Friar Pat Blog

This special AmericanCatholic.org blog focuses on the 800th anniversary of the formal founding of the Franciscan order. Father Pat McCloskey, editor of St. Anthony Messenger magazine and one of some 1,800 representatives from the four main Franciscan branches to meet in Assisi, Italy, and Rome to take part in an International Chapter of Mats April 15-18, 2009, will be on the scene during the historic celebration offering his insightful reporting.

Who Are All These People in the Franciscan Family?

 

At family reunions when I was in grade school, it took me a while to get the aunts, uncles and cousins straight.  A few years later, there would be new members to work into the overall picture.

The Franciscan family is often spoken of as three Orders (First, Second and Third). The whole family received a seal of approval in 1209 when Pope Innocent III verbally approved a Rule of Life that Francis had drawn up.  Though the friars at the Chapter of Mats were almost all from the First Order, the event that we commemorated is really the birth of the Franciscan family as a movement within the Church and at the service of the Gospel.

Three years later, Clare of Assisi left the security of her noble family to follow Francis in her own way; that ended up being a cloistered nun, but the monastery of San Damiano was unlike other nearby monasteries.  Most of them allowed only the daughters of nobility to enter; San Damiano was a social mixing place previously unknown.  Though she was abbess, Clare used to wash the feet of the "extern" who sometimes went out begging.

By 1221, single and married lay people had approached Francis to ask his help in living out the Good News of Jesus within their existing family and social responsibilities.  Not everyone is called to be a friar or a Poor Clare.  Thus the Secular Franciscan Order was born.

Years later some Secular Franciscans wanted to band together to form communities that would promote a certain ministry (education, health care, etc.).  This began the Third Order Regular movement; most communities of Franciscan sisters and brothers belong to this part of the Franciscan family.

Today's numbers are roughly:

35,000 friars of the First Order (Friars Minor, Conventuals and Capuchins, plus the Third Order

    Regular,

60,000 members of the Second Order (various kinds of Poor Clares),

155,000 members of Franciscan congregations of brothers and sisters, and

400,000 members of the Secular Franciscan Order.

All parts of the family were not equally represented in this Chapter of Mats, but all parts were there--including the Poor Clare abbess from Foligno.  During morning prayer at the basilica of St. Clare, this abbess gave us a reflection on what Francis and Clare teach us about living a life of penance.

(Basilica of St. Clare, before our morning prayer service. The abbess of the Poor Clare monastery in Foligno spoke about Francis, Clare and the life of penance.)

It's great to meet other members of the family!  More tomorrow.

Friar Pat

(This outdoor sculpture near the Portiuncula recalls a meal that Saints Clare and Francis once had there.)

Reactions from an Italian Friar

(Most of the area between St. Mary of the Angels and Assisi is flat.  I waited until we started going up--about 75 minutes into the procession--to take this picture.  Friars are of all ages and nationalities.)

On Friday afternoon, we had a penitential procession from St. Mary of the Angels to the lower basilica in Assisi (mentioned in an earlier blog).

Early in that procession, I noticed some distance ahead a friar whom I thought I knew.  I went up and sure enough it was Father Salvatore Zavarella of the Assisi province.  He is a great promoter of the missions in his province, in Italy and on the worldwide level--especially through his writings.

I will have to look up his age, but I'm pretty sure he is in his upper 80s. He moved slowly but steadily, whether we were on flat ground or were climbing up to the medieval city.  When we were standing outside the lower basilica of St. Francis (there is one on top of the other), I asked Father Salvatore for his impressions of our Chapter of Mats.  His face glowed as he emphasized two things:  the orginality of St. Francis and the unity of the friars.

Francis was indeed original--no one before him had managed to take the Gospel so seriously and to do so within the Church, which in every century has its share of sinners.  Francis threw no stones at those who saw things differently from his viewpoint.

The differences were pretty obvious: some had light brown habits, some wore black habits, others had light gray or dark gray habits.  The Friars Minor have a scooped cowl; the Capuchins have a longer hood attached directly to the tunic; the Conventuals have a cowl that comes down to the elbows and the Third Order Regular friars have a similar but shorter cowl.

