WYD 2008, day 4

Friday was the final day of catechesis at World Youth Day. We were again blessed to have a Capuchin bishop speaking to us, this time in the person of Bishop Anthony Apuron, Bishop of Agana, Guam. The theme of his talk was: "Sent out into the world: the Holy Spirit, the principal agent of mission." Those who know Bishop Apuron will not be surprised to know that he began his talk with a song. The celebration of the Eucharist was again followed by lunch outside the church. During lunch, Bishop Apuron surprised the catechesis group by singing a Simon and Garfunkle song.

Lunch was eaten quickly so that once again all could dash off to their assigned positions for the Stations of the Cross. Some members of the Capuchin group were assigned to the Sydney Opera House, and the rest went to Barangaroo again.
Participation in the Via Crucis was hampered for us by the difficulty of seeing the video screens and of hearing the audio. At least by the time the group acting out the Way of the Cross reached Barangaroo, the audio problems had been solved. There were constant references throughout WYD to the fact that it was being celebrated on land that once belonged to the Aborigines. In addition, Aboriginal dance and music was worked into all the liturgies. Even the Via Crucis acknowledged the importance of the Aborigines in Australia's history and culture by having Simon the Cyrene played by an Aborigine.

After another picnic dinner in the scenic surrounding of Barangaroo, the brothers headed off in various directions to take in one or more of the evening's events. Many of us eventually wound up in the Exhibition Centre, where the vocations booths were located. The Centre was packed with young people, many of whom showed a genuine interest in religious life. [Note to the General Definitory: at the next World Youth Day, we should have a booklet listing the vocation directors of every Capuchin jurisdiction in the world to distribute to interested young men.]

WYD 2008, day 3

Thursday catechesis for the Capuchin group was again held at the Capuchin parish of Saint Fiacre, and was led by Bishop Joseph Oudeman, OFMCap, Auxiliary Bishop of Brisbane. The Capuchin group, by the way, includes not only the English-speaking friars attending World Youth Day, but also groups of youth from Capuchin-run parishes in Australia and Guam as well as a few other groups that were assigned to it by the WYD organizers. The theme for the day's catechesis was: "The Holy Spirit: Soul of the Church". After his talk, a few of the participants commented on what they hoped to take away from the talk, and some asked the Bishop questions, all of which showed a high level of interest among the participants.

Catechesis was followed by the Eucharist, celebrated by Bishop Oudeman. Then after a quick lunch provided by the parishioners, the participants set out for Barangaroo, where the Pope was scheduled to arrive by boat. Getting to Barangaroo, or to any of the other event sites in Sydney, was no small ordeal. Our group had to first catch a city bus into the city. After exiting the bus, we had to walk about 2 km (a little over a mile) to get to our assigned position at Barangaroo. Other groups of pilgrims converged from all directions so that for the last several hundred meters we were squeezed into one flowing mass of humanity. We had been assigned an area next to the path that the Popemobile would take upon leaving the area, and we arrived early enough to get positions along the barricades.

There was great excitement in the air when the Holy Father finally arrived around 3:00 p.m. The event was somewhat marred for us, however, because the loudspeakers nearest our section stopped working just before the Pope began the prayer service. As a result, we missed the entire first five minutes of his homily. The speakers then began working intermittently for the rest of the homily, which was maddening. What I could hear of his homily was very inspirational so I eventually went here to get the complete text online.

After the prayer service, the Holy Father boarded the Popemobile to leave the area, passing within about two meters of us on the way.

Dinner was served to all the pilgrims after the Pope's departure. The fare was not exactly gourmet, and the ambience left something to be desired—sitting on the asphalt as thousands of people kicked up dust and sand as they walked by. On the other hand, no one was expecting four star treatment, and the food was actually quite good considering the number of people they had to feed in such a short time.

Each evening during the week various concerts, exhibits and lectures were offered around the city. This particular evening, most of our group attended the two performances offered at Saint Stephen's Uniting Church. The first was the world premier of Brother John Russo's "Holy Rosary". Brother John, a member of the Capuchin Province of the Stigmata (New Jersey), took on the challenge of setting the rosary to music while he was a postulant several years ago, but never had the opportunity to have it performed. For the occasion of World Youth Day, he rearranged the music for string orchestra and chorus. While the rosary was sung, images of famous paintings illustrating each of the mysteries were projected on the screens positioned at the front of the church. Despite the fact that the performance was inadvertently omitted from the list of WYD events, there was a large audience on hand for it. The reaction to the performance was overwhelmingly positive. Afterwards, most of the audience remained for a performance of Oliver Messiaen's "Quartet for the end of time," which was beautifully performed. The composition itself, however, is an acquired taste that many of the audience have yet to acquire.

