Franciscan Friars
Province of the Immaculate Conception
Provincial Update - February 2019
Happy February

Every once in a while, someone asks why Easter falls on a different date each year.  We know that a lot of our Catholic feasts such as Christmas, All Saints, Immaculate Conception, fall on the same date each year. Easter is different, and because of that, Ash Wednesday and all of Lent follow suit.

Since the gospels tell us that the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus took place during the Jewish Passover, the early Christian church continued that tradition with the celebration of the Feast of the Resurrection.  Thus, Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon in the Northern Hemisphere, or the first full moon after the vernal equinox, as decreed by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.  Of course, it is always good to consult an ordo or a calendar.

The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22, and the latest is April 25.  This year, Easter falls on April 21, so it is extremely late.  This means, of course, that Ash Wednesday is also late- March 6.  I guess we get used to having Lent begin in February, and this makes February even more unbearable.

We want to get on with the spring.  I don’t know if statistics show that February is a warmer or colder month than January, but the cold weather gets very tiresome and intolerable in February.  Even as far as special days are concerned, February is kind of boring.   Sure, there’s Groundhog Day, and President’s Day, but they’re really not that exciting. Valentine’s Day can be exciting if you’re married or in love, but for us crotchety old friars, it’s just another day on the calendar. 

But speaking of Groundhog Day, I wonder how many of you have seen the movie “Groundhog Day”.  It is the story of Phil Connors, played by Bill Murray, a weather man from a television station in Pittsburgh, PA, who, with his camera crew, heads to Punxsutawney PA for the annual festivities surrounding Groundhog Day, to see whether Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow and predict the end of winter. Although Connors predicts an incoming snow storm will miss the area, his prediction his wrong and a sudden blizzard strands Phil and his crew and prevents them from returning home. 

The next morning when his alarm clock rings, Phil realizes that it is not February 3, as would be expected, but it is again February 2.  At first he is totally confused and dismayed as he repeats all of the events of the day all over again. His confusion turns to anger when he realizes that he keeps repeating Groundhog Day over and over again. Phil takes advantage of the situation, trying death defying feats even to the point of killing himself, robbing a bank, or doing some outrageous things.  Then, he begins to improve himself, learning to play the piano, or ice sculpting, or learning to speak French.  Finally, thinking that this would be his destiny- to keep repeating the same day over and over again, he uses it as a force for good, not only to improve himself but to help others, even to the point of saving lives.  When Phil reaches some point of “perfection” and makes Groundhog Day good, he wakes up in the morning and realizes that it is no longer Groundhog Day, but February 3.  Obviously, the Phil Connors who wakes up on February 3 is a completely different person than the Phil Connors who went to sleep on February 1.  He has been able to change and become a new person, change the lives of those around him,  and fall in love as well.

I am sure there are many events in our lives, whether it be individual incidents or entire days or periods of time, that we would like to change.  If given the opportunity, perhaps we know full well what decisions we have made that would be different, or how we would have handled a certain situation.  And although we don’t have the opportunity, like Phil Connors, to keep reliving these days over and over until we get them right, we do have many chances to change the future.  

As we get older, we learn more about ourselves- out strengths, our weaknesses, and how we might act in certain situations. Each day can be for us a “Groundhog Day”, that is, an opportunity to learn and grow. February can provide us with opportunities to be new people.  That’s the great thing about being a Christian – we realize that each day brings us the ability to start over, begin anew, and make a better life for ourselves and be an instrument of good for others.   Brothers, let’s use the remainder of February to prepare ourselves for Ash Wednesday, when, with the imposition of sacred ashes on our foreheads, we will renew our efforts to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.
God love you and bless you always. 
Fr. Robert Campagna, OFM
Provincial Minister
February 2019

UPDATE FROM THE NOVICES
Dear Brothers,

Peace to all of you! We hope that you all had a blessed Christmas season and started off the new year on a good note. It is hard for us to believe that we are already at the halfway point of the Novitiate year. Time certainly does fly! We have been doing well, always keeping busy with work, prayer, classes, and apostolate work. During these past few months, we took a day trip with our master and the other novices to our house in Rome, where we had lunch with Fr. Antonio Riccio and Br. Victor Treminio, and visited Saint Peter's Basilica. We also participated in a  four day workshop on Consacrated Life with all the Novices in Assisi and the novices of La Verna. The course focused on the evangelical counsels and, as religious men and women, how we can live them more fully. The following week, we went to the hermitage of San Francesco in Monteluco for a silent retreat. The theme of the week centered on the story of the birth of Jesus, and how to pray, using these passages from the bible, on a specific topic (for example: Jesus' humility, poverty, etc.). The week was truly a wonderful experience and opened us up to a new and very helpful method of prayer.

