NewsNotes: July 2024

"Doctor, Doctor!" . . . no kidding

As Tommy Piolata mentioned in his presentation to our Assembly in May, he had been preparing for his double doctoral defense. In June, he successfully completed two defenses of his thesis, Ratio finiendi: The Finality of the Holy Spirit in the Theology of St. Bonaventure: June 13th at England's Durham University (Ph.D.) and June 26th at Rome's Antonianum University (STD).

The team overseeing his Doctoral Defense at the Antonianum (left) is pictured here with the new Doctor (l-r): Reader Carlos Salto Solà, OFM, Supervisor Sr. Mary Melone, SFA, and Reader Amaury Begasse de Dhaem, SJ.

Though Tommy had no photo of his Durham "viva," the celebration in Rome included the blessed task of hosting his mom, Carla, and his sister, Marisa. This shot with his mom and Marisa was taken before the Antonianum defense in Rome's Piazza Barberini.

All involved celebrated with a party at the OFM Collegio Sant'Isidoro, the OFM "Irish College" residence where Tommy spent many hours reading and writing and, as mentioned in the past, where famed OFM Luke Wadding (1588-1657) did, too. Tommy's thesis is now published on the Durham website.

Tommy returned to the USA on July 24th and is spending some time with family before moving to his new fraternity at Capuchin College. He officially begins his job at Catholic University on August 20th. Welcome home!

Off with the Caperones . . .

Let's welcome back to the Province our brothers Jack Gianetti, Ben Duphiney and Charles Cascino, who made their first profession of temporary vows on Saturday, July 20th, at St. Augustine Church in Pittsburgh. Our brother Matt Hindelang came through with his array of memories for the joyful Provincial event. The trio are headed to Capuchin College in DC in these days.

Go to our Gallery for all of Matt's photo moments.

. . . and On with the Caperones

Our brother Joseph West was one of the seven novices invested on July 15th (?) at San Lorenzo in Solvang, CA. Joe is second from the right in the group photo. Novice Director Kip Ledger is top, on the far left (distancing so soon?) . . . . We pray that all fires of the Spirit remain, for now, within the buildings of the San Lorenzo.

See more photo's of the event here . . .

Caperones On  AND  Off for our PNG Brothers

Custodian Modest Sangia of our Custody of Papua New Guinea brought good news for our brotherhood:

We have 5 new novices who had their investiture in the Philippines, on July 14, 2024. They have not yet moved to the novitiate friary since they are still working on their permits to remain in the country. Three novices are from our Custody of St. Michael the Archangel: Joseph Kua from Simbu, Martin Chiae from Kimbe and Emel Willy from Simbu. There is one novice of Indian origin who joined the Province of Philippines and one novice from the Custody of Malaysia."

 In the photo (L-R) are: Jasson Philip (Philippines); Joseph Kua (PNG); Joel de Jesus, Novice Director (Philippines);
Edgar Martinez, Provincial Minister (Philippines); Martin Chiae (PNG); Emel Willie (PNG); and Matius Goh (Malaysia-Singapore)

_________________________________________

"The now-former novices in Baguio City, Phillippines, our brothers Stewart Kerua,  Fredrick Vlolo and Charles Kolomoi made their first Profession of Vows on July 15th 2024."

   
Pictured are the professions of (l-r) Stewart, Frederick and Charles

_______________________________

And the final good news from Modest: "Our two brothers, Paul Mombea and Syvester Namuno have been approved for Solemn Profession. They will start their preparation for the Final Vows Pogram at the beginning of 2025."

Solemn Vows in the Custody of Puerto Rico

Ian Cedric Vidaillet Gregory professed his Solemn Vows in the Ermita del Espinar in Aguada (the historic "church within a church") on Saturday, July 13, 2024. Ian has been in his year of pastoral experience working in San Juan's Hodar Padre Vernard, a charitable arm of our Custody named after our famed friar Venard Kanfush (+1988: "To meet him was to remember him!").

The profession took place in the Ermita, one of the oldest Christian churches in the Americas, and it was there, we're told, that the first Christian martyrs of the Americas died. Friars lived and preached here starting in 1525, and the small chapel was in use by the community until 1529 when the indegenous attacked and set fire to the church and community; five friars died. The church was rebuilt in stone in 1600 and was in use until 1867 when it was seriously damaged by a hurricane. In 1967, the community wanted their parish reopened, so they began the construction of a new church that enclosed the ruins. It reopened in 1973 as the Parroquia Santuario Protomártires de la Immaculada Concepción. Our brothers have care of the the parish (PR1 in your directory!).

Emmaus 5: All This AND him, too?

