NEW YORK - Provincial Minister Robert Campagna, OFM, has announced that the General Minister and General Definitorium have appointed Fr. Larry C. Dunham, OFM, as our General Visitor and President of the Chapter for our beloved Province.

 

In June, Fr. Larry completed nine years of service as Provincial Minister of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

 

Fr. larry was born in Detroit, Michigan, and as a "military brat" was stationed in many places with his parents until entering the St. John the Baptist Province minor seminary of St. Francis in Cincinnati. Fr. Larry is 61 years of age, made his first profession in 1967 and was ordained priest in 1974.

Fr. Larry said, "In my 35 years ordained, I was privileged to have been involved in vocation work, parochial ministry, Native American apostolate, social work, military chaplain (Navy - veteran of Desert Shield and Storm), and provincial leadership."  

 

He holds a Master of Science degree in education and a Master of Divinity from St. Leonard College, the St. John the Baptist Province theologate in Dayton. 

 

He served as President of the English Speaking Conference of the Order from 2003-2005.

 
The schedule of his visitation and the preparations underway in planning for our Provincial Chapter (September 20-24, 2010) will be forthcoming.
 
"We warmly welcome, Larry, to the Province!  We extend our very best wishes and fraternal support, while assuring him of our prayers for a successful visitation and chapter," said the Provincial.

NEW YORK - Provincial Minister Robert Campagna made a pastoral visit to the friars in Central America last week.

 

While there, he participated in two celebrations for the 90th birthday of Friar Rocco Famiglietti, in Guatemala at the Valley of the Angels.  One celebration was presided over by the Cardinal of Guatemala, who also preached on October 10th; the next day at a second celebration, Friar Rocco presided and the Provincial Minister was the homilist.

 

The Provincial reports, "Because of the political situation in Honduras, I was unable to visit that country.  However, I did visit the friars in Salvador and Guatemala."

BOSTON, MA - The Vocation Office will be holding a Vocation Discernment Retreat Weekend November 13-15, and ask all parishes, ministries, to post the following announcement in their respective buleltins:

 

 

The Franciscan Vocation Office of the Immaculate Conception Province is holding a Vocation Discernment Weekend Retreat for men between the ages of 18-38 who are discerning a possible Franciscan vocation. The weekend retreat will take place at St. Anthony Friary on the Hudson in Catskill, NY from Friday, November 13 - Sunday, November 15.  Please contact Vocation Director Fr. Tom Washburn, OFM, (vocations@icprovince.org or 800-521-5442) as soon as possible if you'd like to be part of this weekend retreat. 

NEW YORK - Provincial Minister of the Holy Name Province John O'Connor, OFM, has announced that Fr. Fred Link, OFM, former Provincial Minister of St. John the Baptist Province (1999-2008), has been chosen by the General Minister and the General Definitorium to perform the canonical visitation of the Province to prepare for the Chapter to be held in January 2011. He will begin his work in the early part of 2010.

Fr. Fred was born in Cincinnati and has been a professed member of St. John the Baptist Province, based in Cincinnati, since 1962. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1970.

He has bachelor's degrees in philosophy and liturgical music from Duns Scotus College, Southfield, Mich., and Saint Joseph's College, Rensselaer, Ind., respectively. Fr. Fred also holds a master's in theology from University of Dayton, Ohio, and a master's in education from Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.