THE FRANCISCAN WAY /SPRING 2024

franciscan way

a publication of Franciscan Friars Charities

Witnessing

the love of Christ through the ministries of the Franciscan friars across the United States.

It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.

—St. Francis of Assisi

One of the famous sayings of Saint Francis of Assisi is: "Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God, for up until now we have done little or nothing." This statement represents the mission of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, which is dedicated to serving the poor, forgotten, and marginalized communities alongside people of goodwill in various ministries, parishes, missions, universities, and high schools in the United States, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica.

The Anthonian Franciscan magazine's final issue mentioned the introduction of a new publication called The Franciscan Way. This magazine aims to share stories of friars serving communities across the country.

In the first issue, you can read about Father Ryan Thornton, OFM, who is from Southern California. Father Ryan serves as the pastor of St. Mark's University Parish, which was established in 1965 during significant expansion of the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.

You can also explore the contemplative lifestyle of the Poor Clare nuns, a part of the Franciscan family in Spokane, Washington. Despite their monastic life, they provide a place of refuge for the wider community, which depends on their prayers and moral support.

Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, who ministers among Native Americans as the pastor of San Xavier del Bac Mission in Tucson, Arizona,

emphasizes through his mission, the importance of being present in the Native American community.

Chaplains play a crucial role for those who serve in the military. Father and Admiral Louis Iasielo, OFM, who formerly worked as a navy chaplain, shares his experiences in caring for all members of the armed forces.

Father Russell Becker, OFM, will continue to contribute to this new publication. In this issue, he invites readers to reflect on the lessons that can be learned from our ancestors in faith.

If you feel a calling from God, here is an article for you. Father Greg Plata, OFM, who serves as the vocations director for the nationwide Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, shares his experience in vocations work. As the former vocation director of the legacy Assumption Province in Wisconsin, he feels very optimistic that men will respond to God's calling.

As Franciscans, we are grateful for your prayers and support, which allow us to assist those in need. The friars promise to pray for our benefactors and their intentions.

Brother Eddie Caro, OFM, shares his passion and creativity through baking delicious desserts to support his community in Carolina, Puerto Rico. And so once again we begin through faith in God and the teachings of St. Francis, as we discover our own blessings through giving to others.

St. Mark's, the Home of the Catholic Gaucho

Father Ryan Thornton, a 40-year-old scholar, priest and friar, is deeply knowledgeable in history and is determined to foster a Catholic presence in a predominantly secular academic setting.

Searching for God Through a Contemplative Life

The Poor Clares in Spokane, Washington, open the doors of hope to those in despair and the gates of heaven for those in darkness. Prayer changes hearts, situations, and circumstances.

A Friar Who Ministers to the Tohono O’odham People

Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, the pastor of the San Xavier del Bac Mission, focuses on the concept of mission and the importance of presence among Native Americans.

A Retired Admiral Chaplain Has Embraced Ministry as a Friar Scholar

The work of a Catholic military chaplain is similar to that of a parish priest. They are responsible for preparing weddings, baptisms, and confirmations, and celebrating Mass.

Attracting Vocations Through Social Media

Modern communication tools are making the Franciscan brand more widely recognized. Young men are seeking out the friars based on what they see on social media.

Sugar, Flour and Faith: A Friar's Path Towards Pastry

Brother Eddie Caro, OFM, began making desserts in late 1996 to financially support the fraternity he belonged to in Sabana Seca, a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The Franciscan Lens

St. Francis continues to inspire us to walk in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A community of One Heart and Mind

No challenge will be too great for us to become a believing community completely united in spirit and purpose, powerfully testifying to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

La tarta franciscana y la dulce vocación del hermano Eddie

El hermano franciscano Eddie Caro, creó una tarta llamada "tarta franciscana" con ingredientes caribeños como guayaba y mango.

ST. MARK'S THE HOME OF THE CATHOLIC GAUCHO

By Peter Feuerherd

Duran, OFM

The University of California, Santa Barbara, provides an educational environment known for its relaxed atmosphere and proximity to scenic coastal areas. However, the campus culture can present unique challenges for Catholic students.

The University of California, Santa Barbara, offers a relaxed West Coast vibe: nearly endless sunshine, nearby beaches and mountains, and a student life known for its hippie and surfing legacy. But it’s different for faithful Catholic students.

For Catholic students who are part of the St. Mark’s University Parish in Isla Vista, college life is more akin to first-century Rome. Those who live the Catholic faith not only lack support but regularly encounter hostility

from the campus culture.

That’s the view of their pastor, Father Ryan Thornton, OFM, a 40-year-old scholar imbued with a wide breadth of history and determined to promote a Catholic niche in a highly secular academic environment. In his three years at the Santa Barbara campus ministry he's found that the hostility is sometimes subtle. A student came to him after her religious studies class, which featured an exam question focused squarely on placing the blame for imperialism and

colonial exploitation on the Catholic Church. He counseled the student on how best to approach the question while being accurate to history and to her faith.

Other times the hostility is more apparent. “It’s as overt as a statue going through your window,” says the Franciscan priest. He notes one incident, which took place after the university parish sponsored a meal for the homeless. Someone in a rage of anti-Catholic hostility threw a religious statue into the chapel’s glass window. The perpetrator is still at large.

“That’s what happens when you do good,” says Father Ryan.

The Franciscan comes to the task of campus ministry with an academic background, wellequipped for a defense of the church, combined with a pastoral sense, to accompany the 300 active Catholic students and 350 more families from the wider community. They are a few fish in a large ocean, since the Santa Barbara campus, a part of the massive state a system, enrolls some 26,000 students.

Equipped with a sense of the culture Born and raised in Southern California, Father Ryan studied philosophy and classics at Harvard before entering the

Photography by Octavio

Franciscans. He has ministered in a number of roles through the years, including as a hospital chaplain in Guatemala and, before entering the Franciscan community, as an English teacher in Ukraine. He was parochial vicar at Sts. Simon and Jude in Huntington Beach and earned a doctorate in economics in Paris and a licentiate in Rome.

With that academic background, Father Ryan uses his knowledge of history and the Franciscan life to battle an aggressively secular college life. He is joined by the Catholic students, for whom he expressed admiration.

“They choose to be Catholic. They are making a radical choice,” he says about the active Catholic students on campus. His mission is to affirm and support that choice.

The campus ministry offers a

Embedding Franciscan values in a secular college

Father Ryan Thornton, OFM, (opposite page), has discovered in three years at the Santa Barbara campus ministry that hostility can sometimes be subtle. Father Ryan (main photo), showed the surfboard that greets students at St. Mark's, where students take part in various programs. St. Mark’s offers a distinct perspective through regular Eucharistic Adoration, Mass in English and Spanish, Scripture study and reflection, as well as workshops on Church history and spiritual growth.

variety of programs. While the church serves the 350 noncollege families in the parish, most of the surrounding area is filled with student housing, so much of the parish population comes from dorms and sorority and fraternity houses, places not known for expressions of Catholic piety.

St. Mark’s provides a different perspective through regular eucharistic adoration, Mass in English and Spanish, Scripture study and reflection, as well as seminars on church history and spiritual development. Along with presentations on spirituality from Carmelite Sisters, the parish sponsors an intramural soccer team. Students, says Father Ryan, hungers for a deeper intellectual foundation for their faith beyond what they may have learned in Catholic high school or parish religious

education. Programs at St. Mark’s try to meet that need.

St. Mark’s University Parish was officially founded in 1965 when the University of California campus began to expand rapidly from a couple thousand to tens of thousands of students.

Early in the 1960’s, a 1.5-acre property was purchased close to campus, and a small church and office/rectory structure were completed in 1966 to serve the students at Santa Barbara and the surrounding community of Isla Vista. For most of its history, the community was led by the Paulist Fathers until Father Ryan was appointed pastor three years ago by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The primary goal is evangelization, with that responsibility resting largely on the students. The friars provide leadership on the parish council.

Call to be evangelizers

Friars and students gather to prepare sandwiches (top) to be delivered. Father Louis Khoury, OFM, (below) and a group of students go out onto the streets to search for people who may need a sandwich. Some of the students have discovered their faith at St. Mark's.

And they are the ones who offer invitations to their fellow students to campus ministry events, often informally in after-class discussions or at campus social gatherings.