For ten days in the middle of March, we will all go on a mission in northern Italy for an experience in pastoral work. We are excited for it and ask you all to keep us in your prayers as we endeavor this new experience for us.

That's about all the news we have here. We hope you are all doing well. As always, you are all in our prayers here. We can't wait to see you all in September! Until then, may the Lord give you peace.

Sincerely,

Carl, Jack, and Dan

Note: Our three province novices, Jack Sidoti, Carl Green, and Dan Cavalieri, are making their novitiate with the Assisi Province novices at the Santuario di San Damiano in Assisi.
Novices Visiting Rome and the Convento

News from our brothers in
Central America

Instituto San Francisco and
AGAPE Students Celebrate Together
Submitted by Friar Jack Hoak OFM for FMA FOCUS

When one travels in the United States of America, there is no problem moving from one state to another, except for traffic. However, the experience in Latin America is quite the adventure. In comparison to the journeys of up north, the movement from one small country, the size of Massachusetts, to another, requires lots of paperwork including IDs, at times money, and in the case of students, documentation from family members (parents or guardians), endorsed by lawyers. 
Why am I saying this? This is all part of the preparation that goes into an event such as the one I am anxious to share with you, our readers and benefactors. The Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception Province have been working in Latin America for well over 70 years and much of the success of the friars has been due to people much like you, who have so generously given of your time, talent and treasure. 
It just so happens that in two different countries, Honduras and el Salvador, the friars have been responsible for the establishment of Institutions with the 
name: San Francisco de Asís. It has been my dream since returning to El Salvador to have an encounter of the two. So, recently some 22 students, chosen from the junior and senior classes of San Francisco de Asís in AGAPE, crossed over the border from El Salvador to Honduras to participate in an artistic exchange of song and dance at the Instituto San Francisco de Asís in Tegucigalpa, accompanied by our director and three teachers, with the assistance of Fr. Rafael, the foundation president.  Fortunately the only tie up there was waiting for extra copies of their permission papers to be presented by each of the students besides showing their passports. On the other side of the bridge in Honduras, things went considerably much smoother, and soon we were rolling on to Tegucigalpa, perhaps some three hours away. 
Once settled in at the friary on the property of the Instituto San Francisco de Asís, our young people were anxious to meet with the students and share their talents, but that would have to wait until Wednesday, the day of celebration and “fiesta.”  So our kids got to see some of the countryside after an early morning breakfast and Mass at the chapel of “Our Lady of Suyapa.” After the tour of the basilica itself, we drove off to the hill village of Santa Luc Mist íy a and then to the little town of Valley of the Angels, which disclosed signs of our “Provincial presence” of long past. Where else would the “Franciscan chapel” there have the coat of arms exactly like the Province of the Immaculate Conception of New York? 
Wednesday was the day of grand celebration at the school. The atmosphere was almost like the Olympics, with the wonderful display of talent by the children representative of each grade to welcome us with music and dance. Of course, the delegation from San Francisco de Asís High School in El Salvador had its chance to contribute to the day ́s merriment with its own renditions of typical dances. And there was even a professional dance troupe. 
After an exchange of customary and local souvenirs, our group spent the 
afternoon at a local mall, knowing that in the early morning of the following day we would be on our way to visit the colonial capital of Honduras, Comayagua. 
Our first stop would be the Cathedral, which houses the very first clock in America, located in the bell tower. It still works and is very accurate due to a pulley system of weights. Many of the students were anxious to climb the tower and see for themselves the ancient piece of history. Then we made a visit to the museum within the newly refurbished walls of the bishop ́s residence. Bishop Roberto offered juice, soda and cookies to the gang and we move to “Barrio Arriba,” where we visited another residency of Franciscans: Los Santos Martires (The Holy Martyrs), also known as St. Sebastian. I wanted to show the students the seminary of which I was the first rector and how it has grown to become a Franciscan parish with Fr. Carlos (my classmate), whom I haven ́t seen in 42 years. It was a most joyous occasion for me. 
The journey was long and fun but it also was witness of the results of years of missionary work and presence of the Friars of the Immaculate Conception Province in the two countries: all thanks to the years of sacrifices made by you, the donor who is reading these words.

