Failte go gréasán na bProinsiasaigh Eireannaigh OFM!
Welcome to the Irish Franciscan OFM website.

Dear Friends,

The following is an extract from a beautiful book on St. Francis of Assisi, 'Francis - the Journey and the Dream' by Murray Bodo, 1972, St. Anthony Messenger Press, p.39 and 40.

"When Bernard of Quintavalle and the others came to him, Francis rejoiced that his journey had not ended once the Spirit took over his life, but that a new and more exciting Journey had begun, a journey, even now only beginning.

Brother Bernard was, in Francis' eyes, the real founder of the Order of Lesser Brothers, because he was the first wealthy Assisian to sell all his possessions, give them to the poor, and throw himself completely upon the mercy of God.   Francis remembered so vividly the night he spent in the home of the wealthy merchant, Bernard of Quintavalle.   Bernard, pretending to be asleep, had spent the night watching Francis at prayer, and in the morning had told Francis of his resolve to renounce his possessions and to follow Francis in he footsteps of Christ.

Francis was utterly stunned.   Never, in his wildest hopes, had he imagined that God would so quickly answer his prayers for companionship in poverty and pursuit of the Dream.   But he did not immediately show his joy and relief to Bernard.   Instead, Francis said that they must go together to the bishop's house where there was a poor priest who would say Mass for them.   Afterwards they would ask the priest to open the Book of the Gospels three times to see what God would there reveal to them about their future;  whether Bernard was to follow Christ as Francis' brother, or not.

Dear Friends,

May the Lord give you Peace!   When men display an interest in the 'Franciscan Way' of life in the Irish Franciscan Province I try to meet up with them for a chat as soon as possible.   After a few meetings and if we find that this 'might' be the right way for the person discerning to go I invite that person to spend a week-end in a Friary experiencing our way of life.   Some men have come to attend a few week-ends and have continued to meet with me on a regular basis before deciding to apply to enter the first year of our formation programme.

Fr Gearóid Ó Conaire, OFM, tells of a little Vietnamese boy with AIDS who captured the hearts of those who knew him.This is the story of Tam, an eightyear- old Vietnamese boy who died of AIDS. As well as drawing our attention to a phenomenon affecting two
million children with the HIV virus, Tam taught Fr John Phuong Dinh Toai, a Camillian priest, and all those who cared for him profound spiritual lessons in generosity and detachment. I met Fr John in Rome at a conference I moderated for Caritas Internationalis and the US Embassy to the Holy See between 14th – 16th October 2009. The theme of the conference was on securing better access to early testing and treatment for children living with HIV or HIV/TB co-infection and to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Experts from the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers, UNAIDS, the World Health Organisation, the famous Vatican children’s hospital (Bambino Gesù) and the Health Commission of the Superiors General were involved in a packed three days of presentations and discussions.

Lucky to be alive, The friars in Haiti have experienced the horror of the earthquake. The day of the earthquake it was as if a bomb had exploded. We brought first aid to many people. I saw terrible scenes.

Lived together, Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation (JPIC) form a 'caring for creation' spirituality, a way of living life in the Spirit. As followers of St Francis of Assisi, we Franciscans feel ourselves called to live this spirituality, and by caring for our sister-mother earth and for the relationships between all people on earth, we work to bring about the Kingdom of God, where all are valued and cherished. When Christians pray the words of Christ, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are praying that each of these values – Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation – bears fruit as Jesus desired.

Read more...