Here is a short video of the Papal arrival. We could not see it very well from our vantage point.

WYD 2008, day 2

Day 2 of WYD for the NAPCC Capuchins in attendance began with a 45-minute bus ride from the Capuchin Retreat Center in Plumpton, where they are staying, to St. Fiacre Church in Leichhardt. Here the Capuchins, along with other groups of WYD participants, attended catechesis and Eucharist led by Cardinal Sean O'Malley. The subject of the day's catechesis was, "Called to live in the Holy Spirit." Apparently, Cardinal O'Malley already has a following through his blog or other means, since the participants were clearly pleased when it was announced that he would be the morning's speaker.

After Mass, the participants were treated to an Australian barbecue for lunch. They then walked a short distance to the Italian Forum for an afternoon of song provided by various artists. Brother Dean Mathieson and his band performed once again. Gary Pinto, who co-wrote the official theme song for WYD 2008, performed with his band. The closing act was provided by "Pellisintetiche", led by Brother Lucio Saggioro, a Capuchin of the Venice Province. The humorous and energetic performance had the WYD participants on their feet dancing in no time.

World Youth Day 2008, day 1

I am attending World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia, at the invitation of the Province of Australia. Recognizing the event as a unique opportunity for evangelizing youth and, at the same time, for increasing awareness about the Capuchin Order especially in English-speaking areas of the world, the Provincial Minister of Australia worked hard to get a good showing of young Capuchins from around the world. The provinces of North America responded particularly well, sending around twenty friars. In addition, there are Capuchins from Italy, Poland, Germany, Guam and probably others countries, as well. There are even two Capuchin postulants from East Timor in attendance. At the vocations exhibit set up at the Exhibition Center on Tuesday, the Capuchins were easily the largest group on hand.

The friars of the Australian Province have been working feverishly for the past six months arranging lodging for the friars, venues for various activities, speakers for catechesis and hundreds of other details. Bush hats off to them for their excellent (dare I say, uncharacteristic) organization!

Although the opening Mass of WYD was celebrated Tuesday afternoon, some events began already that morning. One of them was the abovementioned vocations exhibit. Various musicians entertained the crowds of young people at the exhibit, including the Australian Province's own Brother Dean Mathieson. At the vocation booth, the friars had several kinds of literature about the Capuchin Order, as well as label pins with the Province's website listed on it. The booth was well visited, both by prospective candidates and by people who wanted to let us know how much they appreciate the Capuchins friars working in their home countries. It was an uplifting and humbling experience to hear their appreciation.

The opening Mass began at 4:30 in the afternoon, with Cardinal George Pell of the Sydney Archdiocese presiding. The venue of the Mass was an area along Darling Harbor officially known as Barangaroo, but known to the locals as "The Hungry Mile". Getting there and finding one's place was predictably chaotic, but spirits were high nonetheless. Before the liturgy, the pilgrims were greeting by Australia's Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, who praised the role of religion, and Christianity in particular, in the history of society. The liturgy itself was very beautiful, incorporating music inspired by the cultures of the Aborigines, the Maori and some of the nearby islands. While the friars were somewhat scattered among the crowd, there was a visible reminder of their presence at WYD in the person of Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who was near the main celebrant during the Mass and frequently shown on the Jumbotron.

Western America Province Chapter

The tenth ordinary chapter of the Western America Province was held on 15-20 June 2008, in the picturesque setting of San Lorenzo Retreat Center in the Santa Ynez valley of California. The preparation that the brothers had put into the Chapter was evident from the outset. Besides electing a new Provincial Council, delegates spent time refining the Guiding Principles and Action Steps that were developed in local chapters and regional assemblies during the previous two years. Thanks in part to the help of Sr. Regina Fox in preparation for the chapter, the work of the brothers proceeded smoothly and quickly.