A Visit with the Minister General
Brother Michael Perry, OFM
Submitted by Friar Jack Hoak, OFM
On December 5 th , I had the opportunity (by special invitation of the friars of the Guadalupe Province of Central America and Haiti) to share with them a fraternal visit by the Minister General of the Order, Brother Michael Perry, O.F.M.  Flavian was also invited but due to his convalescence, he unfortunately was unable to make the trip to  Planes de Renderos (the province´s house of formation) where the fraternal gathering was to take place. Nevertheless, he was able to speak to the Minister General via my cell phone (the wonders of technology). In the brief conversation, the General received an idea of our ministry in AGAPE as well as being able to share his consoling words of prayerful remembrance for Flavian´s recuperation.

The afternoon began with lunch for some 50 friars mostly those working in El Salvador since a few of the brothers were visiting from Honduras. The General´s visit was the third stop on his journey, having visited Haiti and Guatemala prior to coming to El Salvador.

A key moment was the presentation given by Brother Perry in which he spoke of the vision he has for the Order and of the danger of making our fraternities: “Franciscan Hotels!”  In the hotels you have a bed, a TV, meals and other amenities.  What´s lacking?  “Community!”  He also commented on the vows.  He said that some brothers profess four vows. We know the first three: Poverty, Chastity and Obedience.  It seems that many profess “Stability!”

The General did spend over an hour answering questions from the brothers touching on every theme or topic from geographic presence and strengths to formation, from lay and clerical status to the vision of being mission and not just missionary.  He also mentioned that we should not only focus on why many brothers leave but focus on why do we stay?

After Mass and before recessing out, the Minister General bestowed the TAU cross each friar together with the blessing of St. Francis card.
Minister General with Friars Domingo and Idelfonso and Friar Jack.
Book on Friar Flavian written by Joaquin Fernandez.
F riars Gratian, Jack with Minister General in background.
Friar Michael Perry, OFM, Minister General, Addressing the Friars of Central America
Central American Friars make Annual Retreat

The friars of the Immaculate Conception Province gather every January in one of the three countries: Honduras, Guatemala or El Salvador for their annual retreat.  Once again we met in El Salvador on the property of the Association AGAPE of El Salvador in the “Isaac Calicchio” reception hall.  Present for the retreat which was given by Friar Henry Gonzalez (definitor of the Guadalupe Province for Central America and Haiti) were: our Maltese brothers from Honduras, Albert Gauci and Angelo Falzon; from Guatemala, Nery Aguirre and Roberto Siguere; and from El Salvador, Guy Vellardita, Rafael Fernandez, Jack Hoak, Flavian Mucci and two guest fathers Mauricio Portillo and Jaime Avelar.  

Father Henry spoke of the encounter we need to have with the Lord in order to enter into a “dialogue” with God and our brothers in religion. As a starting point for such a process, he focused on the meeting between Francis and the Sultan.  With various media presentations, his message was clear and well delivered allowing us to add our own reflections before the Blessed Sacrament in order to manage our hearts for the indwelling of the Lord. And, therefore, like Brother Francis, permit the Trinity to take up abode in our hearts. 

Our retreats usually include tours of different places in the area, especially for our visiting brother from Honduras and Guatemala.  For some of them it´s a return to the past because they may have had the experience of ministering in some of the places visited. The towns visited this year were Izalco, La Majada, Juayua and Acajutla.  The friars in Acajutla were happy to see us and, once again share stories. I believe that our stories add color and texture to our presence and ministry within the province.  And, doesn´t that make for a natural portal to enter into “dialogue” on a spiritual level also?
Blessed Sacrament in Manchester Dedicates New Church Doors
On Sunday, February 3, 2019, Friar John Bucchino, OFM, Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Manchester, NH, blessed and dedicated the new church doors.  The new doors are constructed of oak, and are in the shape of the original church doors. The Blessing was held at the parish’s 10:30 AM Mass and dedicated to Ed and Leona Cebelenski, who gave the parish a large donation in their will.  The remainder of the cost was paid through the Fall Festival.  Congratulations to Friar John and the parishioners and staff of Blessed Sacrament Parish.  