Elisse Weinerth, a senior, is chair of the parish council and president of Gaucho Catholic, the student leadership council at St. Mark’s.

“St. Mark’s has been a place of true personal growth for me, impacting so many areas of my life,” she says. Raised Catholic, she comes from a family who attended Mass together and prayed the rosary.

“Although I had a strong foundation in my faith through my family, I was never able to share this gift with friends my own age, having not had any devoutly Catholic friends. My home parish also did not have very strong youth leadership opportunities, so I was not very involved in the Catholic community,” she says.

But after coming to Santa Barbara, “The first day I moved into my school dorm I came straight to Mass, not knowing anyone but feeling at home in a Catholic church. Someone from the student community reached out to me as I was walking out and invited me to an event,” she adds, noting that she has been involved for her entire life as a college student.

CALLED TO BE AN EVANGELIZER

“I enjoy talking to people who are unsure about their faith and demonstrating that they can still be youthful and have fun while placing God at the center of their lives,” she says.

Yesenia Gil, a UC Santa Barbara junior, says that she discovered faith at St. Mark’s.

“I was not interested in my faith or even remotely close to being an ideal follower of Christ. I thought churches were full of older people

who did not have anything better to do with their lives then hang out and pray,” she says.

Finding a faith community filled with fellow students changed her perspective.

“Having somewhere we can all meet and pray together changed the whole dynamic I even had around friendships. I was able to have wholesome relationships. St. Mark’s feels like a place of asylum in a scary place like Isla Vista,” she says.

For Yesenia, St. Mark’s is a place she can feel free to pray the rosary with friends and find an opportunity to minister to the homeless.

Their pastor is attuned to the cultural currents navigated by Catholic students at UC Santa Barbara.

Father Ryan grew up in Pasadena, Calif., attended private schools, and became interested in the history of the Franciscan community after considering a vocation in the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

He was drawn to the Franciscan belief in the essential duty of living out the Gospel. He believes "that the call of the Gospel is timeless, it is only we who become old."

He was raised in a family for whom participating in Sunday Mass remained a priority. It was a requirement that transcended interest in weekend sports and other activities, an attitude he encourages among Catholic students at Santa Barbara. Much of his academic career focused on Franciscan history, including a doctoral thesis on the economics of early Franciscan life and studies in the theology of St. Bonaventure.

Father Ryan works in a small Franciscan community with fellow Franciscan Father Louis Khoury, OFM, who serves as an associate at the university parish. They are also connected to the larger Franciscan community at the nearby Santa Barbara Mission.

Leading a university parish can produce the same kind of headaches pastors routinely encounter. For example, the university church needs a new baptismal font. In 2023, on Easter, 16 students were baptized, highlighting the need as a result of successful evangelization efforts.

Meeting the challenges of the ministry

Team members Father Louis Khoury, OFM, and students (top and below) are working together to address the needs of the poor in the area. Father Louis, along with Yesenia Gil, front desk secretary, Sarah Torres, Campus Minister and Pastoral Assistant, and Father Ryan, are making use of the diverse opportunities to spread the Gospel at a secular campus (middle photo).

“The irony is that we don’t have a baptismal font that works. It leaks, the pump is broken, and the heater doesn’t run so that I spend every Holy Saturday afternoon using coffee percolators to boil water to heat the font in time for the Easter Vigil,” he says.

Ultimately, says the friar, it’s a good problem to have. Still, the challenges at UC Santa Barbara remain unique to a parish so tied to university life.

UC Santa Barbara is filled with temptations, whether it’s embracing a totally secular world view or becoming completely immersed in the parties and social life of the school. Yet life on a secular campus offers wide opportunities to spread the Gospel, says Father Ryan. He believes his background as an academic and youngish priest is a plus. At 40, he is of a different generation yet close enough in age to remember what it’s like to be a college student.

He offers students both an understanding of their cultural background and the scholastic wherewithal to engage their faith in a secular, sometimes hostile, environment.

While educated in Europe, as a native southern Californian from the Los Angeles suburbs he knows the temptations faithful Catholic students face in West Coast culture.

The challenges are great, but Father Ryan says he wouldn’t have it any other way, even after encountering the occasional statue thrown through the church window.

“For me, this is the perfect situation,” he says about his ministry at the university parish. “It combines the pastoral element and the educational element. It’s life-giving to me.”

Celebrate

the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua with the Franciscan Friars and St. Anthony’s Guild Family

This year’s Feast of St. Anthony of Padua is extra special because St. Anthony’s Guild is celebrating its 100th Anniversary!

Sign up for free exclusive access at join.stanthonysguild.org/fwystanthony

• June 5, 2024 – 9-Day Novena and St. Anthony video series begins

• June 13, 2024 – Feast Day Live-Streamed Mass, 10:00 a.m. EST

Padua L i ly…

On the Feast Day, the Friars will place a live Padua Lily ($25 donation) with your special intentions at the feet of the statue of St. Anthony at The Great Shrine on West 31st Street in New York City. Your Padua Lily and intentions will remain in The Shrine for one week. Our supply of Padua Lilies is limited, so call 646-398-5957 or visit www.thefranciscanstore.org/fwypadualily.

www.thefranciscanstore.org/fwypadualily or scan the QR code below.

TBy Peter Feuerherd

Photography by Octavio Duran, OFM

Searching for God Through a Contemplative Life

he year was 1981, and 30-year-old Marcia Kay LaCour was working at an office supply store in her California hometown. One of the visiting manufacturer's reps heard she was soon to enter the Poor Clare Monastery in Spokane, Washington.

“Why do you want to waste your life doing that?” he asked.

That jarring question has stayed with Sister Marcia Kay, currently the abbess of the monastery, through five decades.

And her answer is that a life devoted to prayer can never be wasted as God continues to write straight via crooked lines.

She entered the monastery on September 17 of that year. She now leads a community of five sisters, who oversee, among other things, a radio station, a garden, a dog and two cats.

They are a cloistered community living in a four-story structure situated on a walled-in (enclosed) city block within a residential area, allowing them,

in many ways, a connection to the outer world while being part of a residential community in the center of Spokane. “We are in the middle of the city. We are not out in the country. It makes us more visible, way more approachable,” she says.

The sisters can offer the wider community more than just occasional produce from their garden and Catholic radio programs reaching eastern Washington and Idaho. They also offer prayer.

Sister Marcia Kay joined the monastery on September 17, 1981. She is currently responsible for a community of five sisters and oversees multiple activities, such as managing a radio station, tending to a garden, and looking after a dog.

"People show up at the door and ask, 'what is this place?' We tell them, 'It’s a house of prayer,' she says, noting that “a sense of peace is palpable for the people who come here.”

The monastery serves as a peaceful presence in Washington state, an area of the country where more than three-quarters of the population does not attend church. The culture of the Pacific Northwest is focused on basking in the beauty of nature, hiking, fishing and hunting. Many say they find God in that way and don’t need organized religion.

The Poor Clares’ presence points to another path to the Divine. The sisters’ routine includes 6 a.m. rising, followed by exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, office of readings, morning prayer, daily Mass and the chores of cooking, cleaning,

gardening and maintaining the chapel, the monastery and the radio station, as well as praying the rest of the Liturgy of the Hours throughout the day.

Still, “Our main ministry is to be available for prayer. Everything else flows from that,” says Sister Marcia Kay.

And it’s a joyous calling, filled with mindful commitment to those in Spokane and beyond who seek out the sisters for assistance.

Their ministry of prayer support has included a distraught father, upset that his son was afflicted with a leg tumor. That son is now a gifted hockey player.

Another friend of the monastery was a stained-glass artist who ran a studio in Spokane. Years ago, Sister Marcia Kay went to the studio to learn about stained glass.

“I had lost several babies and I was pretty sad about it,” recalls Annie. So the artist asked, in lieu of payment, that the sisters pray for her. She eventually became a mother of four, and subsequently asked the sisters to hold off on the prayers lest they overdo a good thing.

“God is good. When we turn to him, amazing things happen. And when they don’t happen as we hope, there’s a greater good he has in mind,” says Sister Marcia Kay.

The Poor Clares, who trace their community to St. Clare, the companion of Francis of Assisi, are linked to the OFM community.

