At ‘No Kings’ march, friars call to protect the vulnerable

The Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe are a voice for the voiceless and stand in solidarity with the poor, the immigrant, and the marginalized. As millions of people exercised their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble on Saturday, June 14, friars brought a Franciscan call for justice and peace, as well as a ministry of presence, to the gatherings. Below, two friars share their experiences in Atlanta and New York City. 

Santo Vangelo Friary takes Gospel to the streets 

By Provincial Vicar Br. Mark Soehner, OFM 

Whenever and wherever we encounter the Lord, our lives open up and we begin to glimpse alternatives. The real experience of the Risen Lord stirs new life in us, sometimes coaxing comfort or, at other times, offering challenging prods to explore new ways for our personal lives and to re-examine how we are conducting ourselves in our wider society.   

Our own fraternity of Santo Vangelo in Atlanta has been dutifully watching the evening news as of late and we consistently come away deeply troubled and disturbed. We daily see the violence inflicted on people who are immigrants in our country. We have watched the effects of the withdrawal of humanitarian funding for the poorest: people in other countries who are literally starving, including infants needing formula, and others who no longer have access to health care for medical conditions such as diabetes, leprosy, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. We have witnessed the withdrawal of funds for our planet and for the peaceful working together with other nations.  

We have written to our Senators and Representatives in Congress, urging them to uphold the Catholic value of the dignity of every person from conception to natural death. We have read articles by Archbishop Weisenberger, Archbishop Wester and the other U.S. Catholic bishops asking us to find ways to welcome the stranger and protect the common good. We have lamented how some national policies are now going against the Gospel, most especially Matthew 25:40, “Whatever you did unto the least of my brothers/sisters, you did unto Me.”  

During a friary meeting, we talked about our discontent and wondered, “What else can be done?”  Then we heard about an opportunity to participate in a protest here in Atlanta, about 20 minutes away. We decided that we did not want our message to be explicitly political, but rather to draw people’s attention to the Good News of Jesus. We did not want to stir hatred but offer the alternative in Jesus. We decided to attend, dressed in habit and carrying placards proclaiming these Gospel values. 

From left to right: Provincial Vicar Br. Mark Soehner, OFM, Provincial Minister Br. Larry Hayes, OFM, and Provincial Secretary Br. Larry Ford, OFM, carried signs calling people to welcome the poor and migrants. (Photo courtesy of Br. Larry Ford, OFM)

Our experience was surprising on many levels.  We marveled at the sheer number of people at this event. Not all of them had the same reasons for being there as we did. Some wanted the restoration of government by the people and for the people. Others felt that President Trump was taking too much power away from Congress. There were literally thousands of people, and it was both startling and invigorating to witness it.  

Our habits were a big draw for people, including newspaper reporters.  Many Catholics came up and thanked us for our presence. They too expressed dismay about the lack of care for immigrants who come to our country. They were grateful for the explicit Gospel expressions on our placards. Some people knew our friars like the late Br. Joe Nangle, OFM. One person had been friends with the late Bishop Thomas Gumbleton. Some knew our friars from when we staffed the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception just a few blocks away in Atlanta.  Others wanted to know if we were in costume or real!  

Many young people wanted to know “what is a friar?”  When they learned we were brothers and priests of the Catholic church, several—with eyes widening—expressed deep gratitude (and surprise). One young adult, his face lighting up with a big grin, exclaimed: “Wow, that’s big!  Thanks for being here.” It was a great opportunity to be with so many concerned and engaged young and old people.  

We returned tired, but happy for those conversations that allowed us to share our and their concerns for others, our nation and our planet.  After our return and the exuberance died down, we still wondered: How can we continue to share our experience of the compassion of Jesus and express that today? How can we take a public stand with others upholding the dignity of life, this undeserved gift of God to us all? How can we as Franciscans join with others to ensure that the vision of Pope Francis does not fade from our nation’s imagination and agenda. As he said in his letter to the U.S. bishops on Feb. 10, 2025: 

An authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized. The true common good is promoted when society and government, with creativity and strict respect for the rights of all… welcomes, protects, promotes and integrates the most fragile, the unprotected and vulnerable.  This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration.  However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others.  What is built on the basis of force, and not the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly.   

