|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
introduction
|
|
|
missionary heroes
|
 |
|
For most friars of St. John the Baptist Province, the iconic photo from their missions in the Philippines is of a man in a white habit and a pith helmet crossing a river on a water buffalo. The man is Fr. Miles Pfalzer, an adventurous friar whose work has taken him from the steamy Tropics to the snowy Upper Peninsula. A native of Louisville and one of three brothers who became Franciscan priests, Miles began his ministry at Our Lady of Good Harbor, a parish in the Louisiana Delta. In 1956, after nine years in parish work, he volunteered for the newly founded missions in the Philippines. Conditions were rustic, and the remote islands served by the friars were accessible mainly by boat. At one point, Miles nearly died from lockjaw because he refused to leave his post for the two days it took to get to the nearest doctor. His overseas assignment – most of it in parish work – ended in 1970, but even today Filipinos speak fondly of the practical, no-nonsense pastor with a razor-sharp wit. For the next 17 years, hospital chaplaincies took Miles to Missouri, Louisiana, and Ohio. In 1988 he assumed the care of the outlying missions in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where rugged individualists take pride in their ability to manage staggering amounts of snowfall. Now 89 and officially retired, Miles is an active member of the friar fraternity at St. Francis Retreat House in Easton, Pa.
|
|
stanthony.org
|
||
|
|
Post a prayer request,
send a St. Anthony e-card,
or read about the life and
prayers of St. Anthony.
And become a partner in
the work of the Franciscans by donating to
St. Anthony Bread at
www.stanthony.org.
Subscribe to St. Anthony’s Breadbasket—e-news
from
Br. Brian P. Maloney, OFM |
 |
||
|
|
|
|
Introduction
Dear Visitor,
Hello and welcome! This month I invite you to join the Franciscans in supporting the relief efforts in Haiti. You can read more about this under the “You Can Change a Life” section of our Ministry and Mission page. Just click Ministry and Mission, then click again on “You Can Change a Life.” If you can help us, many thanks! Friar Works/ Franciscan Ministry & Mission is the office that generates Charitable gifts which support our ministries and missions, our retired friars, friars who are infirm and our men in formation. Through the generosity of benefactors we continue our ability to do some really good work. Blessings always,
Br. Brian P. Maloney, OFM
Director, Friar Works / Franciscan Ministry & Mission |
|||||||||||||||
A Franciscan Presence in Washington, D.C.
The Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, D.C., is a place of peace and prayer and beauty for everyone who comes to see the beautifully reconstructed replicas of shrines from the Holy Land in the heart of our nation’s capital. Fr. Jeremy Harrington, OFM, is the current guardian and commissary of the monastery. Previously, he was Provincial Minister of St. John the Baptist Province, as well as editor and publisher of St. Anthony Messenger Press. Jeremy’s current task is to be a support for the friars who are working in the Holy Land. “We help provide the resources they need for the shrines, the schools, parishes and social programs, like housing,” he says. Jeremy and the 21 friars who live at the Monastery also organize and promote pilgrimages to the Holy Land. Two of the friars from Washington, D.C., spend most of the year guiding pilgrimages there. The monastery is located very near The Catholic University of America and attracts many visitors each year from all walks of life. “We are the Holy Land in America,” Jeremy says. Many people who come to the monastery have a spiritual experience akin to visiting the shrines in the Holy Land. Jeremy is happy that the grounds and the shrines offer an environment of peace. Many different ministry groups or prayer groups use the facilities of the monastery because of the aura of peace, quiet and meditation that permeates the grounds, gardens and shrines. For 700 years the Franciscans in the Holy Land have been instruments of peace. As Jeremy says, “This is what we want to be for all who come to our monastery here in Washington.”
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
