Meet InterCOM
This past weekend, October 8-9, Andrew McCarty gave us a heads up on the fall gathering of InterCOM (International Capuchins On Mission) in support of our dedicated International brothers who are working on mission within the Province. The group met at the Conventual Franciscans' Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, MD. The group shared in meals and fellowship and had sessions exploring the experiences of our confreres as they confronted the American culture, Ministry and Fraternity within our Province communities. Andrew served as coordinator and our international brothers (l-r with Andrew) Reginald Tlae, Anthony Essien, Marino Msigala, Aby Sebastian and Ignatius Okoye, were able to be present for the weekend. Thanks for all the work you do, brothers, and for all that you contribute to our life, our work and our spirit!
Breakfast at Malachi's, anyone?
On October 8th, for the first time in two years, St. Malachi Parish in Cleveland, OH, was happy to again begin to welcome their neighbors to a hot, freshly-cooked Saturday morning breakfast! Phil Bernier wrote that "eight different local groups have been organized to share the load and keep them coming back. These happy faces were part of the Notre Dame Alumni Club of Cleveland. Each week the numbers grow as do the thanks for a wonderful, warm way to begin the a cold Cleveland day."
One Come and See Weekend ago . . .
From August 12th to the 14th, Vocation Director Raf Anguiano hosted a Come and See Weekend at Alverno, assisted by friars from Capuchin College; even our Provincial Minister Bob Marva was able to be present for the weekend, though the photos never made it to our NewsNotes in late August. Here's a chance to make up for our tardiness . . . . ! The next weekend was scheduled for October 7-9 so it looks like we may be another NewsNotes behind next time! And thanks to Raf for searching out a different place to take the above group photo! Bravo!
St. Ambrose Hits the Street . . .
On Saturday, August 27th, the Community Days celebration of St. Ambrose in Baltimore kicked off with a free produce giveaway and Free Flea Market sponsored by our St. Vincent de Paul Society & St. Anthony’s Closet. The Lord blessed them with a beautiful day. A dozen children and their parents or grandparents enjoyed a movie, activities, games, pizza and dancing. Their annual Mass on the Grass was celebrated on the following day, the feast of St. Augustine . . .
And, a month later, on September 27, scores of people joined Bishop Lewandowski for the first post-pandemic Peace Walk held at St. Ambrose. They paused at five spots in the neighborhood that have been touched by violence. While moving from one place to another, they prayed the Litany of Names of the almost 250 persons killed on their streets . . . . Eternal rest grant them, Lord, and let your perpetual light shine on them. Amen.
Padre Pio & the Postulants Hit the Street, Too
On Tuesday, September 18th, Padre Pio Friary hosted the annual Padre Pio Festival, a block party with Mass, music, food, and ending with a healing service and adoration. Kevin Thompson celebrated mass, along with Fr. Jimmy Morgan, a priest from the Archdiocese of Washington who joined them for retreat the previous week. The friars, postulants and members of the Frankford community-- as well as confreres from Cap College in DC -- helped in preparation, as well as with the liturgy, music and food donations. Edgar Pereira and the postlants held games in the backyard for the children. It was said to be a day "filled with laughter, prayer and wonderful conversations over homemade meals." Hundreds of people came to be a part of it - sisters from the Missionaries of Charity and the Sisters of Life communities . . .
. . . and on October 3rd, the Padre Pio Prayer Center and St. Mark's Church, Frankford, celebrated the Transitus.
Padre Pio Friary also took their official fraternity photo for 2022-2023 . . . Looking good, guys.
1st row: Ben Duphiney; Edgar Pereira; Nicolas Stevens; Reynaldo Santana-Frías
2nd row: Tim Casey; Andrew McCarty; Charlie Cascino; Kevin Thompson; Jack Giannetti; Alex Hostoffer
No Free Day at Borromeo . . .
Rector Says: "Let them eat cake!"
Well, OK, maybe a pie . . .
. . . but John Paul Kuzma tells the tale: "Here are a few recent pictures: one is from this morning for our feast day Mass at Borromeo [October 4th] at which Bob Marva presided and preached. He tried to get the Rector to give us the day off, but the Rector wouldn’t budge. We were consoled with a festive lunch that included pie -- I like pie!"
The second picture is Mick Joyce holding a cross made by the Borromeo guys from the old pre-renovation book shelves. Several hundred were made, and once a corpus is selected to match the new chapel cross, one will be placed in each bedroom here."
Beaver Celebrates a Birthday
St. Fidelis Friary in Beaver, PA, celebrated the birthday of its Affiliate member, Al Gallo, on August 24th. Present was good friend Janet Maker who served as Secretary for the then St. Cecilia Parish in Rochester, PA, for which Al often served as receptionist and just about any other job he was asked to do. He continues to serve the Beaver Valley's parish of Our Lady of the Valley, and his care and generosity is edifying. Twyla Keller, a friend of Janet's from their former parish of Our Lady of Peace, Conway, joined the community for the evening.
