(This obituary originally appeared in the Newsletter of the Assumption BVM Province.)

 

On March 18, 2010, a letter arrived under the signature of our General Minister, Josè Carballo appointing me to serve on a newly established Commission for Contemplation for the Order.

 

The appointed members are: Julio César Bunader, General Definitor; Bienvenido Baisas, Philippines; Eugenio Barelli, Italy;
Andrè Cirino, United States; Vumile Nogemane, South Africa; Helmut Schlegel, Germany; Celso Teixeira, Brazil; Scaria Varanath, India; Mihael Vovk, Slovenia; and Philippe Schillings, Translator.
 
Br. Vumile asked to be excused, so Jean-Marie Mufeji from the Congo sat in his place. Brothers Bienvenido and Scaria were unable to be present.
 
I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive to serve on a general commission, but after the meeting itself, I was most happy that I attended and participated in the discussions. While the basic language was Italian, there was a translator present for those of us who needed help both with expressing ourselves and understanding the thoughts of the brothers.
 
We met from 25-27 May at the General Curia. We spent the first day getting to know each other's background and possible connection to the topic of contemplation. Besides working in the Franciscan world since 1980, the anthology I published together with Josef Raischl, SFO, on Franciscan Solitude was my starting point. 
 
The second day began with a silent period of reflection to encourage us to come to the table with thoughts and ideas. We spent most of the second day listening and discussing. It was clear that no further written document was either desired or to be forthcoming.
 
During our discussions, I presented two suggestions which the members of the commission ultimately asked that they be presented as proposals to the General Definitory. Basically, I suggested that there be a workshop on Contemplation by Poor Clares for Friars. Should this be acceptable to the general administration, then the logistics for doing so would be decided. Secondly, I suggested that a Bibliography on Contemplation in every language be prepared and shared with all the friars either by book or electronically. Again, the details would yet have to be decided.
 
Our General Minister addressed us at the end of the meeting. Before his arrival, there was a long discussion on the identity of the Order today which seems to be going naturally/normally in a new direction because we have been steeped in the Franciscan sources for the last fifty or more years.
 
Br. Josè spoke about the importance of spirituality, fraternity and mission in which contemplation plays a major role. He said the Commission for Contemplation is very important because of the crisis of contemplation in the Order in prayer, for contemplation seems to be lacking in vocal prayer as well as the prayer of the heart. He spoke of the need for silence to encounter ourselves as persons, others and the Other. Concommitant with this is the need for an appreciation of liturgical prayer and most importantly, the reading of Sacred Scripture.
 
Our next meeting will be in Rome 30 May-June 1, 2011. I would welcome any thoughts or ideas you may have to bring to the Commission on Contemplation for the Order.
 
P.S.  On a more personal note, our Brother Edwin Paniagua graciously hosted me in the Curia. I went to his office a few times and saw the amount of work he is doing in the translation of documents from and into several different languages. I was proud of the fact that our Province is contributing to the work of the Order worldwide through Edwin's gifted linguistic abilities.

 

NEW YORK - "Come Let Us Defend the Sacredness of Life Together" is the theme for the 2010 June is Abortion and All Acts of Violence Awareness Month in the African American and African Community as quoted by Franciscan Father James (Jim) Goode, 
President of the National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life.
 
The awareness month announcement was made outside St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, on May 3, 2010 immediately after the 10th Anniversary Conference and Mass celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Cardinal O'Connor.  

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of New York was the celebrant and homilist. John Cardinal O'Connor was the Founding Supporter of the 
National Black Catholic Apostolate for Life.
 
According to Father Jim Goode, "We are marking this month of awareness because there is no room in the African American and African community for abortion or any act of violence that destroys the sacredness of human life.  Despite the difficulties that will surely await us; we will not be discouraged as we evangelize for life and the family. We go forth with the 'Good News'  that we have all been created in the image and likeness of God.  God holds us in His hand and will never leave us alone (Matthew 28 20:)."
 
Our June Awareness material for 2010 includes the NBCAL Prayer for Life composed by James Paul Newson, Jr., Father Glenn D. Parker, CSsR and Ms. Therese Wilson Favors. A reflection on life prepared by Ms. Therese Wilson Favors is also included.  

All of these materials can be downloaded and duplicated for your local community. Other materials are available upon request.
 
"NBCAL's June is Abortion and all Acts of Violence Awareness Month in the African American and African community is a wonderful opportunity for us to rededicate ourselves to the Gospel of Life. This month of June is also a time for us to share in a special way the message of Life in our various communities," stated Ms. Kathleen A. Merritt, President of the National Association of Black Catholic Administrators and a NBCAL Board of Consultant Member. 

 

NEW YORK - On Wednesday, June 23, friars from around the Province will converge on our mother Church, St. Anthony of Padua, in New York City to commemorate the establishment of the Province of the Immaculate Conception 100 years ago.

 

First established as the Custody of the Immaculate Conception in 1861, the band of brothers was rasied to the status of a Province on Christmas Day, 1910.

 

Wednesday's celebration will include a Solemn Mass presided over by General Minister Jose Rodriguez Carballo.  Also in attendance will be Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Affiliate of our Province.  Several Provincial Ministers of the English Speaking Conference and other dignitaries will be in attendance. New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan is also expected to join us for part of the celebration.  Friar Romano Almagno will be the homilist for the Mass.

