In the above video, Friar Joe Bayne, OFM Conv. talks about his life as a Conventual Franciscan. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Joe encountered the Franciscans as a high school student. In 1975, he entered the Order and eventually began to serve in the Diocese of Baltimore.

Friar Joe's life changed in 1989 when his minister provincial asked him to become the executive director of the Franciscan Center in Buffalo, New York. The Franciscan Center is a shelter for young men. It provides a nurturing environment where they can set their lives onto the right track. Having had his father and uncle work as firefighters in the Baltimore Fire Department. Friar Joe saw it only as natural that he should also become the chaplain of the Buffalo Fire Department, a ministry that he humbly still fulfills today.

(Source of related photo on homepage: www.franciscancenterinc.org.)