All Highest, glorious God, cast your loght into the darkness of my heart. Give me right faith, firm hope, perfect charity, and profound humility, O Lord; that I may do your holy and true will.
(Saint Francis of Assisi)

Postulants 

St. Francis Centre, Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Mr. Hawkins Choi
Mr. Dagoberto Hernandez Lopez
Mr. Jimmy Alexis Merchante
Mr. Matthew John Mancino
Mr. Dmitry Neill

Our Lady of Peace Church, Brooklyn NY
Mr. Christian Javier Anariba Caballero
Mr. Kevin Gabriel Gonzalez Vega
Mr. Marco Antonio Gomez Garcia
Mr. Nelson Aldair Orantes Calderon

Novices

Convento San Damiano, Assisi
Br. Luis Hernandez
Br. Oscar Danilo Valle Perez

Temporary Professed

Convento San Francesco, Rome
Friar Daniel Cavalieri, OFM
Friar Carl Green, OFM
Friar Daniel Ramirez Luna, OFM
Friar John Sidoti, OFM
Friar Victor Ernaldo Treminio, OFM

St. Joseph Friary, Chicago
Friar Joshua Critchley, OFM

St. Francis Centre, Caledon, Ontario, Canada
Greetings to all the brothers! Just a little something about what’s happening here regarding Postulancy.
 
Our Postulancy program in Caledon began on Tuesday, September 4^th. The friars on the formation team at this house are Friar Pierre Farrugia, OF and Friar Joseph Powell, OFM.
 
We were happy to welcome back  our two postulants from last year, Dmitry and Hawkins and also welcomed three new postulants, Dagoberto, Jimmy, and Matthew.   From the onset let me just thank all the friars who thus far have helped these gentlemen arrive at the doors of their initial formation. We thank our Provincial, Robert Campagna O.F.M., and the Definitors, the Secretary of Formation, and our Vocation Animators, Conrad Fernandes O.F.M. and Orlando Ruiz, OFM, for all their great work in accompanying these men to this point and the continued support they show them. They have all said how helpful all the friars they have encountered thus far have been to their journey. Looking forward we thank also all the friars, especially those here in the Canadian Foundation, who in some way will contribute to the Postulancy Program. As the Ratio stipulates, all the friars in a province are called to be formators and to help with forming those in initial formation.

 The postulants began the year with a “Beginning of Postulancy Retreat” at Marylake Retreat Center.  It was a fruitful encounter for the all of them and they came back with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement.
 
At the friary in Caledon, we have two different daily schedules: one when we have groups we receive at the Centre, and one when we do not. We have a Saturday and Sunday schedule as well with Sunday being their free day. We begin every day with 7:45 morning prayer followed by Holy Mass. Then, if a group is at the centre, we head over to be there to lend a hand of hospitality and aid the staff in their work load for that meal by cleaning up afterwards and setting up for the next meal. The postulants are able to engage the many different types of groups which visit us and also enjoy helping serve the meals.
 
Each day, whether at the friary or at the centre, Friar Joe gives them Italian lessons. This is to help them ease into their novitiate year in Italy, and also God-willing as an asset for their future pastoral ministries. Aside from English, as you know, Italian or Spanish are two languages the Order prescribes knowing (either one or the other) for pastoral work in multi-ethnic communities or to cultures predominantly speaking those languages.  

We also have lessons of various sorts which cover what’s prescribed by the Ratio. We’ve started with the Liturgy of the Hours and Francis’ Style of Prayer as distinguished from other forms of prayer within consecrated life. Soon we will begin going through the Catechism together, and then closer to the end of postulancy, Franciscan Spirituality – just the basics. Aside from what we are doing with them at the friary regarding these lessons, we also will be taking them to various friars on a monthly basis for everything else the Ratio is asking for. We thank all these friars for their generous commitment to help in this regard as I mentioned above.

Aside from the work at the Centre, the other apostolate we will all be engaged in together will be a soup kitchen in Brampton (45mins South of us) called Knight’s Table, originally begun by the Knights of Columbus. Their the postulants will have a better idea of the realities of the less fortunate whom we minister to with special devotion and attention as part of our charism. We will be doing this twice a month for now.
 
Our main meal each day is lunch, and at breakfast and dinner everyone helps themselves with what they want and if there is a group at the centre, we eat with the staff who very warmly received our Postulants.
 
We pray vespers everyday at 5pm, and on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays we pray the Rosary together as a fraternity. If we have no groups at the centre, Saturday is a clean up day at the friary. All of us are assigned our particular tasks and it gets done. Sunday is a free day for them where they are encouraged to unwind in a healthy manner by visiting friends or family or by merely spending a day out in Toronto for example.
 
The guys are getting used to the Divine Office and everything else for that matter slowly but surely, and as you know, the first year is always a delicate year. For this reason I ask you to keep them in your prayers and do not hesitate to drop them a line. They are all very wonderful young men! Please also keep Joe and myself in your prayers.  We send greetings to you all, and many blessings from above. Fraternally,
 

Our Lady of Peace Friary, Brooklyn NY Postulancy Program
Our Lady of Peace Friary in Brooklyn will be the location of a second postulancy program for Spanish speaking candidates, who arrived September 18 and 19.  They were greeted by Friar Orlando Ruiz, OFM, Provincial Definitor and Pastor of Our Lady of Peace, who is also Vocation Director for the US and Postulant Director.  The new postulants will be formally received into the formation program on October 3, during the Transitus at Our Lady of Peace Church.  Besides their Franciscan formation, they will also be attending a school to study English.   Friar Octavio Salinas, OFM is also a member of the Formation staff.  Welcome, brothers.  
 
 

 Two of our province’s postulants were invested with the Franciscan habit and began their novitiate at the Sanctuary of San Damiano in Assisi, Italy. New friars Oscar Danilo Valle Perez, 27, from Nicaragua and Luis Hernandez, 33, from El Salvador received the habit of the order from Friar Antonio Riccio, OFM, Provincial Definitor, in the chapel of San Damiano on Saturday, September 7, 2019. Friars Oscar and Luis will be making their novitiate at San Damiano, part of the Seraphic Province of St. Francis of Assisi of Umbria. 
Pictured below are new novices Friar Luis and Friar Oscar with Friar Antonio Riccio, OFM. 

Friar Joshua Critchley, OFM, Chicago

Friar Victor Treminio Trujillo, OFM, Rome

Friars Daniel, Carl, and Jack with Fr. Provincial.  They are stationed at our formation house in Rome, Italy.