News from the Office of Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC)
TOGETHER AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Posted on February 14, 2019 in  JPIC ,  News
On February 8, the World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking has been celebrated since 2015 by Pope Francis. It is the memorial of Saint Josephine Bakhita, a religious of Sudanese origin who was a victim of slavery for many years in her life. The Day is promoted worldwide, mainly by Talitha Kum, the International Network of Catholic Religious against Human Trafficking, through its International Committee.
Various activities have been carried out this year around the world, praying and reflecting, to raise awareness on this problem that mainly affects women, boys and girls. The motto chosen for 2019 is “Together Against Human Trafficking,” since it is a problem to which no one can remain indifferent, nor can it be approached by an individual, and we need joint actions.
In Rome, two public activities were carried out. On the memorial of St. Josephine Bakhita, we gathered to pray together at the prayer vigil with the theme, “Shed a Light against Human Trafficking.” About 500 people, mostly religious, gathered at the Basilica of San Antonio (Antonianum). There also was a group of religious who completed the Training Course for leaders of the networks against human trafficking, offered by the Talitha Kum in collaboration with the Pontifical University Antonianum.
On Sunday, the 10th of February, many people participated in a public march from the Castel Sant’Angelo towards St. Peter’s Square. During the march, the prayer-cards for the victims of human trafficking were distributed to the people who gathered in the square to participate in the Angelus with the Pope. At noon, Pope Francis led the Angelus and addressed words of gratitude for those who work against human trafficking, especially the religious. He also urged governments: “I make a special appeal to governments to address with determination the causes of this scourge and protect the victims.” Finally, he invited everyone to pray for the intercession of St. Josephine Bakhita.
Br. Jaime Campos F., OFM
JPIC Office – Rome
Letter of the General Minister of the Order of Friars Minor on the 800th Anniversary of the Encounter Between St. Francis and the Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil
My dear brothers of the Order of Friars Minor, all brothers, sisters and friends of our Franciscan Family, and all my Muslim sisters and brothers.
May the Lord give you all His peace!
Eight hundred years ago, our Seraphic Father St. Francis set sail for Egypt, finally fulfilling a long-held dream of reaching out to Muslims. He arrived at the camp of the crusading army, among Latin Christians who through years of preaching and the rhetoric of holy war had been taught to scorn Muslims. Those same Muslims had every reason to scorn Francis, assuming that he, like most in the crusader camp, was an enemy and not a bearer of peace. We today celebrate what no one at that moment could have foreseen: that a Spirit-filled man with nothing of his own crossed the battle lines unarmed to request a meeting with the Sultan, was received with grace by that Sultan, enjoyed an extended period of hospitality with the Muslim leader, and emerged from the visit to reflect anew on the mission of the Friars Minor. Francis returned safely to his homeland profoundly moved by the encounter and crafted a new and creative vision for his brothers about how they could go among the Muslims, about the things Friars could do and say “that would please God” (quae placuerint Domino, RnB 16.8). The anniversary of Francis’ encounter with al-Malik al-Kāmil at Damietta in 1219 beckons us to ask again what deeds and words, amid the pluralism and complexity of the world today, would be pleasing to God.
Discerning the signs of the times (Mt 16:3), the Church increasingly highlights interreligious dialogue as an essential element of the mission of the Church today. The Second Vatican Council exhorted the Christian faithful to engage in “dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life” (Nostra Aetate, 2). In particular, the Council taught that the Church regards the Muslims “with esteem,” and urged Christians to work with their Muslim sisters and brothers to promote social justice and moral welfare, peace and freedom, for the benefit of all (Nostra Aetate, 3). St. John Paul II carried this mission of dialogue forward in his ministry as Bishop of Rome, most especially when he called religious leaders of the world to our spiritual home, Assisi, to witness there the transcendent quality of peace. For those who gathered to pray for peace, the “permanent lesson of Assisi” consisted in Francis’ “meekness, humility, deep sense of God, and commitment to serve all” (John Paul II, Speech at Assisi, 27 October 1986). Popes Benedict XVI and Francis likewise invited religious leaders to make pilgrimage to Assisi and pray there for peace, and Pope Francis invoked the intercession of the Poverello during his own trip to Egypt, praying that Christians and Muslims truly call one another brothers and sisters, living in renewed fraternity under the sun of the one merciful God (Francis, Speech at the International Peace Conference, 28 April 2017). It is thus the universal Church calling the Franciscan family to animate this interreligious fraternity in the peaceful spirit of our Seraphic Father. The Church calls us to raise up this seminal moment in our history, the journey of St. Francis to Egypt, to open ourselves anew to the transformation the Saint of Assisi experienced, and to walk together with Muslims and people of all faiths as fellow travelers, as builders of civility, and most fundamentally, as sisters and brothers, children of Abraham, our father in faith.
I encourage the Franciscan family to celebrate this anniversary as a moment when the light of the Gospel can open one’s heart to see the "Imago Dei" in a person one regards with fear and distrust, or even worse, in a person one has been urged to hate. To that end, a number of resources have been prepared to assist all those inspired by this encounter to commemorate it in a fitting way. Accompanying this letter are  intercessions that I encourage Friars to use during the Liturgy of the Hours  throughout the anniversary year, intercessions that could be used in a variety of ministerial settings when appropriate. In April, the General Curia will make available an online resource book, prepared by the Special Commission for Dialogue with Islam, that provides historical background, Franciscan and Muslim perspectives on the encounter and other materials to commemorate Damietta. Our fraternity in Istanbul, a community of Friars primarily dedicated to ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, will host a gathering in October of Friars working in Muslim-majority countries. The Pontifical University Antonianum has likewise organized several public events in different countries over the course of the anniversary year. Whether academic or pastoral, I encourage you to actively participate in these and other events, and further, to consider creatively how your local community might commemorate Damietta in light of your local reality.
