On September 10, 2024, gathering on the pebbled beach just below the white cliffs of Dover, the Franciscan Family began their celebrations of the arrival of the first Greyfriars (Franciscans) in England.
During the sunrise Mass, Friar Joseph Wood offered the homily, saying:
"It is good to be here and to remember. This is a time to praise our common past glories, beginning with Blessed Agnellus and eight Friars Minor, who courageously traveled the seas and who landed on these shores 800 years ago today! It was a humble beginning for so much goodness. And through the centuries Franciscans have done great things in the name of Christ Jesus, in the spirit of Francis and Clare of Assisi. Today, we may rejoice because unlike the past, we are now stronger because we are beginning to work together. We should no longer be lone communities doing good, but rather, one large vigorous Franciscan family still doing good”.
The following morning the Franciscan family gathered in the crypt chapel of Canterbury Cathedral, where St. Thomas Becket was first entombed. Friar Carlos TrovarelIi, OFM Conv., the Minister General of the Greyfriars, offered some opening remarks, focusing on Franciscan preaching:
“Franciscan preaching, as it developed here in England, was supported by the twin pillars of poverty and learning. It was rooted in scripture, sustained in language skills, and nurtured by science. Echoes of this can be heard today in Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ where he speaks of our needing to articulate an integral theology of creation, using science and technology, which are wonderful products of a God-given human creativity.
Like the early Franciscans, we too are called to nurture the creativity that God has placed within each of us. We are called to preach peace as a means of enlivening the church and society. We do this by both living and preaching the Gospel in a manner that is easily understandable, cheerful and devout, good humored and joyful”.
Friar Sam Double, SSF, gave everyone a good example of such preaching during the morning prayer service. Following the Gospel reading about the widow putting the two coins (all she had) into the collection box, Friar Sam noisily began his reflection by dramatically dropping two coins into a metal tin. He then tied together the widow’s act of trusting in God to that of the early Greyfriars, saying:
“One of the things that is remarkable about the arrival eight hundred years ago of the first brothers of St Francis is how small, precarious and risky was their mission. It seems that they set out across the channel with no material resources, no advance publicity, and little in the way of obvious organization. This little band arriving at Dover, moving to Canterbury and then pushing on rapidly to London and Oxford, depended entirely on the goodwill and kind-heartedness of others. The fragility and vulnerability of their mission, mirroring the fragility and vulnerability of God in Jesus Christ, was their only resource, their sole strength”.
Our pilgrimage continued on September 17, 2024, to London, where we celebrated the 800th anniversary of St. Francis receiving the stigmata with a walking pilgrimage through the city and a Mass at a cathedral that was full! It was a special occasion for all because both the Definitory of the Custody of Great Britain-Ireland and the Minister Provincial and Definitory of the Mother Province of Our Lady of the Angels in the USA were able to be present for the London events. The anniversary celebrations ended on September 21, with lectures in Oxford by two local archeologists who spoke about the archeological findings of the original Greyfriars friary, and another lecture by Friar Michael Lasky, who spoke about Franciscan Preaching.
-friar Michael Lasky OFM Conv.
General Delegate for Justice, Peace, & the Integrity of Creation
