopes, difficulties, and challenges that arise in fraternal and missionary life need to be listened to and discerned together, in a synodal spirit that values the voice and experience of each brother. From shared discernment, concrete proposals may emerge to be offered to the Entities, the Conferences, and the General Chapter of 2027. 

Finally, the gathering aims to be a celebration of the gift of the Franciscan missionary vocation: a time of gratitude and renewal, in which friars are called to reaffirm their commitment to universal fraternity, the promotion of peace, and a solidarity-based presence on the world’s peripheries.

Message from the “Under 10 Chapter”

Gathered in Assisi, in this year in which the Franciscan Family celebrates the VIII Centenary of the Easter of St. Francis of Assisi, we, Friars Minor with less than ten years of solemn profession (Under Ten), coming from the five continents of the world, wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, the Vicar General, Br. Ignacio Ceja, the Brothers of the General Definitory, and the Seraphic Province of St. Francis for their hospitality. We would like to thank our Ministers Provincial and Custodes, for the opportunity they have given us to live this beautiful experience of universal fraternity in the VI Under Ten Chapter of Mats, with the motto: “You are all brothers”.

The Most High, omnipotent, and good Lord summoned us to this land that saw the birth of St. Francis and St. Clare. We have come as delegates of our Entities, bringing with us the stories, the joys, the wounds, the questions, and the hopes of the other Under Ten brothers, to listen together to what the Spirit is saying to the Order today.

During these days, we prayed with the Word, shared the Eucharist, recounted our vocational stories, discussed the challenges of our time, and visited the places where St. Francis discovered the Gospel as a way of life. Doing so, we have returned to the Franciscan sources of our vocation and our mission, renewing the desire to follow Christ in the way of St Francis.

In sharing our vocation stories, we have recognized that God continues to call through the witness of authentic brothers and sisters, joyful and close to the people: a credible Franciscan life constitutes the first vocation ministry, capable not only of attracting new vocations, but of accompanying and sustaining them with fidelity.

In our common discernment, we discovered that the first conversion to which the Lord calls us today is to a renewal of our personal and community relationship with him in the evangelical quality of our fraternal life. Rather than multiplying works or responding to new challenges, we are called to return to the Gospel lived in fraternity, making our communities places where prayer, listening, mutual care, co-responsibility, and service truly express that we are brothers and sisters.

On this same journey, we have recognized that authority among us is only truly evangelical when it is lived as service: a closeness that cares for the dignity of each brother or sister, listens before making decisions, promotes co-responsibility and animates a culture of respect and accompaniment, beginning with the service of the Guardian, called to be a sign of communion and fraternity.

We are aware of the tensions we experience in our fraternities – activism, individualism, superficiality in communication, unhealed wounds, clericalism, or generational distances – but we have also discovered that if we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Spirit, fraternity recovers its evangelizing force.

We want our fraternities to be a home, and not just a structure: places where each brother can confidently express his weariness, crises, and wounds without fear of judgment and to allow himself to be accompanied – also with professional help when necessary. A fraternity where the brother can allow himself to be healed in order to be able, in turn, to accompany others.

We have also reflected on the peripheries of our time: the poor, the migrants, the victims of violence, the common home, those who seek meaning in the midst of digital culture, and those who live without hope. We feel the desire to renew our missionary vocation to evangelize and to be evangelized, so as to be present where humanity suffers and where the Gospel needs to be proclaimed with credible words, a coherent life, and a language capable of reaching people’s hearts.

The Spirit has helped us to discover that digital culture, artificial intelligence, and the care of creation are scenarios in which we are called to live and proclaim the Gospel. We want to be present in these spaces with a humble, fraternal, and contemplative Franciscan presence, which always proclaims Christ before ourselves. A presence that utilizes technology as an instrument at the service of the person and the mission, used responsibly and soberly, which also promotes the care of our Common Home as an expression of our fraternity and solidarity with all creation.

In an increasingly connected world, we wish to be brothers capable of foresting encounter, authentic and personal relationships, hope and communion, a people convinced that the witness of an evangelical life remains the most credible proclamation of the Gospel.

To sustain this journey, we feel the need for an initial and ongoing formation that integrates the elements of prayer, fraternity, mission, and human maturity. A formation that educates for the service of authority, discernment, and co-responsibility, and that prepares for a mature evangelical presence in digital culture.

We believe that the Spirit continues to stir up creativity, missionary passion and hope in our Order. As we approach the General Chapter of 2027, we wish to offer, in a spirit of co-responsibility, the fruits of the discernment lived during this VI Chapter of Mats. Thus, we present the following proposals, born of prayer, listening to the Word, fraternal dialogue, and the shared search for God’s will, as a humble contribution to the renewal of our life and mission.

Proposal to the Entities:

• To strengthen a quality ongoing formation for the Under Ten friars through a specific itinerary of human, fraternal and missionary accompaniment, capable of responding to the challenges of the different cultural realities of the Order, as well as those of mental health and integral care.

