"God of mercy and compassion,
thank you for the extraordinary life, witness, and ministry
of Religious Brothers in our Church."
thank you for the extraordinary life, witness, and ministry
of Religious Brothers in our Church."
On May 1st, the Church celebrates and prays for the Religious brothers who are called to live out this important vocation in our Church. The vocation of the Lay Brother is an essential part of our Capuchin Francsican identity and way of life. Capuchin Lay Brothers, all over the world, serve as chaplains, teachers, psychologists, social workers, chefs and even environmental scientists! As in all Capuchin Provinces, we could not live our life authentically without the valuable witness of our Lay Brothers. It is a special and unique vocation centred on service and prayer - not focused on ordained service in the priesthood, but on essential work to build up the Body of Christ in a variety of important ways. Our Lay Brothers have ministered at home and in our missions bringing the uniqueness of what it means to be ‘Capuchin’ to all they meet. 
Celebrating Brothers in our communities has gone "International" this year. There are intercessions for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer as well as sample prayers for one's own devotion. Even if our Capuchin community's name suffered a misspelling on the celebration's website (above photo, highlighted), we're proud to be counted among the communities who are fortunate enough to be Brothers.