The monastery in Spokane was originally part of the Franciscan Sacred Heart Province, then became a part of the Province of Saint Barbara,

Called to a life of prayer and outreach to the outside world

Sister Marcia Kay LaCour, OSC, the abbess, at the studio of KTTO AM 970 (opposite page). Sister Jane Wade, OSC, Sister Colleen Byrne, OSC, Father Michael Savelesky, Sister Marcia Kay LaCour, OSC, Sister Debbie Brown, OSC, and Rita Louis McLean, OSC,(l-r), posed for a photograph after the daily Mass.

California, when it was erected in 1915 and is now part of the recently-formed Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, which extends across the United States.

The sisters are mainly autonomous, but the friars’ provincial represents them in canonical concerns. The friars operate a nearby parish in Spokane, and they provide spiritual support and the sacraments for the sisters.

The relationship is one of equals, says Sister Marcia Kay. “We are brothers and sisters. We are family.”

The Poor Clares in Spokane date to 1914, when four sisters arrived, sent from their community in Omaha, Nebraska, to begin a contemplative group in the Northwest. Three were from Ireland, and one was a Nebraska native. In many ways Spokane was at the time a frontier town, filled with barren, dusty streets but poised for growth.

At the time, the bishops in this

country debated whether the emerging, bustling United States, with its large immigrant Catholic communities in need of direct services, such as schools and hospitals, needed contemplative religious communities modeled on those in Europe when the need was so great for active ones.

Those who favored adding a contemplative presence won out.

Under the leadership of Mother Mary Leopold, the first abbess, the original Spokane community begged for alms from local shopkeepers and, within a year, their numbers had increased to 10, thanks to new arrivals from Omaha, Nebraska.

They began in a rented house with a tiny chapel, which they soon outgrew. Thanks to a fundraising campaign supported by the local bishop, the community began building a monastery a year after their arrival and moved into it in 1916. However, due to the Depression the sisters were unable to pay off the monastery and, with the

bishop's assistance, the Sisters of Providence purchased the facility and converted it into old age home. The Poor Clare Sisters moved back to a residence but by 1926 were able to build another monastery, where they have lived ever since.

True to its origins, the community lives a life of poverty, relying on the support of others. For a number of years the sisters sold some of their artwork at fundraisers. Sister Marcia Kay used to do stained glass and needlework, while Sister Jane made ceramics and decorative candles, but that is no longer possible.

The sisters relied on an annual fundraising tea where various crafts and bakery items were sold to assist in providing for the maintenance of the monastery, but had to discontinue it in 2003 and currently depend completely on the providence of God. Their vow of poverty means that they remain reliant, with little savings to fall back on.

“All I can say is that God finds a way for us to be here,” says Sister Marcia Kay.

Through the years, they have raised their public profile.

Through their website, the sisters compiled, edited and printed a collection of true accounts from people's lives for a series of books featuring stories of how God has provided for their needs via the rosary, the Eucharist, the priesthood, the sacrament of reconciliation and answered prayers.

Their radio station is part of the Sacred Heart network, beaming Catholic programming throughout the day and night, deep into eastern Washington, Idaho and metropolitan Spokane. Most of the programs come via a satellite-computer linkup, but

sometimes the sisters will take the microphones and present their own spiritual messages.

The sisters in the community came to the contemplative life through different paths.

Sister Jane Wade noted that she came to Spokane attracted to “the idea that prayer has a wider field of ministry affecting the world and all people,” and “there was a genuine family atmosphere” at the monastery. She has been with the community for 54 years and contributes via her talent for creating paschal candles for Easter and wedding candles for benefactors, as well as ceramics and religious statues.

Sister Colleen Byrne, 36 years with the monastery, says she was drawn to the monastic life, in particular the Liturgy of the Hours. She has a degree in microbiology with a medical technology option and assists with the sisters’ health needs.

Sister Colleen noted that the community remains connected

Life in community

Sisters Debbie and Colleen prepare a book shipment (opposite page). Gathered at the table to play Mexican Train, a game the sisters sometimes play at recreation (top). Sister Debbie holding Mocha Latte, a ten-year-old blue bi-color ragdoll cat.

to the world while being immersed in prayer life.

“Many people are surprised to know how informed we are about current events and how involved we are with the wider community,” she says.

Sister Debbie was raised a Protestant in California and has been with the community for 14 years. She sees her ecumenical worldview as a plus in reaching out to different people. Once an active Franciscan sister, she has found the contemplative life a blessing.

“I'm surprised at how well my life experiences fit into the contemplative life and ministry,” she says.

Sister Rita Louise entered the community at 18-years old and has served 57 years, much of that time as community sacristan. She was attracted to the Poor Clares after an article in her

A time for everything

diocesan newspaper described the joy sisters experienced through the contemplative vocation.

“I am always grateful for the opportunity of community and liturgical prayer with the Sisters, and I am genuinely interested in the needs of those who come to us for intercessory prayer,” she says.

The vocation requires dedication, notes Sister Rita Louise. “Living in a close household situation with the same people, wonderful as they are, requires much denying of myself in cheerfulness, in serenity and in service."

Contrary to the opinion expressed by that manufacturer's rep decades ago, her life has not been a wasted one, says Sister Marcia Kay. The work continues, with the sisters careful to avoid the temptation to let routine

duties overwhelm their mission to prayer.

That devotion to prayer still makes a mark on the Spokane community. It frequently has to be explained. Being in the midst of a residential neighborhood, they often receive visitors who drop by, knock on the door, and ask about the purpose of the community. They are told all about the monastery’s activities, but ultimately the answer returns to the focus on prayer.

Living in an active world where suffering and conflict abound, Sister Marcia Kay would argue that the contemplative dimension is needed now more than ever. “Our ministry and our vocation is all about being that assuring presence.... that yes, God hears, God cares, God is present, and we’re here for you too,” she says.

Sacred Heart Radio Network covers all of Washington state, parts of Idaho and Montana, and Kodiak, Alaska. It is also available anywhere online from their website: https://sacredheartradio.org

Sister Colleen (top l.), steps outside the monastery to walk Gabby, a golden retriever. Sister Rita (top r.), prepares to bring the Eucharistic gifts to the altar for the daily Mass.

FRANCISCAN FRIARS Charities powers the work of the friars, who quench the flames of poverty, hardship and despair for millions of people who come to the collective Franciscan doorstep in the United States, Puerto Rico and Cuba, and at missions in Jamaica, Africa and South America. From Texas, New Mexico, Missouri and Wisconsin, to Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, the friars live and serve in solidarity with those on the margins.

A Friar Who Ministers to the Tohono O’odham People

By Peter Feuerherd

Duran, OFM

Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, is the guardian and pastor of the San Xavier del Bac Mission. San Xavier Mission is located approximately 10 miles south of downtown Tucson, Arizona, and comprises nearly 72,000 acres of Sonoran desert. The Tohono O'odham people, whose name translates to Desert People, comprise around 33,643 members, with 2,318 being part of the San Xavier District.

It is late afternoon in Arizona, and Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, is speaking on the phone to an interviewer from across the country after a long day of traveling through the desert. He is describing how, as a Franciscan missionary, he has traveled extensively to spread the Gospel.

Gregarious, with a regular smile, and always a self-deprecating aside about his experiences, Father Ponchie is guardian and pastor of the San Xavier del Bac Mission, located about 15 minute-drive south of downtown Tucson. He’s been there since June 2022, part of a long ministry to the

Photography by Octavio

Tohono O’odham people. They live in a hard scrabble, difficult region, one of the poorest areas in the United States.

The desert at its best encourages solitude, at its worst deadly isolation. Father Ponchie – maybe because he has spent so

much of his life in the desert— revels in community and is a non-stop talker, always with a quick insight into Franciscan ministry.

As pastor of a church in the outer Tucson desert, in many ways he has a more comfortable existence than at his previous ministerial outpost.

Father Ponchie spent some 13 years based at the San Solano Mission, where he covered a

parish area that was as large as the state of Connecticut. Based in Topawa, about an hour-and-ahalf drive from San Xavier del Bac, it is one of the oldest mission sites in the United States, with a Catholic presence going back to 1687, nearly a century before colonists were forming a new nation on the East Coast.

