By Maria Hayes
With a mixture of sadness and gratitude for the good work that has been accomplished, the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe has bid farewell to two cities where friars ministered for more than 100 years.
Parishioners and partners-in-ministry gathered at St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson, New Jersey, and Sts. Columba-Brigid Parish and Family 21 in Buffalo, New York, on July 28 to celebrate the friars’ many years of ministry, with the hope that the people will continue to foster the Franciscan charism in their communities for years to come.
The number of friars has decreased in recent years due to aging, the passing of some beloved members, and fewer new vocations. This has led to the difficult decision to return these two parishes to their local dioceses. Saying farewell to these cherished communities, full of faith and devotion, is a deeply heartfelt moment for the friars, and they will be dearly missed.
Br. Kevin Mullen and many other men and women discovered a religious vocation because of the Franciscan friars and sisters who served at St. Bonaventure Church. (Photo courtesy of Br. Octavio Duran)
St. Bonaventure Church, Paterson, New Jersey
St. Bonaventure Parish is the second-oldest parish in the Diocese of Paterson. On July 28, friars, Franciscan sisters, Secular Franciscans and parishioners gathered for a Farewell Mass that celebrated the Franciscans’ legacy. Br. Kevin Mullen, OFM, a Paterson native who received his sacraments and celebrated his first Eucharist as a priest there, served as celebrant.
The first friars arrived in Paterson in 1876 as refugees fleeing religious persecution in Germany and took up residence in a former Carmelite monastery in the city’s Stoney Road neighborhood. St. Bonaventure Parish was established next to the monastery in February 1877.
The monastery was home to many historic events for the Franciscans. In 1877, the friars established their novitiate in the monastery, where thousands of young friars were educated. In 1880, it became the headquarters of the Custody of St. Elizabeth and, as the number of friars grew, the custody became Holy Name Province. Throughout the decades, the monastery was witness to professions, ordinations and chapters (gatherings of friars).
Friars from Paterson established many of the surrounding parishes and missions in northern New Jersey, including St. Mary’s Church in Pompton Lakes and St. Anthony of Padua in Butler, where the friars continue to serve. Many vocations to religious life, mostly Franciscan, were fostered at St. Bonaventure Parish.
After the novitiate relocated to Lafayette, New Jersey, in the 1950s, the monastery served as a retreat house until the 1970s. The parish continued, opening St. Anthony Shrine to the Sick in 1936 to serve as a place of prayer for people in search of healing.
During the Farewell Mass, Br. Kevin lauded the Franciscan sisters, Secular Franciscans and parishioners who shared in the friars’ ministry.
“This is a day we celebrate not just Franciscans,” he said. “We celebrate the good people of this parish. We celebrate the religious women who have worked alongside of us, the lay partners in our offices and ministries, and the great parishioners of St. Bon’s.
“We know that what gathers us together today is to mark a historic moment in the good life of this parish,” he continued. “This is one moment. This is not the end, this is not the beginning. It is one moment, and it is a moment of transition. A significant transition, no doubt, but one that we need to celebrate, take pride in, and energize ourselves to continue onward.”
In his final remarks to the parish, pastor Br. Daniel Grigassy, OFM, said, “Our Christian faith is not so much about our past as it is about our future. Sure, it’s about Jesus Christ, his life, his death, his rising... But Jesus Christ is in our midst now and he will come in glory in the future at the last day at the end of the ages.”
He then quoted the prayer delivered during Mass after the Our Father, saying:
“Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil
graciously grant peace in our days
that by the help of Your mercy,
we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress
as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
“I want all of you to know that when we pray that prayer at Mass, we will remember you. We will pray that you are free and that you are safe,” Br. Daniel said. “Let us pray for one another, for all the Franciscan men and women who have served here over the years.”
Going forward, St. Bonaventure Parish will be staffed by diocesan priests from the Diocese of Paterson. For his next assignment, Br. Daniel Grigassy, OFM, is moving to Holy Name College in Silver Spring, Maryland. Br. Robert Norton, OFM, is moving to St. Anthony Friary in Butler, New Jersey.
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Brothers Jason Damon, Jud Weiksnar and Aaron Richardson served the Buffalo diocese's Family 21 parishes. (Photo courtesy of Sts. Columba-Brigid Parish)
Sts. Columba-Brigid Parish and Family 21, Buffalo, New York
The Franciscans have a long history of service to immigrants and locals in the City of Buffalo, beginning in 1858 when the friars assumed responsibility for St. Patrick Church.
At the time, the Hydraulics neighborhood – named for its many mills and industrial plants – was home to Irish workers and their families. The neighborhood prospered and after World War II, Polish residents began to replace older Irish-American families.
In September 1946, the friars opened Bishop Timon High School for 207 freshmen and sophomores at a temporary location in Buffalo’s South End. Although the friars no longer serve at Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School (as it is now known), it continues to provide young men with a high-quality education in the Franciscan tradition.
By the early 1960s, St. Patrick’s parishioners began moving to the suburbs. As the number of families in the parish decreased, the parish merged in the early 1980s with nearby St. Rita’s, a Slovak national parish staffed by the friars of the Slovak Custody of the Most Holy Savior. St. Patrick’s Friary remained the friars’ residence.
The friars continued to serve the poor in the area by providing services to unemployed and homeless people. Together with the Sisters of St. Francis, they supported the Secular Franciscans as the Seculars established Little Portion Friary, a shelter that continues to serve the most vulnerable people in Buffalo today.
When St. Patrick-St. Rita’s Parish merged with another local parish, the friars continued to serve the community out of St. Patrick’s Friary, providing a food pantry and a local garden, healing services and retreats, summer activities for youth, and ministry to incarcerated people and their families.
In 2017, St. Patrick Friary was sold, and the friars left the Hydraulics neighborhood, moving less than a mile down the road to Sts. Columba-Brigid Parish, where they served vibrant multicultural communities in the diocese’s Parish Family 21 (Sts. Columba-Brigid, St. Lawrence, St. Martin de Porres, and Blessed Trinity) as well as students at nearby Villa Maria College.
Br. Jud Weiksnar, OFM, celebrated the friars’ final Mass at Sts. Columba-Brigid Parish. He thanked the people for the kindness they showed to the friars during the six years they served there.
“When I became pastor here, I recognized that even though this parish wasn’t founded by Franciscans, it’s very Franciscan because you’re down to Earth, you serve the poor and you love God’s creation and you celebrate Eucharist in a marvelous way,” said Br. Jud. “God does the real work, but he couldn’t do it without you.”
For his next assignment, Br. Jud will serve the St. Clement & St. Francis Seraph Parish Family in Cincinnati as parochial vicar. Br. Aaron Richardson, OFM, will serve as parochial vicar at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels in Gary, Indiana. Br. Jason Damon, OFM, will serve as parochial vicar at St. John the Baptist Church in Joliet, Illinois. Br. Timothy Dauenhauer has moved to St. Bonaventure University Friary in Allegany, New York.