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Volunteer Sent to Paraguay
On April 6th
the Vocation Office received a letter from a 19-year-old theology
major at Notre Dame. In today’s technological world the letter was
notable: first, because it was handwritten; second, because
it was legible; third, because it was well-written.
If that didn’t peak interest, the content did. This young man
wanted to offer six weeks of volunteer service to the TORs. His
Spring Term was going to end May 6 and his summer work as a
counselor at Notre Dame’s Vision Camp would not begin until
June 16. After checking his references and doing a face-to-face
interview, it was decided to take up Stephen Garcia on his offer.
In a surprisingly brief span of time, arrangements were able to be
made for creative ways to enable Stephen to become familiar with the
TORs and to volunteer his time.
Stephen’s
first experience began in Minnesota where he was introduced to
Franciscan life, communal prayer, community service, and political
action, and was given brief conferences on Franciscan spirituality.
From Minnesota he traveled to Paraguay where he lived and worked for
18 days with the TOR friars in Asúncion and Coronel Oviedo. In
Coronel Oviedo he was able to experience firsthand the friars’
ministry at the Infant Child Jesus Center where 200 children from
the street are fed three days a week. He returned to Minneapolis
for the Ordination celebration. His time with us was concluded with
a three-day directed retreat to process the experience.
A personal
letter from Stephen will be included in the next Province
newsletter. The purpose of this information is to keep you
informed of this young man's desire to serve.
Directory Updates:
♦
Patrick Foley
may be reached during the summer months at Saint Gerard Majella
Friary in Brooklyn Park, MN.
♦
As of July 1,
Robert Juroszek
may be reached at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Altoona, PA.
♦
The e-mail address for
Bill Linhares
is now:
wlinhares@citlink.net.
♦
Blase Romano
also acquired a new e-mail address. He may be reached at
blasetor@yahoo.com.
♦
On May 31,
Carl Vacek’s
sabbatical came to an end. He may be reached again at San Pedro
Friary, Winter Park, FL.
Please Note the Following Dates
Next
Provincial Newsletter: OCTOBER
4, 2005
Deadline for Submissions:
SEPTEMBER 23, 2005
Jubilee Celebration:
SEPTEMBER 19, 2005
Our
Lady of Mount Carmel
100th Anniversary Celebration:
OCTOBER
16, 2005
Tentative Visitation Schedule
September 4 - 6 Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C.
West Virginia
7 - 13 Pennsylvania
14 - 18 Minnesota
20 - 24 Florida
Friars are reminded again to keep the dates of the Provincial
Chapter open (January 8 - 13, 2006) in the event that they are
elected as delegates.
News
Letter
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