Getting to the outer fringes of his former parish requires a full day’s drive back-and-forth.

Immersing himself in the life of an indigenous people meant for many years being known as someone apart, someone different.

The friars have been serving at the mission since 1908 Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, poses for a photo in the main church of the San Xavier Mission (opposite page). After Mass, Father Ponchie greets parishioners and tourists (top). Father Ponchi (left) goes back to the friary to take little rest before returning to celebrate his next Sunday Mass.

The friars have ministered at the mission in the nation’s third-largest reservation since 1908. The mission region that is part of the Tohono O’odham Nation covers nearly 5,000 square miles and crosses the U.S.-Mexico border to the west of Tucson. The two mission parishes are San Solano Mission and San Xavier Mission. The region includes one small town, Sells, and around 70 villages.

THE DESERT PEOPLE

The Tohono O’odham people, also known as Desert People, have about 33,643 members. They are dealing with significant long-term challenges, such as high suicide rates, gang activity, unemployment, immigration concerns, and drug trafficking.

As an outsider, Father Ponchie long ago realized that acceptance is a long-term project.

Even after 13 years, “they consider you a visitor. They are in for the long haul,” he says. His philosophy of mission among Native Americans focuses on presence.

“You have to go out and live among them. You have to sit on a rock and be with them,” he says. Much of his ministry involves providing the sacraments and praying with the long-established community. He’s also spent time providing water

Mission San Xavier del Bac

A National Historic Landmark founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, (opposite page) is shown celebrating one of the three Sunday Masses at San Xavier Mission. Construction of the present church began in 1783 and was completed in 1797. The church, the oldest intact European structure in Arizona, is filled with original statuary and mural. Visitors can step back in time and enter an authentic 18th-century space while visiting this historic site.

and other basic needs to migrants passing through from Mexico and Central America.

Being in many ways a cultural outsider is nothing new for Father Ponchie, who arrived at the minor seminary at Santa Barbara, California, in 1978. He was only 15-years old, a Tejano kid from Fort Worth, Texas, who had never met a Franciscan until coming to the California mission.

Deep in the heart of Texas, he was inspired by books he read about St. Francis. He learned about parish life through Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, a small yet vibrant parish in Fort Worth led by the Claretian fathers.

From the Claretians he learned about what a vital parish community among struggling people was like. Studying the life of Francis caused him to seek out the friars in Santa Barbara, a half-continent away.

“They didn’t like the idea,” he says about his parents. Even his late mother, a woman of strong faith and piety, left it up to her son to do the required research. Begrudgingly, they let him take off for California.

He landed as the last of the vocations nurtured at the minor seminary, which closed soon after he graduated. Franciscan policy nowadays, as with most religious communities, is to take

in more experienced candidates. It’s considered a vocational requirement to have some experience in the outside world.

But the young Ponchie earned his experience via Franciscan community. Still he considers his family life back in Texas as excellent mission training. He is a proud Tejano, a part of a group with five generations in Texas, growing out of the Mexican mestizo culture. Tejanos learn early to navigate Anglo, Spanish and indigenous cultures, embracing Spanglish and inspired by deep Texas roots. In many ways it was good training for a future missionary.

Was it a rash choice to trust his

vocation to a group he had never met as a 15-year-old who had never ventured far from home?

Father Ponchie knows his is a unique story for his generation. He ponders the question, and the answers reveal a man who has contemplated vocation and its meaning.

“Why I entered, and why I stay

are different reasons,” he says. Throughout the process of his Franciscan training, “I fell in love with God.” What the 15- year-old Ponchie experienced in the middle of Texas in books about a medieval Italian saint resonated in his own life.

Living in Franciscan community made the experience

Serving in a desert mission

Father Ponchie Vasquez, OFM, (top) is surrounded by native plants in the courtyard of the friary at San Xavier Mission. Brother David Paz, OFM, and Father Ponchie (left l-r) in the Sacristy of the mission church. Father Ponchie and Father Edward Sarrazin, OFM, (opposite page l-r) celebrating Mass at the profession of Douglas Lee Esch a member of the secular Franciscan Order.

more than words in a book. Nearly always the youngest friar in every community he served, he learned from his older friar brothers. In particular he learned via service in the province infirmary, where he ministered to the needs of his older brothers who were preparing to meet, in Franciscan terms, Sister Death. They offered glimpses into the vocations of those who faithfully served in mission territories, as well as parish priests and college professors. As they died, they told the young friar about their lives of service.

Besides his work in the desert missions, Father Ponchie served as director of temporary professed friars in Oakland for five years, as parochial vicar for Oakland parishes and as a prison chaplain. But the bulk of his ministry has been with Native Americans in southwestern of Arizona.

A MINISTRY THAT DEMANDS PATIENCE.

Each group has its own culture, its own way of doing things. The people he ministers to now are more urban, tied into the life of the greater Tucson region. Previously, he worked with much more rural and isolated groups. There are 500 or so indigenous nations in the United States, and each one is different, says Father Ponchie. Some groups capture wider truths about the Catholic faith in their own way of doing things. While the Church at large grapples with the concept of

synodality, indigenous leadership has long practiced the art of listening to their people before making important decisions. Synodality is part of the DNA of the indigenous peoples of the Southwest, he says.

“Everything is done with extra consideration,” he says. Meetings are held, people are listened to. One recent issue discussed in tribal councils in Arizona is the stance of the group towards migrants traveling through their lands from the nearby Mexican border, an issue that Father Ponchie and other friars have a stake in, seeing migrants as part of their mission of hospitality.

During lengthy meetings, I make sure to present another perspective. I share stories of migrants who mistreated the locals as they traveled through. The tribal leadership is working to balance the importance of hospitality with the necessity of security. In a YouTube video on Franciscan vocations made seven

years ago, Father Ponchie offered advice to those contemplating a religious vocation. He suggested that they consciously place themselves in uncomfortable and difficult situations.

It’s obvious he has lived that message, ever since his arrival as a 15-year-old at the Santa Barbara Mission on the lush California coast, known for its mild climate and prosperous communities. Yet Father Ponchie has nurtured that vocation in harsher desert places.

The desert is a place that plays a major role in the Scriptures, particularly the Gospels. In its vastness, it is where Jesus encountered his Father and sought prayer away from the crowds of the villages. For Father Ponchie, it is the place where he continues to renew his Franciscan vocation.

“It’s where we are told to go to find the peace of God. He always tells us to go to the desert,” Father Ponchie says

The Franciscan Lens

BY OCTAVIO DURAN, OFM

An eight-foot statue of St. Francis at Siena College, designed by John Collier, depicts St. Francis walking in the footsteps of Jesus.

Francis started traveling around the countryside, resembling a troubadour. Having nothing of his own, Francis depended entirely on the kindness of others for his basic needs, such as food, clothing and shelter. Eventually, Francis came back to Assisi and started the reconstruction of the church of San Damiano on his own.

He asked for money on the streets of Assisi and transported stones from a nearby quarry without any help.

He also repaired various other churches in the area until one day he heard a reading from the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus instructs the disciples to preach about the kingdom of God without shoes or staff.

A Retired Admiral Chaplain Has Embraced Ministry as a Friar Scholar

By Peter Feuerherd Photography by Octavio Duran, OFM

Father Louis Iasiello, OFM, served as an admiral in the U.S. military, making him the only Franciscan chaplain to reach that rank. However, his primary identity was as a Franciscan friar, committed to a life of poverty, prayer and preaching the Gospel.

An admiral and a friar walk into a bar. Sounds like the beginnings of a joke, but the punchline here is that Father Louis Iasiello, OFM, and the former Chief of Chaplains for the U.S. military are one and the same person. That makes Father Louis the only Franciscan chaplain to reach the exalted rank of admiral, although the friar prefers to see himself as just another Franciscan.

Today the 73-year-old friar is teaching both

freshmen and seniors at Siena College near Albany, New York. One of the courses he teaches is Life As Pilgrimage, an opportunity for students to reflect on their own life’s journey and delve deeper into how God is acting in their lives.

“It’s a concept that wouldn’t ordinarily come to them,” says Father Louis, a friar whose life journey has taken him from the academic libraries of colleges and seminaries to the frontlines of Afghanistan and Iraq. Put simply, he knows

something about life journeys.