 

Following the Solemn Mass, the friars will gather for a festive dinner.  Those who have ordered the commemorative vestment created for our Centenary will receive them at the celebration.  Those who did not order one are invited to bring a white stole.

On June 20, 1855, Friar Panfilo da Magliano dei Marsi, the friar-priest who founded the Province of the Immaculate Conception, came to the United States of America and established his first mission in the area of Buffalo, New York. His ministry would produce a university, two Franciscan Provinces, and two groups of Franciscan religious women.
 
Friar Panfilo had come at the request of the Bishop of Buffalo, John Timon, and a local business man, Nicholas Devereaux, who desired to bring the Franciscans to their diocese and establish a college and seminary there.  They hoped to bring three priests and one lay brother.  For his part, Mr. Devereux would give 200 acres of land and $5,000 to build a monastery.  The bishop would provide the friars with a house near a church where the community would be established.  The first to arrive at this new missionary endeavor were the aforementioned Father Panfilo, along with Father Sixtus da Gagliano, Father Samuel da Prezza, and Brother Salvator da Manarola.  The college and seminary they founded, St. Bonaventure University, continues to prosper today.

On March 1, 1861, this band of brothers would be formed into an official entity of the Franciscan Order as the Custody of the Immaculate Conception was established.  For the next 40 years, St. Bonaventure University would also serve as the Motherhouse of this Custody.
 
Up until 1880, the members of this Custody were mostly Italian friars.  But around this time, there began a great influx of local vocations and by 1890, the friars of the Custody were mostly native born and of Irish, not Italian, stock.  This mix would eventually lead to a separation within the Custody with native English-speaking friars continuing to minister at St. Bonaventure and in various English-speaking parish settings; and the Italian members of the Custody finding increasing amounts of ministry among the burgeoning communities of Italian immigrants in New York City, Boston and Pittsburgh.

 
On September 16, 1901, this separation became permanent as a new entity was born, the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.  Forty-six members of the original Custody were transferred to this new entity headquartered at St. Francis of Assisi Church on 31st Street in New York City, a parish originally founded by the Custody of the Immaculate Conception.  Twenty-six friars remained in the Custody.
 
This provided a new beginning for the Custody.  After the split, the Custody retained only six places of ministry: St. Anthony of Padua Church, Most Precious Blood Church, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, all in New York; St. Leonard Church in Boston; and St. Peter Church and Our Lady Help of Christians Church, both in Pittsburgh.  St. Anthony of Padua became the new Motherhouse of the Custody.
 
On December 25, 1910 , after less than 10 years of continued growth in ministry and vocations, then General Minister of the Order, Friar Dionysius Schuler, elevated this group of friars to full status and the Province of the Immaculate Conception was created.  In these few years, the Province more than doubled in size to 57 friars. Father Ubaldus Pandolfi was chosen as the first Provincial Minister of the new Province of the Immaculate Conception.

With the separation also came the need to establish a new place for the formation of men wishing to join this Franciscan group.  The solution came in 1908 when a perfect location was found along the Hudson River in Catskill, NY.  The former Prospect Park Hotel was for sale and the friars quickly closed the deal.  On the Feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis, the new 25 acre Mount Saint Anthony on the Hudson was officially opened with 15 students. Over the years it has served as a novitiate, house of philosophy, and theologate. Today it serves our retired friars.  In the intervening years other houses of formation would be established in Andover, MA, Troy, NY, and Wappinger Falls, NY.  Today our central house of formation is the Convento San Francesco located on Via Nicolo V in the heart of Rome, a literal stone's throw from Vatican City.
 
In 1934, the work of the Province expanded to the area of Toronto, Canada.  As the influx of Italian immigrants moved to that northern city, the friars of the Immaculate Conception Province were called upon to provide priests to serve the community there. The first parish the Province took on was that of St. Agnes, in Toronto's downtown. Father Patrick Crowley was the first friar of our Province to enter Canada officially as associate pastor of St. Agnes.  The ministry in Toronto would grow to the point that the Province would eventually establish the Saint Francis Foundation there in 1980.  Today, we minister in six parishes in the Toronto area as well as a retreat center.

Just a decade later, the friars would embark on a new mission, this time south to Central America.  Heeding the call of Central American bishops, the Province sent four friars to Olancho in Honduras in 1944.  On October 4 of that year, Father Thomas De Luca and three companions departed from St. Anthony Church in New York to head for this new mission field.  By 1950, these missionary efforts would extend to Guatemala and El Salvador.  The friars were central in eventually establishing a native Province there, the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Today, our Province continues to minister in nine sites including parishes, an orphanage, schools and a variety of outreach programs to the poor.  In testament to their great missionary service, friars of the Immaculate Conception Province have repeatedly been elevated to the episcopacy there.

At its height, the Province had over 350 friars.  Today, under the leadership of Provincial Minister Robert Campagna, we number over 150 friars and continue to minister throughout New York, New England, Toronto, Canada and parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida; along with our missions in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala administering parishes, schools, retreat centers, reaching out to the poor, and anywhere that God leads us.