Br. Christopher Keenan, OFM, age 82, on left, and Br. Emmet Murphy, OFM, 91, on right, provided a ministry of presence to marchers in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Ann Kansfield)

Franciscan Witness in New York 

By Br. Christopher Keenan, OFM 

SHALOM!  We want to share a great story of what can happen when friars go out "two by two"!    

91-year-old Br. Emmet Murphy, OFM, and I were at New York City’s "We The People: No Kings" demonstration on June 14. Prior to participating, we attended the monthly Homeless Leadership Study Program at the province's San Damiano Hall on West 31st Street. It is one of five 30-year-old programs run by Life Experience and Faith Sharing Associates (LEFSA), a team of 8 formerly homeless persons accompanying currently homeless persons. The LEFSA team invites several people from St. Francis Breadline to participate in this gathering each morning.

We then went up to West 31st Street and 5th Avenue to participate in the demonstration. We stood on the corner "two by two" in habit. We were a few steps from our car parked on the corner in case we needed to take a break. We have developed this "safe OFM senior environment a few steps from the car" to enable friars in their 80s and 90s to take part in JPIC (justice, peace and integrity of creation) demonstrations while remaining safe. 

We stood in the pouring rain for two hours welcoming more than 200,000 people coming down 5th Avenue. It was so life-giving for both of us. Literally hundreds of people came over to us to share a brief word. All were surprised and delighted to see us there. Some were fascinated to know that we were "real" and not in costume. Others wanted to take pictures. Often people identified as "other than Catholic" and just wanted to express their gratitude to see the Catholic Church involved. Many also wanted to celebrate our Pope Leo. 

Everyone who stopped to speak with us thanked us for being with them. Older Catholics expressed the importance of the gift of the presence of our Catholic faith as Franciscans from St. Francis Church. Every age group was represented. It was especially moving to see people in wheelchairs, those with walkers and canes, and their courage as they made the milelong journey of hope in the pouring rain. 

Both Emmet and I were stunned by the number of people who identified as “no longer Catholic” and were moved to chat with us about it. It was like they were reaching out to "touch back to their roots."  As we held up our signs and umbrellas, we were literally "celebrating street corner healing" and with our eyes, extending an invitation for people to come over so we could say hello to them. 

Even the crowd that was 25 people deep across to the other side of 5th Avenue was calling over to us with "thumbs up." We responded, lifting and waving our signs with messages of courage, challenge and hope for our country. It was so clear in the spirit of this pilgrimage down 5th Avenue that "what we can't do alone, we can do together." It was a deep sense of community. 

Br. Michael Tyson, OFM, was unable to join us this time. Mike's 50-year history with justice, peace and integrity of creation (JPIC) was spent organizing ecumenically against drug lords through community marches through neighborhoods in the boundaries near our parishes: Sacred Heart in Rochelle Park, New Jersey; Holy Cross in the Bronx and Holy Name on West 96th Street in New York City; and St. Camillus in Silver Spring, Maryland. The NYPD had a yearlong detail overnight protecting the friaries, especially after drug lords attempted to burn down Bronx's Holy Cross Church. 

As Emmet and I stood on the corner, we rotated our 2-sided signs wrapped in plastic that were held up on wooden sticks. They bore these messages: 

1) We Are Pilgrims of Hope 

2) Protect Our Immigrant Children 

3) Courage, Courage Together 

4) Be An Instrument for Peace 

5) Care for Creation, Our Common Home 

Thanks so much for "listening” here to our most moving experience together. Please read Br. Russel Becker’s insightful and inspiring article "Franciscan Evangelization" in Br. Octavio Duran's superb recent issue of Franciscan Way published by Br. David Convertino, OFM, through Franciscan Friars Charities. Reviewing the life of St. Francis, Br. Russel unfolds a classic friars' theological reflection that describes the Franciscan evangelizing power of our "two by two" experience on fashionable 5th Avenue.