The changing face of the Order in North America

The new provincial council of the Province of Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd (left to right): Br. John Juhl, Br. Henry Alva, Br. Germaine Kpakafi, Br. John Frampton and Br. Paul Duplessie

The Province of Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd (Central Canada) celebrated its tenth ordinary provincial chapter during May 16-19. The underlying topics of discussion would have been familiar to most of the provinces in the North American-Pacific Capuchin Conference: how to deal with the financial, fraternal and ministerial challenges brought about by the aging and shrinking of the province's membership, and how to assure quality formation for the young men who want to join the Order, to name two of the topics. This chapter, however, was unique in at least one respect. It was the first chapter in the history of the Order in North America to elect a provincial minister who is neither a native of North America or of the founders' country. The new provincial minister, Br. Henry Alva, is a member of the Province of Karnataka (India) who opted several years ago to minister in this province. To put an exclamation point on this unique situation, the newly-elected provincial vicar, Br. Germain Kpakafi, is a member of the General Custody of the Congo who has been ministering in Canada for the past few years.

The uniqueness of this situation may not last long. Most of the circumscriptions in the NAPCC have some form of collaborative arrangement with one or more circumscriptions in other countries. The phenomenon is again changing the face of the Order in the conference. The first change took place decades ago as provinces gradually became "americanized", even while keeping some vestigial customs of their founding provinces. Now, the provinces here are becoming increasingly multicultural, or as some would prefer to say, intercultural. The change is taking place not only because friars from other circumscriptions are coming here temporarily to minister, but also because the North American provinces are getting vocations from a wider range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Given this situation, it will not be at all surprising if provincial councils in the NAPCC begin increasingly to portray the global reach of the Order.  

Chapters in a Franciscan Moment

The 2013 Chapter season  has come to an end for me. I presided at the Chapter of the Mid-America (Saint Conrad) Province held on April 1-5 and at the Chapter of the Province of Central Canada (Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd) on May 13-16. Br. Mauro presided at the Chapter of the Pennsylvania (Saint Augustine) Province on May 27-31, but I attended that one, as well. A common thread running through all three chapters was an emphasis on new life and a desire to respond to the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

Chapter of the Province of Mid-America

The chapter of the Mid-America Province specifically focused on the topic of the new evangelization, and the brothers began preparing for it a year in advance through study and discussions in local chapters. They were asked to read and discuss a talk given by Br Raniero Cantalamessa entitled, “The Contribution of Franciscan Spirituality to the New Evangelization,” and an article by Br Martin Pable entitled, “Gearing Up For the New Evangelization.”

Bishop David Ricken, Bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, addressed the Chapter of the Mid-America Province. Bishop Ricken, by the way, is a product of Capuchin formation, having attended Saint Francis Minor Seminary in Victoria, Kansas—the very site where the Chapter was held. He first presented the Committee’s statement, “Disciples Called to Witness,” then went on to show how Capuchins are ideally suited to evangelize in this “Franciscan moment” the Church is living through. He spoke of Saint Francis as an icon of Christ, the herald of the Gospel and the model of the new evangelization. The other keynote address was given by Fr. Felix Medina, priest of the Archdiocese of Denver and member of the Neocatechumenal Way. The point of his presentation was to demonstrate one way the Church’s call for a new evangelization is being put into practice. While no resolutions or recommendations were passed by the Chapter, the new provincial council hopes to make tangible some of the ideas discussed during the Chapter.

Chapter of the Province of Central Canada

While there was no theme per se for the Chapter of the Province of Central Canada, much of the discussion and several of the decisions it made centered on revitalizing the Province’s fraternities and becoming more effective ministers in today’s society. Central Canada is the smallest province in the Order in terms of membership, which poses a unique set of challenges. It is difficult, for instance, to find a proper balance between being sufficiently wide-spread to attract vocations and maintaining viable fraternal life. The Province has traditionally met this challenge, in part, by receiving help in the form of International Fraternal Collaboration. The Chapter passed several recommendations that would see the Province expand to new geographical areas of Canada and new areas of ministry.