Besides the triennial report of the outgoing Provincial Minister, Br Tony Marti, the brothers also heard a report from Br David Beaumont on the Province’s mission in northern Mexico and one from Jesus Vela on the efforts of the Vocation Office. The newly-elected Provincial Council consists of (left to right in photo above): Jesus Vela (Vicar), Peter Banks, Matthew Elshoff (Provincial Minister), Robert Barbato and Michael Mahoney.

Five resolutions were passed with large majorities at the Chapter:

• to ratify the Guiding Principles;
• to ratify the Action Steps;
• to consent to the establishment of a new friary in northern Mexico;
• to use the help of outside expertise to improve the results of the Vocation Office;
• to authorize the creation of a Strategic Planning committee, composed of both friars and lay people, to help the Province focus on its mission and to determine the resources needed to accomplish that mission.

Discovering and dreaming

This past week, I presided at the 43^rd Ordinary Chapter of the Province of Saint Joseph, aka the Calvary Province or the Detroit Province. The Chapter was held on the beautiful campus of St. Xavier University in Chicago, Illinois.

The Chapter, like those I have attended in other provinces, was a wonderful fraternal experience. The Province of Saint Joseph is the largest of the NAPCC in terms of friars, and is also quite large geographically so for many chapters provide the only opportunity to see brothers from other areas of the Province. Its chapters are held with universal suffrage, which can be quite a challenge for such a large province—there were 129 delegates, plus many observers—but everything was well organized.

Besides the election of the new provincial council, the Chapter focused on the topic of Capuchin Community and Identity. Using a tool called, "Appreciative Inquiry," the brothers split up into groups of four to six to first tell stories about the times they were happiest or most proud about being a member of the Province. Based on those stories, they tried to identify the values and qualities that contributed to those experiences. Each group reported the results of its discussion to the whole chapter body. Later, the small groups dreamed about what the Province could be like in ten years, and discussed values that could make those dreams come true. These discussions were also reported back at a plenary session. All the comments I heard about the process were very positive. It was interesting for me to hear how the Province perceives itself and what its dreams for the future are.

In my closing talk to the Chapter, I recalled that St. Francis was also a dreamer, and that dreams can be that "foolishness" that God uses to confound the wise of this world, as St. Paul said in his first letter to the Corinthians. I then reflected back to them some of the dreams they had mentioned during the week:

• to recover the passion for justice, peace and respect for creation that was once a hallmark of the Province;
• to have stronger, more vital fraternities;
• to increase collaboration with other jurisdictions in the NAPCC and in the world;
• to recover the pioneering spirit of the province's founders, to be more willing to take risks, and to focus on growth and vitality, rather than diminishment;
• to have a renewed sense of prayer and comtemplation.

And now that I've put their dreams in writing for the whole world to see, I hope they feel that their feet are to the fire!

The new definitory (left to right) are: Mark Carrico, Robert Smith, John Celichowski (Provincial), Francis Voris and Mark Joseph Costello.

... the Lord gave me brothers.

Having just completed a short, three-day visit to the NAPCC novitiate in Burlington, Wisconsin, I have a sense of the joy Francis of Assisi must have felt when others began to join his venture. Spending time with this large, happy group of men who are saying "yes" to our way of life was a very affirming experience. I was deeply encouraged by seeing how both novices and staff, although from different provinces and countries, were able to live and work together harmoniously. Praying together, eating together and being together at recreation was a vivid reminder that the Capuchin Order is international, and that the bonds of brotherhood cross all provincial, national and continental boundaries.

This is (presumably) the first and only time the Conference's novitiate will be held in Burlington. The usual site of the novitiate in Allison Park, Pennsylvania, was unworkable this time both because it would not have had enough rooms for the number of novices in this year's group and because this year's novitiate began several months before last year's novitiate finished. Although it was a makeshift solution, the former St. Francis Retreat Center in Burlington provided a very good setting for the novitiate. The spacious building provided plenty of room the various activities of the novitiate. The extensive grounds, nicely landscaped and dotted with various shrines and grottoes, offered a perfect environment for the novitiate's prayer life.

With the end of novitiate only about two months away, the novices have been occupied with writing their official requests for acceptance into temporary vows. Meanwhile, the next batch of novices has begun the investiture program in Victoria, Kansas, and from all reports, the experience is proceeding well.