Father Louis retired from military service in 2006. Throughout his multi-decade career, he gained experience serving both as a supervisor of chaplains and as a chaplain himself. He worked directly with sailors, Marines, and military personnel from other services, rising to higher levels of responsibility over time.

“Chaplains are first and foremost noncombatants; their primary responsibility is to provide for the spiritual care of all military personnel and their families, and to serve as moralethical advisors to their commanders.” Friars have long served as chaplains in militaries

around the world; Pope Saint John XXIII served as a military chaplain in World War I and Francis of Assisi and Ignatius of Loyola both served in the military before founding their religious communities.

In many ways, the work of a Catholic military chaplain is the same as a parish priest, notes Father Louis. “There are weddings to prepare, baptisms, confirmations, and Masses to celebrate, as well as catechetical programs for both youth and adults. Military chaplains take care of their own flocks but are responsible for facilitating ministries for all, regardless of faith group or denomination.

“Religion is a topic near and

dear to military personnel. The men and women in uniform know you are a chaplain by the cross you wear on your uniform. They are not afraid to ask the serious questions about life or death, or the personal questions about where they are headed in life." He calls the opportunity he was given to counsel these dedicated individuals , “A wonderful opportunity to open doors.”

That is especially true, he found, among Marines he encountered before combat. “They will ask questions about life, death, family and what they have or will accomplish in life. It’s an incredible opportunity for a chaplain to plant seeds that

A retired admiral but an active friar Father Louis Iasiello, OFM, is pictured with his mother Hazel in 2006 (opposite page). Father Louis retired from the Navy as the 23rd Chief of Navy Chaplains (serving the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard) in 2006 with the rank of rear admiral (2 stars). He now lectures at Siena College (top).

will germinate for a lifetime.”

In his senior supervisory roles, he is also responsible for supervising other chaplains and serving myriad faith groups.

“Chaplains are charged with taking care of all God’s people in uniform,” he says. He remembers serving on an aircraft carrier, a small city with some 6,000 sailors, and the twelve ships that accompany a carrier during a deployment. Friar Louis called them "his congregation." Whatever day the "Holy Helo" transported him to one of the ships was Sunday. Onboard the carrier, he worked with two Protestant chaplains. Since there was no Jewish chaplain on board, Father Louis was charged with the care of the Jewish personnel, making sure there

was enough kosher bread and wine for Sabbath celebrations, services led by a rabbinicallytrained volunteer Jewish sailor.

HIS MINISTRY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE CONTINUES TO THIS DAY

Now his focus at Siena is on providing students, many away from home for the first time, the opportunity to reflect on the role of faith in their lives. The young patriots he served in uniform and the students at Siena have a lot in common. They are all drawn from a generation that lacks a basic understanding of the Christian faith, are in need of catechesis, yet appreciate the need for spirituality in their lives. Being a chaplain is often about being present when questions emerge.

Since his retirement in 2006, Father Louis has served almost 12 years in forming future priests. Perhaps not surprisingly, more than 10 percent of seminarians currently enrolled in the United States have a military background.

Father Louis’ own faith journey began on Staten Island, New York, where he was raised. His mother was familiar with the Franciscans, having grown up near Callicoon, New York, an upstate hamlet with a mission church long run by the friars. She and her sisters were converts to Catholicism.

Louis is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He describes his undergraduate experience as living in a college environment in which “the

A friar on his personal journey encourages others to reflect on their own Father Louis Iasiello, OFM, attentively listens to Ryan Ciancio, a Siena College student at the Sarazen Student Union (top). Valuing his spiritual life, Father Louis takes a moment to pray, despite his busy schedule (opposite page top). Standing next to an eight-foot tall statue of St. Francis, Father Louis encourages his students to reflect on their personal journeys and explore how God is working in their lives (opposite page bottom).

Franciscans were all over the place, in the classrooms, in the dining halls, and in the pub.” He fondly remembered his long discussions with friar librarians like Fathers Irenaeus Herscher and Joe Reuther who told him about the joys and struggles of the community life they lived while being surrounded by books. Academia and Franciscan community would later play a large role in his life.

Father Louis entered the Franciscans in 1973 and was ordained into the priesthood five years later. After serving his deacon year in Brazil, he was assigned to a Franciscan parish

in the Bronx and then to teach at Bishop Timon High School in Buffalo. At the invitation of his provincial, Father Louis responded to a need for military chaplains and entered the Naval Reserves in 1981; he was recalled to active duty two years later.

His naval career extended around the country and the world, including a naval educational command in Tennessee; the world’s largest Coast Guard base in Alaska; the USS Ranger (CV-61); Marine deploying units at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; the Naval War College; the Naval Academy; the Atlantic

Fleet; Director of the Naval Chaplaincy School; the Pentagon; and deployments and frequent visits to conflict zones in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, and Iraq. He was eventually chosen as the Chaplain of the Marine Corps, and his final assignment was as Chief of Chaplains with responsibility for the religious ministry of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Maritime Administration. Since leaving the Navy, he was appointed to a presidential commission charged with investigating sexual harassment in the military and recommending changes to

the Uniform Code of Military Justice to Congress; he served as president of the Washington Theological Union and taught seminarians and deacons-in-training at a pontifical seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Well known as a just war theorist, Father Louis has also taught and written extensively on military ethics and the just war teaching of the church.

Father Louis explains that for military personnel, the topic of military ethics is not a mere abstract academic exercise, but a guide for their behavior on and off the battlefield. The concept of what constitutes a just war explod-

ed into the world’s headlines in October 2023 with Israel’s military response to a Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th.

Father Louis teaches just war theory in a course at Siena, offering upper class students the opportunity to relate theory to praxis as they explore together real-world scenarios in trying to answer the perennial questions.

What constitutes a ‘just war’ (jus ad bellum), and how should combatants conduct themselves in the prosecution of a war to adhere to the principles of discrimination and proportionality, and in securing a just and lasting peace for all (jus in bello)? Finally, Father Louis asks students to consider the criteria for a just termination of war (jus post bellum), a concept that he helped pioneer in just war theory.

But Father Louis reminds students that just war theory does not provide some sort of magic calculus for determining what wars are just or unjust. He suggests that students stay focused on the larger picture, reminding them, as does church teaching, that “Peace is more than the absence of conflict and war,” noting that Catholic teaching focuses on implementing justice as a critical component in addressing the seeds of societal violence. While in the military, Father Louis developed a wonderful friendship with Father Theodore Hesburgh, the longtime president of Notre Dame University. Before his appointment to for flag rank, Father Louis became the first military officer to be offered a fellowship to the United States Institute of Peace in Washington; Father Hesburgh

was a longtime member of its board of directors.

Now as a scholar in residence at Siena College these past two years, Father Louis has enjoyed his community life with his fellow friars. He did his best to plug into local Franciscan fraternities throughout his military career, often going miles out of his way to live with Franciscan communities in Mission San Luis Rey and Providence, Rhode Island. Celebrating Sunday Masses, he would make a point of wearing his brown Franciscan habit, no matter where he was in the world.

Even while serving with the exalted rank of admiral, Father Louis preferred to be known as a friar, first and foremost. “I have always tried to keep things

simple and Franciscan both in and out of uniform. I knew that wearing a uniform was a temporary thing, but wearing a habit would last a lifetime,” he jokes to an inquiring scribe about his life as an admiral. While in military retirement, he moves forward in a ministry of teaching college students, forming future priests and returning to his roots as a friar in academics.

“As a friar you always return to your roots, to learn with others in the community,” he says.

On June 1st, at the request of the chancellor of Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, Father Louis will begin a new assignment as a professor in the School of Theology, Director of Intellectual Formation and academic dean. "The Mount" currently serves 175 seminarians.

The Saint John's Bible at Siena College

Father Louis takes a look at a copy of the Saint John's Bible, which Siena College received from Saint John's, Collegeville. Copies of different books of the Bible are displayed in buildings all over the campus.

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The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as their own; rather everything was held in common. With power the Apostles bore witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great respect was paid to them all; nor was there anyone needy among them, for all who owned property or houses sold them and donated the proceeds. They used to lay them at the feet of the Apostles to be distributed to everyone according to their need. (Acts 4: 32-35).