This anniversary offers a unique opportunity for collaboration between different branches of the Franciscan family. A number of Friars, Sisters and scholars of the Franciscan movement, and promoters of Muslim-Christian dialogue have prepared publications for release during this anniversary; I invite you all to take time this year to study and prayerfully reflect on how, in your local situation, the courage and openness to the Spirit seen in the Nile Delta so long ago might live afresh in you. The General Curia is eager to share the news of such efforts to build bridges of interreligious understanding, so please inform us of the events and initiatives to commemorate Damietta in your community and in the various Entities of the Friars Minor.
We live in a time when people of various faiths traffic on the demonization of Muslims and incite others to fear them. Aside from study and prayer about the themes of encounter and dialogue, I encourage followers of Francis who lack much personal exposure to Islam to recall the experience of our founder by taking a simple and concrete step: meet a Muslim. Get to know him or her, beyond the pleasantries of a cup of tea and social nicety. Try to learn and appreciate what experience of God animates him or her and allow your Muslim friend to see the love God has poured into your heart through Christ. Despite the Second Vatican Council’s insistence that Muslims, with us, “adore the one and merciful God” (Lumen Gentium16), many voices somehow sadly insist that dialogue between Christians and Muslims is impossible. Many contemporaries of St. Francis and the Sultan agreed, seeing conflict and confrontation as the only response to the challenge of the other.
The examples of Francis and the Sultan witness a different option. One can no longer insist that dialogue with Muslims is impossible. We have seen it, and we continue to see it in the lives of many Franciscans and their Muslim brothers and sisters who, with sincere and loving hearts, share the gifts that God has given them through their respective faiths. Fidelity to Francis’ vision involves sharing with humility. Indeed, the distinctively Christian gift we have to share with our Muslim sisters and brothers is not merely a humble Christian, but the experience of a humble God. Unique in his age, Francis praised God by saying, “You are humility” (PrsG 4), and spoke about the “sublime humility,” the “humble sublimity” of God (LtOrd 27). The Christian heart’s quest for God finds rest in the humility of the crib and the cross, signs of a God who stoops down in service and humbles himself for love of us. Francis invites us to reflect that divine humility to those we meet by taking the first step in service and in love. Moreover, fidelity to Francis’ vision calls us to receive the beliefs and believers of other faith traditions with a sense of reverence (OFM General Constitutions, art. 93.2; 95.2), with hearts and minds open to the presence of God in such an encounter.
I recognize that there are some in the Franciscan family, who live as minorities in the lands of their birth or adoption, find themselves caught up in political and sectarian strife, and may feel the threat of violence, as do many today in the land Francis once visited. In some countries, Christians and Muslims share the pains of social injustice and political instability. I invite you to reflect on another of the names Francis used in his Praises of God: “You are patience” (PrsG 4), or as Muslims invoke God: Yā Ṣabūr – “O Patient One!” Francis himself learned the virtue of patience through his ministry among lepers, through the challenges of his travels, and through trends he saw in the Order at the end of his life, when his own brothers abandoned some of the ideals he cherished. Francis meditated at length on the patient love Christ showed in his passion, coming eventually to identify patience as an attribute of a merciful God. “You are patience.” God follows a schedule unknown to us, and God stirs the hearts of women and men in ways unknown to us. Francis struggled to understand God’s plan for those who failed to follow Christ as Lord, and Francis found refuge in the prayer of praise that God is patience. May God grant the grace of patience to each of us as we learn to live together.
To our Muslim sisters and brothers, let me say how warmly we Franciscans remember the hospitality shown to our Holy Father Francis when his life was at risk. The interest many Muslims have shown in commemorating this anniversary testifies to the desire for peace expressed anytime a Muslim greets a fellow believer. I pray that this year will deepen the brotherhood we share under the God who created all things in the heavens and on the earth and that this bond continues to strengthen long after 2019. God could have made us all the same, but God did not (Al-Shūrā 42.8). With you, your Franciscan sisters and brothers are eager to show the world that Christians and Muslims can and do live alongside each other in peace and harmony.
In conclusion, let us never forget that the example of St. Francis was a life of ongoing conversion. As a youth, he was repulsed by lepers, but an act of mercy changed his heart and “what had seemed bitter to me was turned into sweetness” (Testament, 3). That moment, the beginning of Francis’s life of penance, is intimately linked to Francis’s experience at Damietta in 1219. Francis’ heart had been opened by lepers before, and when he found himself in the presence of a Muslim he had been taught to hate, it was opened once more. The biblical call to conversion (Heb., shuv; Aram. tuv) is echoed in the Qur’an’s repeated command to turn to God (tūb), to avert evil with goodness and acts of charity to society’s most vulnerable. Believers today—regardless of the name they use for God and the manner in which they worship—are called to the same courage and openness of heart. Amid the groanings of the world for interreligious understanding, may our humble, patient, and merciful God show all of us the deeds and words that are most pleasing to God.
 