Thanks to Ross Henley, we have news and photos from the Emmaus5 pilgrimage sometime in June:

"Seven members of the Emmaus 5, our Provincial program for friars in their first five years of ministry, were able to head to Italy for a two week pilgrimage. Coordinators of the E5, Brian Stacy and Jim Mungovan joined the group that included Ross Henley, Tage Danielson, Steve Wright, Andrew Corriente and Edgar Pereira (pictured here at Camerino). 

"We flew into Rome where we met up with our leader of the pilgrimage, Radek Pasztaleniec (pictured with a stunned Tage below).

Radek's a Polish friar who had studied English in DC at Cap College and now teaches at the Antonianum University. Over the course of two weeks, we were able to visit many of the sites of St. Francis and our Capuchin roots. A good deal of time was spent in Assisi, followed by short trips to Camerino, Albacina, La Verna, San Giovanni Rotondo and concluding in Rome.

"At each location, Radek did a great job giving a brief overview of the place, providing context in Franciscan history and pulling from texts of the Franciscan/Capuchin sources. As a Franciscan, it was such a blessing to be able to visit these places of our history, to learn about them and then pray at them. Of course we enjoyed the incredible Italian food and coffee, and each night had time to relax with the brothers over a glass of wine and/or gelato.

"There were many highlights, but one of the biggest was certainly our visit to Rome. We were able to connect with our brothers, Tommy Piolatta and Sean O'Malley. When we went to meet with Sean, he had arranged for us to meet Pope Francis when he was coming down for dinner. As the Pope came off the elevator, we sang two verses of the Ultima. He was very gracious, taking his time in greeting each of us with a smile and a handshake, and asked us to 'pray for him, not against him.' He left us with his blessing . . .

. . . and the group went off to a delicious meal with Sean. The next morning we took off: Tage back to Papua New Guinea and the rest of us to DC."

You can view thumbnails of all 192 photos here.
Check with us for a higher resolution , , ,

Changing Hands & Hearts
at Cap Corps

On Saturday, July 13th, Cap Corps honored our outgoing director of the program, and our most recent affiliate, Margaret McIntyre-Stacy, with a tribute to "honor her incredible leadership," while also celebrating 30 years of Cap Corps! Our new Director, Kyra Koons (Malamood) shared her own sense of feeling "very blessed to have inherited such an amazing community."

Cap Corps will have volunteers only in Washington D.C. this year, with the hope of returning to   Pittsburgh next year. A big shout out and congratulations to the 2023-2024 volunteers who were celebrated on Sunday (JULY 14) at Capuchin College in DC during the annual Commissioning Service (left). They are pictured below with Margaret. A beloved Cap Corps tradition allows each volunteer to share a reflection from their year using an object they choose. This year each DC volunteer shared an additional memento in honor of Ryan Realbutto, tragically taken from us in January, and the way he touched each of their lives.

Kyra shared that it has been a little over 10 years since Cap Corps moved into its current home in DC, and they're taking the time to invest in some new items. Board members and Kyra took inventory of the house and have created a preliminary Cap Corps DC House Wish List on Amazon (check it out for your fraternity!). They're also in need of two couches for the living room (one larger one, and one love seat/2 person couch - check your attic).

Kyra joins our Capuchin family as Director of the program but is no stranger to us. As Cap Corps Board Chair Ana Chapa (Volunteer in 2000-2001) wrote in her introduction of our new director:

Kyra brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of our mission and values, having served as a volunteer with us in 2015-2016 (right). She was deeply formed in her faith and developed strong friendships with many of the Capuchin friars, finding them a real witness to the faith. Following her volunteer year, Kyra returned to Villanova University to pursue her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Since then, Kyra has remained involved with Cap Corps as a frequent retreat cook, volunteer recruiter at college fairs, and by attending countless Capuchin events and celebrations.

Of her new role Kyra said, “Cap Corps was such a pivotal year in my life, so I am very excited and grateful that I get to guide the program into its next season. I am most excited about building relationships with volunteers, witnessing how God will work in their lives during their year of service and accompanying them in the highs and lows throughout their journey.”Her dedication to service and her passion for making a difference in the lives of others have always been evident, and we are confident that she will continue to inspire and lead us in her new capacity.

Current Director, Magaret McIntyre Stacy stated, "It's not easy to leave Cap Corps, but it brings me great peace and excitement that it's in the very capable hands of Kyra Koons. She was an exceptional volunteer who was fully committed to all parts of the program: her service placement at the Spanish Catholic Center, community, prayer, simplicity, and developing relationships with the friars and all who she encountered. I know she will be even more so as the Program Director!"

Let's keep them in prayer in these weeks as they prepare for their 31st year!