Chapter of the Pennsylvania Province

Archbishop Chaput addresses the Chapter

The Pennsylvania Province also took “New Evangelization” as the theme of its Chapter, and began preparing a year ago with several local chapters on the topic. Three speakers presented various facets of what a new evangelization meant for the Capuchin Order in the United States today. Mr. John Allen, writer from the National Catholic Reporter, vaticanista for CNN and author of nine books on the Catholic Church, spoke of three megatrends in the Catholic Church that affect its evangelization efforts: the globalization of the Church, the rise of “evangelical Catholicism”, and a new tribalism. Although updated with new references and statistics, these points were taken from his book, The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church (find it here on Amazon.com). He also spoke about this being a “Franciscan moment” in the Church, and how the Capuchin Order is well-suited for the task of evangelization today. The parallels between his talk and that of Bishop Ricken in the Mid-America Province were uncanny. Our brother, Cardinal Sean O’Malley spoke about his work among the poor immigrants in Washington, D.C., during his early years in the Order, and encouraged the brothers to make service of the poor a part of its evangelization. Another of our brother bishops, Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia, spoke about the need for us to be heralds of the truth in today’s society, even if the message is inconvenient and unpopular. He also talked about the need for more creative approaches to evangelization. For a more detailed report on these last two talks, I refer you to John Allen’s article: An Afternoon with America's Capuchin Heavyweights. The Chapter charged the new provincial council with finding ways to put into practice the ideas expressed in these talks and subsequent discussions.

A final word

My impression after attending these three chapters is that the spirit of the brothers in North America is much different than it was six years ago when I presided at my first chapters. Whereas six years ago the prevalent tone seemed to be doom and gloom, now there is a greater sense of hopefulness. The talk is about living and adapting to the changes that are taking place in the Church and the world, about starting afresh. In reality, most provinces in North America are still getting smaller (Pennsylvania may be the exception), but all the provinces are getting some vocations and this has breathed new life into the Order. Most provinces have also gone through the difficult process of giving up cherished ministries and houses in order to create viable, vital fraternities. While the process was painful at the time, it provided the necessary space for new initiatives. While the average age of the provinces has increased over the last six years, there is a new energy and a new willingness to grasp this “Franciscan moment” of the Church.

Chapter of the Central Canadian Province

Provincial ministers who dream of having smaller, less complicated provinces may want to talk to someone from the Province of Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd (Central Canada) before jumping ship. Having just presided at its Eighth Ordinary Chapter, I can attest that fewer brothers and fewer friaries does not necessarily translate into fewer challenges. In some ways, just the opposite is true. For one thing, fewer brothers means that a greater percentage of them are involved in the inevitable internal ministries of a jurisdiction—provincial minister, directors of formation, vocations and communications, etc. It is true that in a smaller province some of these ministries may not need to occupy a brother full-time, but assigning several ministries to one brother adds its own complications. Fewer brothers and friaries also means there is less flexibility in terms of ministerial and fraternal assignments. None of this, of course, is news to the members of the Mother of the Good Shepherd Province. The discussions during the Chapter clearly indicated that the brothers were well aware of the challenges they faced. They were equally aware, however, of the resources and hopes that they have to meet these challenges.

There are currently twenty-six professed brothers working in the Central Canadian Province. Of these, eight are members of provinces in Eritrea, India, Italy, and Poland. Some came specifically in order to work with Catholics of their own ethnic groups, but other came mainly to help the Province maintain strong, vital fraternities. Some have come with the intention of remaining the rest of their lives, while others are there on multi-year commitments. Because of the Province’s long experience in this regard, it is something of a laboratory for Solidarity of Personnel. In the discussions that took place during the Chapter, it was clear that successfully integrating brothers from different areas of the world is not as easy as it seems, and that it requires ongoing efforts. I was happy to see, therefore, that one of the resolutions passed at the Chapter was aimed at improving the way friars from other countries are welcomed and integrated into the Province.

On the other hand, the mere fact that the Chapter’s participants could candidly discuss the difficulties among themselves was a sign of the trust that has developed among them. That one non-Canadian served on the previous Provincial Council and two were elected to the current Council are further evidence that integration is possible.