Living in Italy, Father Salvatore was well aware of the past differences and conflicts among the various parts of the Franciscan family.  Yet the experience of those days in Assisi reinforced a sense of unity.

When I asked him how the friars who lived year-round at St. Mary of the Angels were reacting to this chapter, he said that they had a new sense of the universality and unity of the Franciscan family.  In any given year, they see friars as pilgrims or leading groups of pilgrims from all over the world, but this event greatly reinforced that sense of universality.

Father Salvatore walked that penitential procession one step at a time; so must we all.

Friar Pat 

(This banner for the 800th anniversary hangs along the outside stairway connecting the Lower Basilica of St. Francis to the Upper Basilica of St. Francis.  He is buried in a crypt accessible from the Lower Basilica.)

(The word "peace" is written in 14 languages on this message board at the entrance to the Lower Basilica.  The final event of the October 27, 1986 Day of Prayer for World Peace took place in the piazza a few yards from this message board.  I was there that day.)

Old Friends, New Friends

(At least three of these friars are Capuchins; probably all five are. Their hood attaches directly to the tunic.  Much of the benefit of the International Chapter of Mats was in meeting Third Order Regular friars and members of all three branches of the  First Order.  This happened at meals, at break times, before and after liturgies, while traveling and throughout the event.)

Because I worked at our general headquarters between 1985 and 1992 (most of that time as Director of Communications), I was looking forward to meeting some of the people who worked there during those years and other friars who were passing through our headquarters in those years.

Some of the friars whom I was hoping to see were there; others were not but in several cases I met friars of the same province who could give me news about friars whom I knew.

In some cases, friars recognized me but I could not immediately recall where I had met them.

At lunch on the first day, I met the current Director of Communications at our general headquarters. We had exchanged e-mails over the last couple years, but it was great to meet him.

In some cases, when friars found out to which province I belong they asked about other friars whom they knew in our province.  At the greeting of peace at the final Mass, a friar saw my stole, which has an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe; we have a province under her patronage in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He asked if I belonged to that province (no) or did I know a certain friar. Indeed I did; he was a year behind me in our formation program.

Francis of Assisi wrote that when the friars come together they should show themselves as members of the same family.  We did that beautifully at the Chapter of Mats.  Before Francis of Assisi, monks spoke of the family model but stressed the father/son dynamic of an abbot and his monks.  Francis emphasized more the brother-to-brother relationship, insisted that the leaders of the friars be called "ministers" at whatever level (local community, province, worldwide brotherhood).

Francis was revolutionary in envisioning that at times the heads of provinces, assembled at the worldwide chapter, might decide that the minister general was no longer able to give the leadership that the group needed.  They could select a new leader.  

When I worked as Director of Communications at our general headquarters, I considered it a privilege to help friars who would never meet certain other friars personally to meet them through the newsletter that I wrote in English and then was translated into other languages.

Friars at the International Chapter of Mats indeed showed themselves as "members of the same family."

(This photo shows the first row in Friday's penitential procession from St. Mary of the Angels to the medieval city of Assisi. Fr. Jose Carballo, OFM (minister general) hold the cross; to his right is Fr. Michael Higgins, TOR (minister general) and Encarnacion del Pozo, SFO (minister general). In the second row, the bearded friar is Mauro Johri, OFM Cap (minister general).

Friar Pat 

A Very Musical Group

(During our penitential procession described below, portable loudspeakers (above) enabled us to listen to readings, join in singing psalm responses and answer various prayers of intercession.)

It was a powerful experience to be with 1,800 Franciscan men who didn't converse in the same language literally but who gladly sang in Latin (Psalm responses, Mass parts and hymns such as Adoro Te Devote). Many of the Taize chants that we used were also in Latin.

The friars were also willing to sing in languages that they do not normally speak but could pronounce in Italian, English or Spanish.

Polish was also one of the official languages used in readings, general intercessions and announcements, but I don't remember that the whole group didn't sing anything in Polish.

