The postulants returned from their Winter Tour of the Provinces in late January. The tours help the postulants learn more about their respective provinces, while also allowing the friars to meet the future of the Order.
In February, Friar Dariusz Mazurek, the Secretary General for the General Secretariat for Mission Animation (SGAM) and Friar Piotr Stanisławczyk, the Secretary General for the General Secretariat for Formation (SGF) visited the postulancy.
Friar Piotr gave a lecture entitled: “Formation – A Challenge?” He highlighted the fundamental ideas in the Order’s current Franciscan Discipleship and Ratio studiorum documents, which are particularly relevant to the Franciscan experience of formation. Friar Dariusz talked about missiology and Conventual Franciscan mission activities, showcasing the real faces and places of our missions. (Learn more about their visit to the USA on the Order website: ofmconv.net)
On February 27, our postulants visited the National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Marytown, Illinois. Friar Augustine Kelly measured the postulants so that he could begin tailoring their habits in preparation for their Investiture. After being invested in the grey habit, the next phase of formation is the novitiate. Friar Augustine has been a friar since 1976 and has made more than 800 habits. It takes up to ten hours to tailor each habit. He always reminds the postulants that the habit is both “a shield and a target” against evil. (See more at the website of St. Joseph Cupertino Province)
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