CPL Highlights Its Chapel is Ready for the Re-Do

Mick Joyce alerted us to an article in the July/August edition of Northeast Ohio Catholic  from the Diocese of Cleveland. Entitled Seminary Chapel . . . to be rededicated in August, the article outlines some of the story behind the chapel's history and shares some of the highlights in the chapel's renovation. The chapel, originally contructed in 1948 by the Good Shepherd Sisters as the cornerstone for their Marycrest School for Girls (seen here in the early 1950s), became the chapel for Borromeo's college students and now serves as the chapel for the Center for Pastoral Leadership which houses a college program and theology program for priesthood aspirants. You may find some of the improvements and enhancements to be notable for the next time you visit.

Diocese of Mendi Launches the Pastoral Plan 2023-2027

On May 19, 2024 our brother bishop Don Lippert introduced the presentation of the Pastoral Plan prepared for the Diocese of Mendi. In introductory letter to the prepared booklet (which you can view and/or download here), Don expressed his hopes and his gratitude:

"We feel a profound humility in preparation and launching of the Pastoral Plan because we always acknowledge and call upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead an guide our church . . . . We faithfully believe that it is the Holy Spirit who has guided us to this moment in our history as the Catholic Diocese of Mendi, serving faithfully in the Southern Highlands and Hela Province of PNG, and that the same Spirit will lead us into a hopeful future despite many challenges and difficulties.

"Gratitude also fills our hearts as well present this new plan that will guide our pastoral ministry for the next several years. Many people have contributed to the elaboration of this new pastoral plan. . . .

"Next year, the Catholic Church throughout the world will celebrate the great Jubilee Year. The Holy Father has called us all to be Pilgrims of Hope. With the publishing of this new pastoral plan, let us all be filled with the hope that, with God’s help, we may all strive to follow all that is contained within this plan and come closer to our great goal of being a Church Alive in Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life."

Congratulations to Don and all of the women and men who played a part in its discernment. Let's add our prayers to theirs!

Ordinations in St. Conrad Province

The Province of St. Conrad celebrated the ordinations of three of its members to the priesthood in two separate ceremonies. On May 18th, Jordan Rojas (2013-14 novi confrere to our brothers Ross, Tommy and Diogo) was ordained at St. Mark’s Church in San Antonio, Texas, by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller, together with four seminarians of the Archdiocese of San Antonio (left, pictured with Provincial Minister Mark Schenk and bishops). On June 15th, Luke Jordan (2015-16 confreres Steve Wright and Rigobel) and Vincent Mary Carrasco (2016-17 confrere Edgar) were ordained at Annunciation Catholic Church in Denver, Colorado, by our Cardinal brother Sean O’Malley. At both ceremonies, the churches were filled to capacity. In San Antonio, besides the Archbishop and the two auxiliary bishops, there were almost 100 concelebrating priests, including almost all of our local friars. At the much smaller Annunciation Church in Denver, there were around 25 concelebrants. Provincial Minister Mark Schenk reported that this year "was the first time in the history of the Province that there were three ordinations in one year."

Jordan will be parochial vicar in Lawrence, KS, Luke will be the parochial vicar in San Antonio, TX, and Vincent will serve as parochial vicar in Colorado Springs, CO.

Captured and captioned  . . .

Our Tanzanian brother, Marino Msigala, posted a lovely collage for the "13th anniversary of priesthood."
The creative collection of photos neglected to mention the 20th Anniversary of his Profession this year,
but maybe Marino counts in units of 13s and not in 10s?
In any case, thanks for spending a major part of those 13 blessed years among us, brother.

And . . .

Sam Roberts is (was?) at, we're guessing, Puerto Morelos, Mexico (and can we claim a citing of Joseph Liu)?
The caption we saw reads:
Mom: “So how’s Mexico treating you?”
Me: “Well, when I came I only knew how to live my life in the grammatical present tense,
discovered my past self in el pretérito, y ahora,
vivo en los abstracciones de mi futuro…So if nothing else, just know I’m having fun!”

And . . .

Facebook's "John Skrtic" found a schoolmate (left):  "I met Fr. Dave Domanski in Downtown Cleveland. He is a Capuchin Franciscan Friar, Minister to the Incarcerated, and Chaplain at both Cuyahoga County Jail and Northeast Reintegration Center for Women. A graduate of Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, he was also sporting a hat to honor his nephews who attend St. Ed’s High School."

Finally . . .

We couldn't help but notice the stark contrast of Pittsburgh's Monongahela and Allegheny rivers as they come together at the 'burgh's Point to form the Ohio River (right). The Allegheny (flowing on our left) is notably different in color from the Monongahela (flowing on our right). The Allegheny River passes our motherhouse before it gets to the Point.

'Just saying . . . .