A Community of One Heart and Mind

During the Easter season the Church recounts Luke's history of the first Christian communities as they lived out the implications of the Resurrection. The readings from the Acts of the Apostles are a reminder of how we should be proclaiming the Resurrection in our own day.

The quote about the early community must have been very important to Luke for the history of the early church because similar statements appear in Acts at least three more times (see Acts 2: 42-47; 5:12-16; 9:31-33). If we read these accounts and did not read anything else, we would live in sheer frustration because our ancestors in faith seemed so good and we seem like such failures in comparison. A careful reading of Acts, however, will give us some hope that we can still effectively live out the implications of the Resurrection in spite of all the problems besetting our own communities.

Luke wrote his history to inspire, encourage and challenge those who first read Acts. As we read Acts again, in the context of our own attempts to form community, we, too, can be inspired, encouraged and challenged. While setting out an ideal for us, Luke also reminds us that our ancestors had real problems in their community and that they were still able to keep trying to be faithful to their call.

The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. There were many disagreements in the early community. The most obvious one was the disagreement between Paul and the rest of the Apostles regarding the initiation of gentiles into the community (see Acts 15:1-35 or Paul's account in Galatians 2:1-10). This was a critical moment in the life of the early church. It was the challenge not just to look backward or forward but to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and begin to seek new ways of proclaiming the Gospel and being disciples, as we and they face new challenges. Eventually, the leaders were able to come to some agreement and discovered a way to deal with problems and disputes as they arose.

None of them ever claimed anything as their own. Sometimes this was true. Barnabas was one such person, who sold his farm and presented the money to the Apostles (Acts 4:36-37). But if you read on, the story of Barnabas is followed by the account of Ananias and Sapphira who only pretend to do the same thing (Acts 5:1-11). Even in those times, there were people who were better at talking about discipleship than being disciples. For some, it would be a lifelong challenge to be true disciples. Most of us could be criticized

Father Russell Becker, OFM

for not living the gospel very authentically. We can acknowledge that and still be committed to trying to be better every day. Conversion is lifelong, not overnight.

... and great respect was paid to them all. If this was true, then there would be no reason for the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 6:8-8:3), the persecution by Saul (Acts 9:1-2), and the beheading of James and the arrest of Peter (Acts 12:1-3). The early Christians were mostly Jews, and they participated in the prayers of the temple and synagogue. Afterwards, they would return to their homes and celebrate the Eucharist. Soon though, they were expelled from the Temple, and families were divided over faith in Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead. As more gentiles joined the community, there was even less respect. Christians were considered at least a nuisance and a threat to those who were not Christians.

... nor was there anyone needy among them. There was even some prejudice in the early community; non-Jewish widows who were members of the community were ignored and special arrangements had to be made to help them (Acts 6:1-7). It is easy for people, even if they share a common faith, to divide into groups and factions and to deal with one another suspiciously and without trust or love.

Obviously, Luke was very much aware of the problems that were present in the early community. He does not hide or excuse them because they did not fit in with the descriptions of the community mentioned above. What he was doing in those descriptions was giving his first readers an idea. He wanted them to dream about what they could and should be and hoped that they would try to make that dream come true. His honesty about the problems that the first Christians encountered served to help the reader realize that there would be problems for every group that tried to live by the Gospel, but these problems should not discourage them from trying.

So, we come to another Easter and another challenge to carry on the mission of the early community in our own time. Luke gives us an ideal we should seek to make real, even if we have our

versions of the problems that the early Christians faced. We know that we are not often of one mind and heart. Disagreements are real and sometimes very difficult. Real problems arise when trying to build trust and respect in our communities. We make the mistake of seeking uniformity instead of unity.

The ideal of a church that is poor and holds things in common is often mocked, in light of the temptations of modern consumerism. Great respect is not necessarily given to those who profess faith in Christ, even by others who share that profession. It is difficult to witness to the peace and love of the Gospel in a world that rejects those values as foolish and immature. Even today, we know that there are "haves" and “have-nots" in our community, which can be a cause of scandal.

Should we despair and think that Christianity is an impossible dream? Reading the Acts of the Apostles should help us hear Luke say "NO!" We are encouraged again to try to discover the power of the Resurrection in our own time. We proclaim that Christ is risen, and that no problem will, in the end, be so great that we will be unable to become a community of believers who are of one heart and mind, powerfully bearing witness to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Reflection Questions

1. How big is the gap between our profession of the Gospel and our living the Gospel?

2. Do the problems in the church in these days make it too frustrating to try to be good disciples and a community of one heart and one mind?

3. Do we respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and the challenges of our time with hope and creativity?

4. What can we learn from our ancestors in the faith?

Attracting Vocations Through Social Media

Social media can be used as an effective tool to attract people to religious vocations. Using platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, religious orders and congregations can share their mission and values with a wider audience.

By Peter Feuerherd

Photos by Octavio Duran, OFM

They are swimming upstream, against an onslaught of secularism, but still they come. When they contact him through the national vocation office in New York City, usually via email, Facebook or Instagram, Father Greg Plata, OFM, vocations director for

the nationwide Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, is always quick to respond.

“I say thank you to being open to God’s will in this difficult time. It takes a lot of courage,” he says.

While in church circles the dearth of vocations to religious life has been a concern for

decades, Father Greg, while acknowledging the real problems, sees reason for hope amid the renewed vocation efforts among Franciscans and their new national presence.

“I am starting to see an uptick,” he says, noting that there are about 120 young men in some

Learning the ropes

Father Greg (left) shows Brother Ricky Madere, OFM, how to tie the cord moments after he received his first Franciscan habit at the novitiate in Santa Barbara, 2022. In Los Angeles at the Religious Education Congress, Father Greg (opposite page), seeks vocations.

stage of discernment with the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, formed late last year, unifying the OFM community across the United States.

Father Greg has long experience with vocations work, having served in that role since 2017 with the former Assumption Province, based in Wisconsin and taking in much of the Midwest. He spent 16 years as a pastor for four churches in and around Greenwood, Mississippi, seeing for himself the challenge of ministering where there are few priests.

He’s found that modern communications makes the Franciscan brand better known as young men seek out the friars from what they see on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other channels. He’s preached on Catholicism on his own YouTube platform and believes in the power of social media to spread the word about vocations.

Based in a friary in Gary, Indiana – a hardscrabble city “is where a Franciscan ought to be,” he says – Father Greg, in addition to his national role, covers the Midwest region, aiding those discerning vocations. He is assisted on the East Coast by Father Jeffery Jordan, OFM, and on the West Coast by Father Ryan Thornton, OFM, and Father Henri Djojo, OFM. The administrative work takes place in New York City and is handled by Brother Basil Valente, OFM, and two laymen, Jorge Martin and Will Bernal. “There’s great collaboration among us. We see ourselves as a team,” says Father Greg.

Today, those seeking information about Franciscan vocations are more likely to have

seen the friars on social media, and less likely to have real-world contact with Franciscans. That’s okay, says Father Greg, who notes that the role of the vocations team is to introduce seekers to that real-world dimension.

WHAT DRAWS THEM?

They are attracted by the Franciscan online presence, including a new logo, featuring the image of the sun and the cross, to identify the Our Lady of Guadalupe Province. Inquiries also come from Father Casey Cole’s YouTube presence, a popular chronicling of a young

friar’s vocation.

“They may not know anything about us,” says Father Greg. Yet, he adds, “our job is to inform them and journey with them on their discernment.”

That’s done via a number of approaches. Zoom meetings exploring Franciscan life brings young inquirers together. They hear from friars, who describe their ministries and community life. One recent Zoom vocations segment was led by Brother James Lockman, OFM, a San Diego-based friar who has long worked on environmental issues. From Brother James, the potential friars learned about the

Photo courtesy of the Vocation Office

Accepting each other as brothers

commitment of the Franciscans to the cause of God’s creation and to the environment, an issue that has absorbed the friars since St. Francis of Assisi.

Besides Zoom meetings, prospective friars are invited to "Come and See" weekends, where they experience what life is like in Franciscan communities.

Those experiences forge a vital connection, as the young men get to experience in person what Franciscan community is like. During the weekend, they discuss discernment and share meals and recreation with the friars.

It’s an updated approach to meet today’s potential vocations, different from that experienced by 68-year-old Father Greg when he first felt the call to vocation.

