Update - at last!

In spite of all my good intentions and New Year resolutions, I slipped again!
Volcanic ash from Iceland kept myself and Terence in San Francisco for a week longer than anticipated. But we were well cared for by the friars at Our Lady of Angels and suffered no hardship except for some cancelled meetings - unlike other people, especially those travelling with children or on a tight budget. It was a relief to get back to Europe .
Next on the agenda was the international meeting on Migration held in Bangkok. It was a very good meeting - informative, practical and provided an excellent space in which to hear from the friars about all the work that is being done in this area.  One of the highlights was certainly a visit to a refugee camp near the border with Myanmar where it was very moving to hear the young refugees share their dreams and hopes for the future.
I visited Pakistan towards the end of May. The weather was too hot for Northern Europeans like myself, and the situation was not helped by regular power cuts, night and day. The atmosphere was tense because of recent killings in a mosque quite close to the Capuchin friary in Lahore and the incursion into the hospital the following night to finish off those who had survived.  Reading the newspapers and watching the TV, one gets the definite impression that Pakistan is a very violent society where life is cheap. The friars there, however, continue to live the Capuchin life with hope and courage.
A number of chapters took place during the summer: Malta, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Lebanon, the latter followed by some time in Ireland for a rest.
I came to Quebec on 26th August to conduct a visitation of the province. The province here is ageing, without many vocations, but the presence of young Indian friars from Kerala brings much hope for the future.  Together with the young local friars it will be possible to open up new paths to bring the Gospel message to a society that has passed from being a staunch Catholic presence in North America to a very highly secularised one with little interest in religion. The history of Quebec reminds me very much of the story of the church in Ireland, except that what took 50 years in Quebec has happened much more quickly in Ireland.
Back to Rome on Saturday next and the merry-go-round takes off again. Pray for us.

Stranded in San Francisco

We have had great fraternal and pastoral celebrations for the centenary here in San Francisco, the most recent one in Burlingame on Thursday last. Because of missed information, I should not have been present in Burlingame, as I was booked back to Europe on Thursday afternoon. But Mother Nature intervened, and after three hours at San Fran Int airport my flight was cancelled - along with many others - because of the hazards created by the volcano in Iceland.  Terence also was cancelled and we have both been working hard at trying to make the most of the ill-wind.It has not been too difficult for us as the friars are experts in hospitality.And the friary is only ten minutes from the airport
But my heart goes out to all those stranded at airports, especially those caught without money or with children. Please God things will straighten themselves out soon.
In the meantime thanks to all who are showing humanitarian and christian concern by feeding the hungry and looking after the needy.

100 Years of Mission

The main celebration for the friars of the Western America Province of Our Lady of the Angels took place yesterday (13th April).  It began with a liturgy of thanksgiving in the friary of San Lorenzo, during which the General Minister outlined the history and growth of the Capuchin presence in those parts, as well as throwing out the challenge to the present-day friars to continue the mission animated by the values of prayer, poverty and preaching.  Br. Terence Harrington, the Provincial Minister of Ireland responded with words of congratulations and good wishes on behalf of the Province of Saint Patrick and was presented with a specially written icon of Our Lady of the Angels.
After a festive meal, the friars went to the Old Mission at Santa Ynez to celebrate the Eucharist with a large congregation of local people.  The singing and the music were a joyful celebration of thanksgiving, with the participation of people from many different linguistic groups, including a prayer as Gaeilge. The mission continues, we were reminded in the homily, as does the promise of Christ's presence.

Happy Easter 2010

Why do you look for the living among the dead. He is not here. He is risen!".

May Easter be for each of you readers a time of new hope and peace.


I am in California as I write, out to celebrate with the friars of the Western American Province one hundred years since the first Irish Capuchins came over. The re-constituted Irish Province was only in existence for some 26 years when the bishop of Baker Diocese invited the Irish friars to come to help with the evangelization of the area. And they came. First came two friars, and stories abound of the missionary treks of one of them, Br. Luke Sheehan, on horseback, sharing food and a blanket with a lonesome but hospitable cowboy, meeting Ku Klux Klan opposition on the way, but persevering despite the odds.  Two friaries were founded in 1910 in Hermiston and Bend in Oregon.
The area became a full-fledged Province of the Order in 1979 when Brendan O'Mahony was Provincial Minister in Ireland.  Our General Minister will be arriving for the occasion, with celebrations in 5 venues: Watts (South Los Angeles), St Francis High School in Pasadena, the Old Mission in Santa Ynez and San Lorenzo, and finally in the parish in Burlingame. A good fraternal celebration is assured!

Saint Patrick's Day

The world - or some of it, at least - goes green for the 17th of March. That is not, however, true of Rome except for the Irish community living here.  I did not manage to connect with them this year as we had a meeting of the General Definitory this week, and noblesse oblige, as we say in Irish! Beannachtai na Feile libh go leir!

After the return from India we went straight into a meeting of the Constitutions' Commission, to work on a text for Chapters 7 and 9 - which we managed to do. It is now in the hands of the translators, and no doubt will soon see the light of day in seven languages. The work is tedious and time-consuming but, hopefully, worthwhile although some doubtless well-meaning friars tell us that the commission should be prepared for a negative reaction fromt he Order as a whole. No sign of any major negative tsunami so far. So we continue the work we were asked to do by the General Chapter.
That meeting was followed by a visitation of the two German provinces, which are preparing to unite in May of this year.  Br. Ephrem Bucher of the Swiss province had agreed to help, and Charles Serignat, our excellent linguist, came with me to uphold my drooping German!  Snow, freezing temperatures but warm welcome awaited us everywhere.  With the rising age-average and few vocations most of the friars see the forthcoming unification as inevitable, It has been well prepared over a number of years, and the hope is that it will give some new energy to a part of the world where the Capuchin presence has a very long and rich history. The was much beer, herring salad and sausage, much to the delgiht of Charles, but he remains committed to his first love, i.e. Apfelsaft, or apple-juice for the uninitiated!

Back from Bangalore

At the end of January I left Rome with John Antony for visitation in Karnataka, South West India. I had been looking forward to this visitation as I am always happy to be among the Indian people. I find them a very welcoming and courteous race. And I love Indian food!
I was not disappointed. The Capuchins in Karnataka are a great group of friars. They have many vocations: young, energetic and seriously searching young men, eager to learn about Francis and the Capuchins, eager too to give themselves to the Lord in the Order. Obviously all of them will not remain, but the experience of spending some years in formation houses of the Order will be of certain benefit to them in the years ahead.
The economy in India is booming, but, as in many other places, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Bangalore had become one of the world's centres for IT, literacy rates are high but there are still many visible signs of poverty, neglect and abandonment. The traffic is horrrendous. Going for a walk in the evening meant stepping out into blue air, so great was the volume of traffic and the noxious emissions, especially from the autorickshaws.