Proposal to the Conferences:

• Establish interprovincial and international collaboration through exchange projects for friars (even for extended periods), common formation projects, pastoral and missionary projects, sharing of experiences and language learning.

Proposal to the 2027 General Chapter:

• To promote the participation of Under Ten representatives of each Conference in the General Chapter.
• To revise the Ratio formationis in harmony with the Ratio evangelizationis, so that it offers adequate responses to the challenges of the digital world and promotes an ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence.

At the conclusion of this VI Chapter of the Mats, we return to our fraternities with a renewed desire to live the Gospel, convinced that the Franciscan vocation continues to be beautiful, meaningful, and necessary. With Mary, Queen of Angels and under the protection of our Father St. Francis and St. Clare, we return to our homes and friaries carrying the same certainty in our hearts: “You are all brothers”.

Peace and all Good!

The Under Ten brothers

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.

Hello Brothers, may the Lord give you peace! From June 5-7 the vocation team was pleased to welcome 3 men discerning our Franciscan religious life. Their names were Maxwell, Jeff, and Dan. It was held at St. Christopher's Friary in Boston. It was a beautiful weekend full of fraternity, wonderful conversations, and the men on the retreat growing in their calling that the Lord has put on their hearts. We started off the weekend on Friday with pizza and a reflection by Fr. Rick on Francis that then opened up to us all sharing our stories, which is always moving to hear how the Lord has moved in the hearts of each person. Then on Saturday, after Morning Prayer and Mass with the community we went to Blessed Sacrament Parish in Manchester, NH, where Fr. John welcomed us, made us a wonderful lunch, and helped us to reflect with the guys some more. He also gave us a tour of his church which is always so nice to visit. After returning to the North End, we had Evening Prayer with Adoration. Following this, we headed over to the parish hall of St. Leonard's to bid farewell to a young parishoner named Fernando, who is going to be entering with the Benedictine community in New Jersey. It was packed with young adults and was a wonderful time of meeting new people and a beautiful testament to how our parishes continue to foster vocations and support them all. On Sunday morning we concluded with the 9 AM Mass at the parish that I celebrated and a nice brunch back at the friary. It was a beautiful weekend. Please, brothers, keep these three men in prayer, that they will seek to follow Christ, where ever He will lead them! And thank you to all the friars who helped Br. Dan and I to hold the weekend, especially the community at St. Christopher's for always welcoming us with open arms. And a small side note, thanks to Br. Daniel Luna who is doing such a good job posting very frequently on the Instagram page for vocations! Thank you to all the brothers in big and small ways for helping us to foster vocations; please keep up the good work!

Br. Josh

Fr. Michael Della Penna, O.F.M., to St. Francis Centre for Religious Studies, Caledon.

Fr. Luis Hernandez, O.F.M., to St. Francis Centre for Religious Studies, Caledon.

Fr. Oscar Valle Perez, O.F.M., to Our Lady of Peace, Brooklyn, as parochial vicar.

Fr. Daniel Ramirez Luna, O.F.M., to St. Anthony Church, New York City, as parochial vicar.

Fr. Kevin Gabriel, O.F.M., to St. Joseph Church, Winsted Connecticut, as parochial vicar.

Fr. Leonardo Morles Gonzalez, O.F.M., to Director, Valle of the Angeles, Guatemala.

Fr. Joaquin Mejia, O.F.M., to parochial vicar, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Boston, MA

Fr. Aziz Lazzaro Eissa, O.F.M., to administrator, St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Boston, MA.

Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe Conclude Chapter of Elections with an elected Provincial Minister, Vicar and Provincial Council

The Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe concluded their first Chapter of Elections in St. Louis this week, gathering in prayer, fraternity and discernment as they elected a new Provincial Administration and reflected on the future of Franciscan life and ministry.

The election marks a significant moment in the life of the province, which was established through the unification of five U.S. Franciscan provinces in 2023. It is the first Provincial Chapter of Elections held by the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe since that historic union.

The Provincial Administration for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe is as follows.

Provincial Minister Br. Michael Perry, OFM 

Provincial Vicar Br. Erick López, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. John Aherne, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. Peter Boegel, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. George Camacho, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. Henry Fulmer, OFM

Provincial Councilor Br. Colin King, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. Roger Lopez, OFM 

Provincial Councilor Br. Rommel Perez Flores, OFM  

August Birthdays

Take time to wish our brothers a Happy Birthday!

Jimmy Zammit August 11 (71)

Victor Treminio- August 17 (37)

Charles Gingerich- August 24 (78)

Michael D'Cruz - August 26 (96)

Fr. Giles Barreda, O.F.M. "ARTISTIC TALENT"

We received a message from Fr. Andre Cirino: "I just received this photo of a beautiful painting from Mary Jean Ruiz, niece of Fr. Bonaventure Bionda 

who volunteers weekly for office work with us here at Mount Alvernia Retreat Center. In her communication with me, Mary Jean wrote:

"The flowers are a painting I have hanging in my home from Fr. Giles Barreda."

Interesting because I never knew of Giles beautiful gift of painting!

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