“I was marinated as a

Philadelphia Catholic,” he recalls, noting how parish life and Catholic school was the center of the neighborhood at the time. He had an uncle who was a Christian brother, and, he remembers, “religious vocations were applauded and supported.”

That sense of Catholic community is not as strong today, but prospective friars still hear God’s call to religious vocation, albeit in smaller numbers. And, he notes, parents frequently question the value of a religious vocation, another obstacle their sons encounter as they discern their future.

It’s a different kind of atmosphere, not so much buttressed by Catholic communities, yet appealing to individual seekers.

The seekers are more ethni-

cally diverse, including those from immigrant families, Latinos, and Asians. Some are known as Dreamers – those who immigrated as children in families without documentation but have spent most of their life in the United States. The community is working to find legal avenues for them to explore Franciscan life, says Father Greg.

Father Greg would like to see more representation from African Americans, particularly those who have experience of Franciscans in African American communities in the rural and small-town South, as well as large urban centers around the country.

Interest in Franciscan vocations remains steady, if slower than in previous generations.

Father Gregory shares a sign of peace with brothers witnessing a rite of investiture at the novitiate in Santa Barbara (top). Religious vocations were more common in the past when Father Greg (opposite page), joined over 60 years ago.

Father Greg attributed much of it to a winning brand.

“St. Francis has the universal draw,” he says, noting that the patron saint’s story of ministering to the poor and love of creation strikes a chord among young men. The work of social justice and saving creation has a special appeal to this generation.

Another strength is the vitality of the Franciscan communities visited by the young men during "Come and See" weekends, during which five to seven young men see for themselves what Franciscan community life is like. They pray with the friars and enjoy discussions about discerning vocation, living a friar’s life for a few days. Besides the ministry work, they find out how Franciscans live out community. That is usually a plus. “They are impressed by how

we relate to one another,” says Father Greg, noting that the easygoing camaraderie exhibited by the friars is an attraction to those discerning religious community.

He emphasizes that the work of Franciscan vocation cannot be limited to his staff. Help is needed from friends on the outside. Young men who take the risk of attending "Come and See" weekends are giving of their time. Some can afford the cost of transportation to sites scattered around the country.

Others — college students or low-wage workers – need help subsidizing travel costs. (Food and lodging with the friars is provided free of charge.) Basic items in the vocation toolbox can be expensive. For example, a psychological test to determine the suitability of a candidate can

cost around $2,400.

For those Catholics who want to see a thriving church, vocations will require both monetary support and prayers, says Father Greg.

The obstacles remain daunting. Parishes are closing in many regions of the country, and priests, both diocesan and religious, are often stretched thin as they pastor the remaining churches.

The days of overflowing rectories and religious houses are gone. Some Catholics worry about their access to the Eucharist. Others see the valuable ministry of brothers to schools and social service agencies coming to an end. “We are in a crisis,” he says. “But crisis can be good. It wakes us up to the reality of what is going on,” says Father Greg.

Sugar, Flour and Faith: A Friar's Path Towards Pastry

Brother Eddie Caro, OFM, approaches the world of pastry, particularly French pastry, with its great traditions, as a professional endeavor.

Text and photos by Octavio Duran, OFM

Franciscan Brother Eddie Caro, brings the art of baking to his ministry at the Parish of Santa Clara de Assisi in Carolina, Puerto Rico. He notes that when people bring desserts to gatherings, it brings them together with curiosity and joy.

Brother Eddie learned the tradition of dessert making from his mother as a way to unite family.

As he developed his vocation

as a Franciscan brother, he recognized that baking was also an important part of the Franciscan tradition. When Saint Francis of Assisi was dying, he asked Blessed Jacoba of Settesoli, a Roman widow of nobility, to bring him some almond and honey cookies she had made. Before his request, she had already prepared the cookies and went to bid him farewell, along with her two sons.

At that time, women were not allowed in friaries, but Francis made an exception for "Brother Jacoba," She remained at the convent until Francis' death on October 3, 1226.

Brother Eddie began making desserts in late 1996 to financially support the fraternity he was part of in Sabana Seca. P.R.

As a lay brother, not a cleric, he wanted to make a financial contribution to the friary.

Perfection and harmony Step by step, Brother Eddie (top) combines the ingredients necessary to obtain a perfect dessert. Before packaging the cakes, Brother Eddie (opposite page) adds a little icing sugar as a finishing touch.

He thought that pastry, together with his administrative work in a community project, was in tune with his vocation as a friar.

To enhance his culinary skills, Brother Eddie formally studied pastry making, taking a basic course at Le Cordon Bleu in Madrid, part of a prestigious international network of French cooking and hospitality institutes.

He approached the world of pastry, especially French pastry, with its great traditions as a profession in his search for perfection through harmony. Brother Eddie notes that when making a dessert, one strives to find a harmony among various ingredients and flavors; achieving it results in a perfect dessert. He laughs, thinking pastry makers have been practicing this for centuries, seeking that flavor

and aroma, mixing ingredients harmoniously so none stands out over others and they can dialogue with each other.

He applied the basic skills he learned in Europe and continued studying and exploring recipes until developing his own Franciscan torte inspired by Caribbean sponge cake traditions from Puerto Rico and Cuba.

To do so, he modified the torte's sponge cake by adding hazelnut butter and incorporated a guava cream filling along with other local fruits like acerola and pineapple.

His intention was not to create something completely new but to take a cake recipe and innovate with ingredients, seeking something simple and rustic with a crunchy toasted-nut topping and powdered sugar to provide light and shadow.

Now he is an expert at identifying the subtle aroma variations indicating that baking is complete, explaining that the final result is a baked buttery aroma that spreads throughout the friary.

Brother Eddie takes advantage of orange and tangerine zest and imbues his cake with lavender seeds, letting sugar sit with lavender for about a year to absorb its aroma.

With similar patience, since learning, that vanilla is also grown in Puerto Rico, he prepares his own vanilla extract with rum and vanilla seeds, a process lasting eight months. He even uses the vanilla pod to, drying and grinding them to add to white or brown sugar for a rich vanilla aroma.

Making the most of his environment, Brother Eddie planted a

guava tree in the friary's courtyard, from which he harvests the abundant fruit to make guava jam with brandy or anise. As his Franciscan tortes have become known locally, people also bring him many seasonal fruits.

At the time of this interview, it was mango season, so customers eagerly awaited his mango and cheese-filled tortes, which are also offered at an innovative San Juan restaurant, to the delight of many.

Each year he tries out new recipes with local ingredients and expands his bakery's diversity. "Last year I took an artisanal baking course at Gremi de Forners in Barcelona, Catalonia, with the aim of adding fermented doughs.” Brother Eddie loves to see happiness on people's faces when they taste a delicious dessert, believing in the saying,

"nobody is unhappy with a sweet treat."

Regardless of age or location, people enjoy eating something sweet occasionally to lift their spirits and feel happy.

In addition to his baking ministry, Brother Eddie serves as the treasure of one of the two Franciscan fraternities and the Franciscans of Puerto Rico. He also serves as a spiritual assistant for the Secular Franciscan Order and helps out at San Francisco chapel, leading Sunday services.

He lived in the Dominican Republic from 2014 to 2017, where he accompanied the postulants of the former Franciscan Custody of the Caribbean and assisted in administering a medical dispensary for friars in Villa Duarte, Santo Domingo.

Upon returning to Puerto Rico

in 2017, he took over the leadership of Santa Clara College in Carolina, a school run by friars for 52 years.

Brother Eddie has vast experience in managing organizations, as he was a founding member and director of the Niños de Nueva Esperanza project in Sabana Seca for 16 years.

Currently, he continues to be part of the board of directors of that project, which helps children and their families escaping extreme poverty and community violence.

At the end of each day, or each baking session, Brother Eddie strives, through his baking art, not only to support the fraternity economically, but also to bring people together in a very delightful way.

Flavors that delight the palate

Br. Eddie uses local fruits to obtain a unique flavor that is difficult to resist and costumers at Cocina al Fondoa local restaurant in San Juan are aware of that. Each year he tries developing new recipes with local ingredients and expanding his bakery's diversity.

