National Chapter underway in St. Louis on feast of St. Louis the King
The National Executive Council sends its warm greetings from St. Louis, Missouri, during our National Chapter and on the Feast of our Patron, St. Louis the King.
Sharing the Vision – News from The NEC
Daily Boosters for our Vocation through Email; Chapter 2023; National Fraternity Council Meetings; Connecting with Our Members; Ritual Update; Duns Scotus Board ...
OFS Quinquennial Museum, Phoenix, Az.
Last August’s Quinquennial was indeed a special event. More than 600 attendees from all over the United States participated. We had inspiring speakers, stimulating breakout sessions, multiple opportunities for prayer and singing, perusing our many vendors for books, religious supplies, totes, pictures and what have you, and, of course, there was our OFS Museum. ...
CIOFS Presidency at work
Tuesday’s meeting began with Minister General Tibor Kauser giving a formation talk on servant leadership. Leadership is tied to community; that is, a leader needs a team to move ahead with a project or strive for a goal. So, he said, a leader helps form and protect community, and helps members grow in their OFS vocation. ...
World Youth Day opens with a week’s worth of challenges
Secular Franciscans are encouraged to participate through prayer with our young people at the World Youth Day opening Aug. 1 in Lisbon, Portugal, according to Kathleen Molaro, OFS, national Youth and Young Adult Commission Chair. Each day the young visitors are invited to share in the following daily challenges.
Secular Franciscans: TAU vs. Habit
As in most families, certain topics “pop up” for discussion every so often and need clarification. Some topics are simply a matter of majority opinion; others are a matter of “tradition” and should we/can we change the tradition; but some are a matter civil or Church law. Whether or not Secular Franciscans “wear a habit” is a topic that falls into the latter category. ...
Continue to Pray for Pilgrims at YouFra Gathering in Portugal
Thank you for surrounding the three United States Franciscan pilgrims attending the YouFra International Gathering in Portugal with your heartfelt prayers. Aldo Morocho, OFS, his daughter Dalia Morocho, and Fr. John De La Riva, OFM Cap, arrived safely and are fully engaged in the activities.
Franciscan Living – How to Go Among the Saracens in Our Lives
St. Francis is known as a peacemaker, and for the Peace Prayer, which, although not written by St. Francis, reveals his thoughts about peacemaking. However, I still have questions about how St. Francis actually demonstrated this in real life. ...
New database will launch in August
The National Executive Council is pleased to announce the rolling out of our new national database starting in August 2023. After more than two years of work, the Database Committee is ready to go live with this new tool.
Youth-Friendly Fraternities Like a Family Meal
The commission has spoken many times about the importance of creating youth-friendly fraternities. Why is this essential and what does this really mean? The simple answer to the first question is, it’s essential because if a young person is interested in joining a YouFra (Franciscan Youth Fraternity), at this point they have nowhere to go with that desire, except to us—the Secular Franciscans. There are only a few official YouFra groups in the United States. ...