Franciscan Week

A number of Conventual Franciscan Friars who serve the people of the Eastern United States and Canada

The Franciscan Church of St. Bonaventure in Toronto, Ontario will begin its Franciscan Week this Saturday (October 1). The week covers two very important days in the lives of all Franciscans and those who are close to them: October 3 – The Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi and October 4 – Francis’ feast day.

The Transitus of St. Francis marks Francis' transition from death to life. The next day the world celebrates the gift of St. Francis to the Church and his place among the saints. At St. Bonaventure Parish during the week that surrounds those two important days, the Conventual Franciscan Friars have organized many interesting and spiritually fulfilling events. These include a town hall meeting with Friar Paul Lininger – St. Bonaventure’s new pastor, an animal blessing, a Feast of St. Francis Liturgy, and the Welcoming of the Pilgrim Cross.

The Pilgrim Cross is special to the Conventual friars of Immaculate Conception Province and St. Anthony of Padua Province. It has been traveling to Conventual Franciscan-staffed parishes and ministries in those two provinces, which cover the Eastern United States and Canada. At each stop the cross has brought communities together in prayer while reminding them of their Franciscan interconnectedness. This interconnectedness is particularly important as both Immaculate Conception Province and St. Anthony of Padua Province will form a new province in 2014. In this new entity the friars will better serve the vulnerable and spiritually hungry people of Canada and the USA.

(Source of all related images on webpage and homepage: www.stbonaventure.ca.)