A Contribution to our Story:
Pittsburgh's Orphans and Orphanages
Soon to be published is a new book in the Images of America series published by Arcadia Press. The latest is Pittsburgh's Orphans and Orphanages which is due to be available on October 17th. The book highlights the efforts of so many women and men who served the boy and girls who were, indeed, orphaned or in need of foster care. Of course, our own history is an important part of those efforts in the burgeoning populations of immigrant youth and the urban poverty of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Our involvement with the Sisters of Divine Providence at Toner Institute, which we administered from the early days of our Province story, was a major contribution in that social ministry. Many of our friars worked there, and others were themselves residents there before joining the Order. In fact, the authors, Joann Cantrell and James Wudarczyk, used a photo from the archives of Toner for their cover. Photos from our archives are included in the chapter dealing with the institute.
Originally called the Seraphic Home, Toner (as well as our work with our eventual work for foster youth at Auberlee Home for Boys - from 1952- in McKeesport, PA) was largely promoted through the Province's lauded magazine published by our friars. It was known variously as the Seraphischer Kinderfreund (Seraphic Friend of Children), the Seraphic Work of Mary and the Seraphic Home Journal. It even morphed further into the Capuchin Home Journal and the St. Francis Home Journal before ceasing publication in 1959, paving the way for its successor, the quarterly Capuchin Challenge in 1960.
As the Introduction reads: "For parents experiencing a crisis at the turn of the last century, public support provided few options. The government offered almost no social safety net, with “outdoor relief” programs granting limited direct aid such as coal, food, or shoes. . . Most of the assistance available to poor families came from private charities, including over 80 child welfare organizations founded in Pittsburgh starting in the 1830s. Most were built by religious associations in a great wave from the 1880s [our friars arrived in 1973] through the 1910s in a national period of institution-building that included orphanages, homes for young working women, old-age homes, and hospitals.
. . . In short, orphanages attempted to fulfill the temporary needs of working parents experiencing a childcare crisis, often the consequence of the social and economic conditions wrought by industrial wage capitalism . . . . The photographs collected in this volume provide crucial glimpses into the stories of those children, parents, families, and staff members during the era of Pittsburgh’s orphanages."
To read the excerpt below, click on the text,
Potpourri
Cap Corps has posted names and photos of our 2022-2023 group of volunteers from the Cleveland house and the reopened Washington DC residence, You can meet them here.
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It's back to school time - whoops: it's MID-TERM! In any case, Federico Vizquez was ready at the end of August to return to the old days and play as student again . . . It's in the bag . . .
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Speaking of school, we were reminded that Charlie McElroy is also well into the midst of the "roller coaster" of an academic year at Cleveland State University's Monte Ahuja School of Business. We stumbled on his Faculty Profile and also realized that he is "living the engaged learning motto" of the university. Aside from his doctorate in Information Systems, and his Masters degrees in National Security Studies/Environmental Science (University of Pennsylvania), Communications Management (John Carroll University) and Ethics (Washington Theological Union) did you know these "fun facts" from living the learning motto?
What is a common question you get from CSU students?
“What certification should I pursue in IT?”
What do you like most about teaching and why?
I like assisting students in achieving their potential, and I enjoy helping them to exceed their own expectations of themselves.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I enjoy travel, getting together with friends and working out in CSU’s beautiful gym.
Where is your favorite place in Cleveland and why?
Warehouse District Restaurants, I can go to meet my friends there and have a great dinner.
What is your personal motto/mantra/axiom?
“Adapt, Overcome and Conquer!”
What is a “fun fact” about you that many people may not know about you?
I am currently preparing to get recertified as an EMT, so that I can do an internship on a Medevac helicopter team.
My fear, Charlie, is that both IT and EMT may be among the "unknown unknowns" of consciousness. You probably have better luck with your students! Forge on!
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There are two articles highlighting Capuchin work for Ukranian refugees from the Catholic News Agency (Ukrainian refugees say they 'found new family' with friars in Slovakia) and the National Catholic Reporter (Franciscan acting workshops help Ukrainians express war trauma). 
That second article (and the actual link) masks the original title for the latter: Capuchin-Led Acting Workshops Help Ukrainians Express War Trauma. That original title was dropped a few hours after it was online with, of course, a 'correction' to the previous posting: The original version of this article incorrectly identified the Franciscan affiliation of the acting workshops. They were collaborative efforts among Capuchin and Conventual Franciscans and Secular Franciscans. The original version also misattributed the Franciscan affiliation of Conventual Fr. Michael Lasky. We apologize for the errors. We have any number of things to apologize to the Conventuals and Seculars for, but we're glad the NCR acknowledged the error after we saw the habits and non-habits represented . . . whoops . . .
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Going Home Like a Shooting Star
Aside from remembering Gary Stakem today as he gets his communal 'send off' to what Jack Pfannenstiel coined as the "eternity fraternity," our confrere Blaine Burkey informed us that, on St. Francis Day, he "spent a very pleasant and inspiring hour watching the recently released documentary on [Francis'] spiritual daughter, the Servant of God Franciscan Sister Theo Bowman (1937-1990). You can have the same joyous experience by setting aside an hour [actually just under 58 minutes] and engaging." Thanks, Blaine . . . It's worth the time in the eternity community.