Rome, 7th January 2019
Peace and all good,
Br. Michael A. Perry, OFM
Minister General and Servant
March Birthdays
Take time to wish our friars a Happy Birthday!


Falvian Mucci - March 1st - 84
Antonio Riccio - March 3rd - 73
Joaquin Mejia - March 23rd - 52
Ralph Paonessa - March 26th - 83
Stephen Galambos - March 29th - 79
Giles Barreda - March 30th - 86
Jack Hoak - March 31st - 71

 PLEASE PRAY FOR THESE FRIARS 
WHO HAVE RECENTLY DIED

Friar Austin Mysliwiec, OFM (Assumption Province)
Friar Gregory Havel, OFM (Assumption Province)
Friar Jonathan Foster, OFM (Sacred Heart Province)
Friar Fabian Grifone, OFM (Immaculate Conception Province)
Friar Fred Radke, OFM (Sacred Heart Province)
Friar Method Wilson, OFM ( Sacred Heart Province)
Friar Elias Galves, OFM (St. Barbara Province)
Friar Carl Graczyk, OFM (Assumption Province)
Father John Reiss (Former member of the province)
Friar Bede Fitzpatrick, OFM (Holy Name Province)
Friar Jeremiah McGinley, OFM (Holy Name Province)

Recently Deceased Family and Friends
P. David Dobbs, former friar and member of our province.
Noora Green, mother of our novice, Friar Carl Green, OFM
Eric Mejia , brother of Friar Joaquin Mejia, OFM

Let us pray for our infirm friars:
Friar Capistran Polgar, OFM
Friar Francis Walter, OFM
Friar Thomas Hollowood, OFM
Friar Albin Fusco, OFM
Friar Daniel Morey, OFM
Friar Amedeo Nardone, OFM
Friar Armand Padula, OFM
Friar Primo Piscitello, OFM
Friar Flavian Mucci, OFM
Friar Claudio Moser, OFM
Friar Charles Soto, OFM

For our friars in skilled nursing and rehabfacilities:
Friar Philip Adamo, OFM
Friar Giles Barreda, OFM
Friar Lawrence Stumpo, OFM
Fr. Clement Procopio, OFM

For our infirm family and friends:
Maria Tagani (daughter of St. Francis Centre staff member)


Please pray for all friars, families, friends, and benefactors,
living and deceased.
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
The Management
Province of the Immaculate Conception, New York NY
125 Thompson Street
New York NY 10012
212-674-4388

NEWSLETTER CONTACT
Please send any articles, news items, or photos to
Friar Joseph F Lorenzo, O.F.M.
St. Anthony Friary
24 Harrison Street/ PO Box 487
Catskill NY 12414
Cell: 917.337.9833
Office: 518.943.3451 xt. 314
jolorenzo@aol.com jolorenzo1@me.com

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