Our four-day Chapter of Mats began with the singing of verse one of Psalm 133, "How good, how pleasant it is when brothers live as one."  On the third day, we had a pilgrimage from St. Mary of the Angels (the Portiuncula) to the lower basilica of St. Francis.  It took an hour and 45 mintues, most of it on flat ground, but it got a big steep as we neared the medieval city.

Four friars had portable loudspeakers slung over their shoulders. This enabled us to hear various texts and prayers read in Italian, interspersed with some very simple Latin chants.

On Saturday, our group was waiting in the courtyard at Castelgandolfo for the pope to arrive. We sang in several languages, but the sheer number of Italian friars present meant that they had a pretty easy time finding enough people who knew the words and melodies of hymns popular there.

(While we were waiting in the courtyard at Castelgandolfo, friars sang in several languages.)

Several hymns had a great combination of words and music.  I remembered some of the Italian ones from my years there (1985-92) and picked up other ones.

Everyone had a special prayer manual printed up for this International Chapter of Mats.  Prayer services, Mass readings, petitions, etc. were printed up in Italian, English, Spanish and Polish.  Page numbers would be announced for the hymn section of the prayer manual.  Sometimes we sang verses in different languages. The overall effect was very unifying.

Father Cantalamessa, mentioned in an earlier blog, knew that the group had been sitting for a long time before he began his presentation.  At one point, he stopped, asked everuyone to stand, raise their hands and sing "Laudato sei, O mio Signore" (Praised be you, O my Lord).  Several rounds of that enabled us to listen to the rest of his talk, which he concluded with the hymn "Come, Holy Spirit" (sung in Latin).

Music is indeed a universal language!

Friar Pat

'I Have Done What Is Mine to Do; May Christ Teach You Yours'

With the words quote above, Francis prepared the friars for life after his death, which followed not long after this quote.

Father Cantalamessa stressed that this Chapter of Mats is a "kairos" moment, a moment of God's grace within the Franciscan family.  Our concern is not to idolize Francis but to live the Gospel with the same generosity that he did.

Father Raniero emphasized three P's in the Franciscan family today: Preaching, Prayer and Poverty. He noted that when Francis looked backward, he saw Christ; when we look backward, we are tempted to see Francis.

Preaching needs to be more than moral instruction; it needs to help listeners encounter the living Christ. Then we change our lives as needed. Prayer needs to involve a sharing our faith and thus needs to be spontaneous as well as liturgical.  [At this point, we had been sitting a long time and he asked us to stand and sing a short verse from the Canticle of the Creatures. That prepared us for the rest of his talk.]  Raniero pointed out that the Old Testament emphasizes that God is for the poor; the New Testament reaffirms that but adds that God became poor for us--in Jesus.  The conference ended with our singing the first verse of "Come, Holy Spirit" [again in Latin.]

I certainly felt confirmed and challenged in my Franciscan vocation--not a bad combination.

Friar Pat

P.S.  The photo above was taken during the prayer service at the opening ceremony.  Father Cantalamessa spoken in this tent afterwards.  He spoke in Italian and friars did simultanteous interpretation into English, Spanish and Polish.  You can see headsets on two friars to the left.

The friar at the podium is Bill Farris, OFM of the Cincinnati province.  He was kidnapped to do a reading in English and then lead the reading in English of certain psalm verses.  Father Aubert Grieser, OFM, our speech teacher at St. Francis Seminary, would have been proud of Bill, who was two classes behind me.

A Very Fraternal Experience

The International Chapter of Mats opened yesterday afternoon in a tent that is over 400 feet long and about 50 feet wide.  There are several big screens inside the tent so that those in the back can see those who are speaking on the raised platform in front. (The sign above the entrance says, "International Chapter of Mats.")

"Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found," we sang in Latin (Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est) for the opening ceremony at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

We are approximately 1,800 friars from 65 countries and all continents.  Friars are meeting old friends and making new ones.There are nine of us from the Cincinnati province and all of us are in the Hotel Stuoie near the main tent.  "Stuoie" is the Italian word for "mats," the reeds out of which approximately 5,000 friars wove shelters when they gathered in Assisi for a chapter in 1221. As far as we know, this is the largest event in Assisi,  involving the whole Franciscan family since that date.