La tarta franciscana y la dulce vocación del hermano Eddie

Texto y fotografía, por Octavio Duran, OFM

Una gran pasión por la pastelería Entrenado como chef en Le

molde, lo que después de 20 minutos será una deliciosa tarta.

El hermano Eddie Caro, OFM, aprendió el arte de hacer postres en España. Luego continuó experimentando con sus propias recetas, creando así una tarta franciscana inspirada en los ricos postres típicos del Caribe como los de guayaba.

“C

uando se lleva un postre a una reunión, las personas se acercan con curiosidad y alegría para probarlo”, dice fray Eddie Caro, OFM, un franciscano que trae el arte de la repostería a su ministerio de servicio en la Parroquia Santa Clara de Asís en Carolina, Puerto Rico. “Preparar un postre es convo-

car a las personas”. El fraile franciscano lo sabe muy bien, pues la elaboración de postres y platos dulces es una tradición de unión familiar que aprendió de su madre y, que mientras desarrollaba su vocación como hermano franciscano, reconoció que también fue parte importante de la tradición de la Orden Franciscana Seglar.

Según esa tradición, cuando San Francisco de Asís estaba agonizando, pidió que una de sus seguidoras, la Beata Jacoba de Settesoli, una viuda de la nobleza romana, le llevara unas galletas de almendra y miel (mostaccioli) que ella preparaba. Antes de recibir la petición, doña Jacoba ya había preparado los mostaccioli, y junto con sus

Cordon Bleu, en Madrid, el hermano franciscano Eddie Caro, usa una manga pastelera para colocar sobre el

Perfección y armonía

Paso a paso el fray Eddie combina los elementos necesarios para obtener un postre perfecto. Antes de empacar las tartas, el hermano Eddie (página opuesta) añade un poco de azúcar glas como un toque final. Su objetivo es generar ingresos para el sostenimiento de su fraternidad, y ver la felicidad en las personas cuando prueban sus postres.

dos hijos fue a despedirse de San Francisco.

Como en esa época las mujeres tenían prohibida la entrada en los conventos, Francisco hizo una excepción. Permitió que el “Hermano Jacoba”, como Francisco la llamó a causa de su fortaleza, se quedara en el convento hasta la muerte del fundador de la Orden Franciscana la noche del sábado 3 de octubre de 1226.

El hermano Eddie comenzó a hacer postres para apoyar la economía de la fraternidad de la que formó parte en Sabana Seca a finales de 1996. Por ser un hermano laico y no un clérigo, siempre quiso realizar un aporte económico y pensó que la

pastelería juntamente con su trabajo administrativo en un proyecto comunitario iba en sintonía con su vocación de hermano. Era otra forma de ampliar un ministerio dentro de su comunidad.

Para potenciar sus habilidades culinarias, Fray Eddie decidió estudiar formalmente un curso en pastelería francesa básica en Le Cordon Bleu de Madrid, que pertenece a una prestigiosa red internacional de institutos de cocina y hostelería francesa.

“Eso era lo que yo buscaba cuando me acerqué al mundo de la pastelería, especialmente la pastelería francesa, ya que se ha esmerado en cultivar grandes tradiciones y han desarrollado

esta actividad como una profesión”, dice el hermano Eddie en referencia a su búsqueda de la perfección en la pastelería a través de la armonía.

“Cuando haces un postre, te empeñas en buscar una armonía de diversos ingredientes y sabores; si lo logras, tendrás un postre perfecto”, dice el hermano franciscano.

“A veces me río cuando pienso que la pastelería lleva siglos practicando esto, buscando ese sabor, ese aroma, mezclando estos ingredientes de manera armónica, para que ninguno sobresalga sobre el otro y puedan dialogar entre sí".

Él puso en práctica esas habilidades básicas que apren-

dió en Europa y continuó estudiando y explorando recetas hasta que desarrolló su propia receta de tarta, a la que llamó "Tarta Franciscana", inspirada en la tradición de las panetelas del Caribe y especialmente de Puerto Rico y Cuba.

Para ello, modificó el bizcocho de la tarta añadiendo mantequilla avellanada (beurre noisette) e incorporó como relleno una crema de guayaba, una fruta local que fascina a los puertorriqueños y caribeños, y de otras frutas locales (acerola, piña, naranja, entre otras).

Su intención no fue crear algo totalmente nuevo, dice, sino tomar una receta de pastel y comenzar a innovar con los ingredientes. “Buscaba generar algo simple, un tanto rústico, con el crujiente de las nueces

tostadas en la parte superior y un poco de azúcar glas que le brindara luz y sombra.”

Ahora, ya es un experto en identificar las sutiles variaciones en los aromas que indican que el proceso del horneado está completo.

“El resultado final es una fragancia característica que anuncia que los postres ya están listos para dar alegría”, explica, mientras el fragante aroma a mantequilla horneada se expande por todo el convento.

El hermano Eddie aprovecha las ralladuras de naranja y mandarina, así como también las semillas de lavanda. Al azúcar, le agrega las semillas de lavanda y la deja reposar por aproximadamente un año para que absorba ese aroma a lavanda. Con similar paciencia, desde que descubrió

que se cultiva vainilla en Puerto Rico, él prepara su propio extracto de vainilla, con ron y semillas de vainilla, cuyo proceso tarda ocho meses. Incluso aprovecha la vaina donde se encuentran las semillas de vainilla, luego las seca, las muele y les agrega azúcar blanca o morena granulada, para que adquieran ese rico aroma de la vainilla.

Para aprovechar todo lo que tiene en su entorno, fray Eddie, plantó un árbol de guayaba en el patio del convento donde vive, del cual obtiene una cosecha abundante de la que prepara mermelada de guayaba con aromas de brandy o licor de anís.

Además, como sus tartas franciscanas se han hecho conocidas en la comunidad, la gente le lleva muchos frutos de temporada.

Al momento de esta entrevista era la época de mango, por lo que sus clientes esperaban con ansias las tartas rellenas de mango y queso. Tartas que también son ofrecidas en un restaurante innovador de San Juan (Cocina al Fondo) para el deleite de muchos.

Cada año trata de desarrollar nuevas recetas con ingredientes locales y de expandir la diversidad de su pastelería. “El año pasado tomé un curso de panadería artesanal en Gremi de Forners de Barcelona, Cataluña, con el objetivo de integrar, a la oferta, las masas fermentadas.”

“Me encanta ver la felicidad en el rostro de las personas cuando prueban un rico postre. Como dice el refrán popular, ‘a nadie le amarga un dulce’”, dice con sonrisa el hermano Eddie. “No importa la edad o el lugar, a

todos nos gusta comer algo dulce de vez en cuando para mejorar nuestro estado de ánimo, para ser felices", añadió.

Además de su ministerio en la repostería, fray Eddie Caro es el ecónomo, el encargado de la administración de los bienes de una de las dos fraternidades franciscanas y de los Franciscanos de Puerto Rico. Además, acompaña a la Orden Franciscana Seglar en calidad de asistente espiritual y colabora, en la capilla San Francisco, presidiendo las celebraciones dominicales.

Vivió tres años en la República Dominicana (2014-2017), donde era el acompañante de los postulantes de la antigua Custodia Franciscana del Caribe y ayudó en la administración de un dispensario médico de los frailes en Villa Duarte, Santo Domingo. A su regreso a Puerto Rico en

2017, asumió la dirección del Colegio Santa Clara en Carolina, un colegio que por 52 años estuvo a cargo de los frailes.

Fray Eddie tiene una vasta experiencia en administrar organizaciones, ya que fue miembro fundador y director, por 16 años, del proyecto Franciscano Niños de Nueva Esperanza en Sabana Seca.

Actualmente, continúa formando parte de la junta directiva de ese proyecto que apoya a los niños y sus familias para salir de la pobreza y la violencia comunitaria.

Al final de cada jornada, o de cada horneada, lo que busca el hermano Eddie a través de su arte en la repostería, no solo es apoyar la sostenibilidad económica de la fraternidad, sino también unir a las personas de una manera dulce.

Listas para ser empacadas y degustadas

Cuando la alarma indica que es tiempo de sacar las tartas hay que hacerlo con mucho cuidado y dejarlas enfriar para luego ser empacadas y llevarlas al lugar donde serán degustadas.

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