Franciscan Friars Missionary Activity

The Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular preach the reign of our brother, Jesus Christ, in India, South Africa, Central and South America, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. They need your prayers and material help to fulfill Christ's mandate to bring His message to all people. The Franciscans are an international Order of priests and brothers and have been directed by the Lord to carry abroad His healing message of love, hope, reconciliation and peace.

Paraguayan priests and brothers which your contributions helped educate.

• To request information or make a gift for our missions in Paraguay
  
  Make check payable to:

The Franciscans - St. Bernardine Monastery

Mail to:
The Franciscan Fathers
Saint Bernardine Monastery
P.O. Box 139
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648-0139

PARAGUAY, SOUTH AMERICA

Paraguay is a country the size of New Jersey, and is even shaped somewhat like New Jersey, only the reverse side of it. Or, to an imaginative eye, it has the form of a chubby baby's leg. The land of Paraguay is situated precisely in the middle of South America. The right half is lush and undulating. The eastern half is flat and arid. Perhaps there are four million inhabitants, mostly mestizo, of mixed blood, Guarani and Spanish mainly. This territory was dedicated by Spanish explorers to Our Lady of the Assumption on August 15, 1535.

Its people have always lived under a dictator, Alfredo Stroessner, was overthrown in a coup d'etat.  It will take the Paraguayans another 30 years to begin to breathe, think and feel "democratically."  The Paraguayans are truly bi-lingual. All speak Guarani, the language of their fore-mothers, and Spanish, the language of their male ancestors, the Conquistadors. There are now some traces of other European strains in their collective blood, especially German and Italian.

Paraguay is a Catholic nation. The faith is deeply rooted in the fiber of the people. There is great devotion to the Blessed Virgin under her title of "Our Lady of Caacupe."

Our Province first went to Paraguay in 1960. Our mission was to shepherd an already Catholic flock in a large area located in the heart of the eastern half of the country. The town where we lived and worked was originally a refuge for political and criminal outcasts. It's original name seemed to fit its unusual history: Ajos," or "Garlic!"

It is the spiritual and material support of our friends that enables us to effectively carry out our mission work, serving not in words alone, but in practical and concrete ways to meet urgent needs, by providing food, clothing, shelter, and health care. In addition to their sacramental roles, Franciscan priests and brothers use their diverse skills in many ways to bring Jesus' comfort to the needy by means of community development, training of native vocations, teaching, public health and farming.

Your donations helped us build this educational facility for the people of Paraguay

Our Paraguayan novices in procession on the feast of St. Clare of Assisi.

You can be a missionary with us in foreign lands by assisting our ministry
with a donation to our missions. Please contact us for ways of helping.

• To request information or make a gift for our missions:
  
  Make check payable to:

The Franciscans - St. Bernardine Monastery

Mail to:
The Franciscan Fathers
Saint Bernardine Monastery
P.O. Box 139
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648-0139

BANGLADESH

Friar John Kerr, T.O.R. Missionary to Bangladesh

Picture it: the setting is the summer of 1997 ... Dhaka, Bangladesh ... it is so humid you can cut the air ... there is lush greenery ... poor stone huts ... the fragrance of cooked rice wafts towards your nostrils ... children playing with a small plastic ball ... and waves of laughter. In the distance, you hear singing - male voices - friars singing and in the middle of this "gathering of praise" looms a tall Westerner ... by all appearances, he is an American. He is smiling from ear to ear. After the last verse, they motion for the tall Westerner to take a seat. With a basin of water and a towel, the friars begin to wash the talc-like dust from the tall one’s feet ... the Achilles’ heels and calloused soles, the stubborn places between the toes and finally the instep with the nap of the towel as it turns from white to brown (like everything in this land). This was Br. John Kerr’s first greeting by the T.O.R. friars of Bangladesh. They sang a song of welcome and washed his dusty feet.

Br. John relates, "I was so thrilled by their warmth and hospitality in welcoming me. My thoughts turned to Jesus’ gesture of service with the disciples - the master - a servant, getting down on his knees in the Upper Room."

With such thoughts of service, Br. John Kerr, T.O.R. is setting out for two years to assist the friars of Dhaka in their work and formation program. Canticle Notes had the opportunity recently to speak with Br. John the day after his commissioning ceremony held at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Windber, PA. On that day the Minister Provincial, Fr. Robert D’Aversa, T.O.R. and the assembled friars blessed Br. John as he was about to fulfill a lifelong dream - to serve in the missions.

Canticle Notes asked Br. John to share some of his thoughts with our readers about what lies in store for him as he undertakes the challenge of his new assignment. Br. John Kerr, a native of Cleveland, Ohio was professed in 1986. Most recently, he was assigned to Stella Maris Friary, in Key West, Florida. He served as Director of Religious Education and Youth Minister at St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish in Key West. As Br. John wryly notes, Key West’s tourists and crystal beaches are a far cry from the simplicity and poverty of this predominately Muslim nation.

Canticle Notes: So when did the idea come to you about going to the missions?

Br. John: "Actually, our Minister General the Most Rev. Bonaventure Midili, T.O.R. asked me to consider going to Bangladesh to help out our friars there. He mentioned that the greatest need is presently there in terms of formation and burgeoning vocations. "Since the potential seemed so great, I felt I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to serve."

Canticle Notes: Have you ever been to Bangladesh?

Br. John: " Well, yes. Fr. Peter Lyons, T.O.R. actually suggested that I visit Dhaka first. He had just returned himself and briefed me on his experience. So in the summer of 1997, I went to Bangladesh for six weeks and stayed in India for one week. It was a real eye-opener! I’m glad I went, though."

Canticle Notes: What impressed you most?

Br. John: "I was taken aback by the extremes in weather- from the monsoons, where it rains sideways ... to the dampness and mold that is pervasive ... on clothes ... food ... lodging. Also the isolation-in that there is no sign of Western culture in Dhaka - TV, movies, malls ... markets etc. It is somewhat isolated."

Canticle Notes: What do you see as your greatest challenge?

Br. John: "I see a great hunger for God and Franciscan life. Hopefully, I can help fill this hunger and continue to help the Order and Church to grow in vocations. I hope to be a messenger of peace from our Province and from the West. You see, only 4% of the population is Christian. It is a predominantly Muslim country. I feel it is certainly within our Franciscan tradition to build bridges of trust and openness between different faith traditions. The example of St. Francis with the Sultan is a powerful example to emulate, right?"

Canticle Notes: In what ways may our benefactors, readers and friends assist you in carrying out your mission and the work of the Order?

Br. John: "The future looks bright in terms of vocations. The young people are expressing interest in our way of life as friars. In fact, did you know we are the only male Franciscan community in all of Bangladesh? We will need everything from construction materials for building a novitiate to bicycles for transportation and books for school. I will learn Bengali but, I will teach English also. As always the prayers of our benefactors serve as a constant reminder that we are merely messengers of the Lord sent out to proclaim and witness to the Gospel. Keep me in your prayers and I will keep you in mine."

Canticle Notes: Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Br. John. We are indeed proud of our brother, John Kerr, T.O.R. His vision, commitment and trust in God serves to remind us all, lay and religious, that we need to take risks. If we do risk, we believe in God’s promise to sustain us. Thus, Br. John’s call to the missions is a clear reminder that risking can be a positive dynamic. It gives us life and energy to undertake our ongoing journey of faith.

In the name of the Poor Man from Assisi, we would like to invite you, our benefactors, to share in Br. John’s missioning in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Your prayers, blessings and generosity serve to encourage and to continue the work of the gospel wherever open arms and open hearts are found.

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