A Capuchin and a Conventual from the U.S. recognized my name from "St. Anthony Messenger" and extended their compliments for our magazine and the work of St. Anthony Messenger Press.

After the customary welcomes from the organizers, the OFM minister general in the name of all four ministers general and a greeting from the mayor of Assisi, Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap (preacher of the papal household) gave a conference about observing the Rule of Life that we have promised. He emphasized the need for friars to be "charismatic itinerants," seeking not to look back at Francis but rather to look at Christ with the eyes of Francis.

More of this in my next post

First Day of the Chapter of Mats

While we await Father Pat's on-the-scene reporting, Father Don Miller, O.F.M., director of vocations for the Franciscans' St. John the Baptist Province, shares his views and observations from Rome and Assisi where he is for the 800th anniversary of the Franciscans’ founding. Keep up with his travels at his vocations blog.

Wednesday morning the migration of Friars to Assisi began. We were met at the train station in Assisi and taken the short distance to our lodging by bus. We then walked the few hundred yards to the Piazza to the meeting then for the International Chapter of Mats. The tent is at least a city block long with four screens spaced throughout. It is HUGE.

Our general minister, Father Jose, presided at the opening prayer and our own Father Bill Farris did the English reading. (Bill did not come expecting to be the reading AND singing representative for the English speaking friars.) The General Ministers of the Conventual and Capuchin Friars will preside on other days.

There are more than 1,800 of us here for this celebration. Friars come in every size and shape you can think of and speak all kinds of languages. It is interesting trying to communicate with each other when we don't speak the language—but we manage. The sense of brotherhood within and among the orders is nothing less than fantastic.

Last evening we all celebrated the Eucharist in the Basilica that houses the Portiuncula—the little chapel that is the birthplace of the order and the sight of St. Francis' death.…

The prayer services and Eucharists are an interesting blend of languages. Italian, English, Spanish and Polish are the official languages and we listen to simultaneous translations with wireless headsets. At prayer we make use of a good deal of Latin responses and parts of the Mass so that we have a common language. Things like the Prayer of the Faithful are done in all four languages—each petition done once with translations in our prayer book united with a common response in Latin or Italian.

Finally, THE ORDER IS ALIVE WITH YOUNG FRIARS. We in the USA are falling behind. Other countries are receiving good numbers of young men. It is thrilling to walk around and see so many young men just beginning their life with us. As Father Jose told our young men when he visited our province last year, they have classmates; they're just not in the USA.

On Thursday, we go up the mountain to Assisi (we are presently on the plain below where Francis and his first followers lived). We will have a day of prayer and fasting before going Saturday to Castel Gondolfo.

Franciscan Coat of Arms

If you go into any of our Franciscan friaries, churches or convents, you will almost always find somewhere painted, hanging on a wall or over a doorway the Franciscan Coat of Arms. This holds true around the world as well as through the centuries. With the worldwide Franciscan family about to mark the 800th anniversary of its founding, Friar Jack Wintz, O.F.M., reflected on this important Franciscan image in a recent edition of Friar Jack’s E-spirations.

Official URL for Chapter of Mats

If you go to http://www.capitolostuoie2009.org/eng_home.html, you may find photos and texts once the event starts on Wednesday (4/15).

Friar Pat

'Welcome Home'

I first visited Assisi on a Franciscan study pilgrimage in the summer of 1982.  As our bus was pulling into the city, one of the group leaders said to all of us, "Welcome home!"  Most of us had never been to Assisi, but immediately we felt that we were at home.  In the next two weeks, we felt that even more strongly.

As I prepare to leave the United States on Monday for a celebration that begins on Wednesday, I feel that I am leaving home in one sense and returning home in another.  Assisi is home to the Franciscan family, which had a friar in China within 70 years of Francis' death!

Stay tuned.

Friar Pat

P.S.  The photo above was shot after this message was posted.  The church is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels; it houses the Portiuncula chapter which St. Francis had rebuilt by 1209.  In a sense, it is the birthplace of the Order of Friars Minor.  Inside this basilica is a second small chapel, built over the place where St. Francis died after sundown on October 3, 1226.