The Franciscan spirit is flourishing among young adults

Editor’s Note: Chris Rivera, director of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry, continues his tour of Franciscan sites around the country to discover how the Franciscan spirit is alive and bearing fruit among young people. In this article, he shares experiences from San Antonio, Texas, and Siena University in Loudonville, New York. 

Formation, community, and mission in San Antonio 

In mid‑March, I had the joy of visiting Duns Scotus House of Formation in San Antonio, Texas, a seminary for men pursuing religious life as a Franciscan. We broke bread, prayed together, and shared openly about the vision for Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Together with the brothers in formation and ministry leaders, we explored how this vision is lived concretely in the daily rhythms of Franciscan life. 

Br. Tyler Harris, OFM, along with the other brothers in formation, led two retreats this winter as a way to give back to the local community and engage more intentionally in ministry with youth and young adults. They shared candidly about both the joys and challenges of offering opportunities like Advent retreats, and about how essential it is to rally the community around a shared mission. 

San Antonio is also home to three historic Franciscan missions that serve their communities in beautifully distinct ways: Mission San Juan Capistrano, Mission San Francisco de la Espada, and Mission San José. Though only minutes apart geographically, each reflects a unique pastoral reality and response. 

At Mission San Juan Capistrano, Br. Adolfo Mercado, OFM, partners with a family ministry that serves an intergenerational population and seeks parish renewal through shared leadership and accompaniment. Nearby, Br. Clifford Hennings, OFM, is discerning ways to create opportunities for young adults connected to nearby universities, responding to a growing openness among students seeking community and meaning. At Mission Espada and Cabrini Church, Br. Noe Alfaro Casas, OFM, serves a vibrant bilingual community, with emerging possibilities for collaboration with local youth movements already active in the area. 

Taken together, the ministries in San Antonio reveal a setting richly primed for collaboration, where community, love, and the Franciscan spirit can continue to flourish among youth, young adults, and the wider community. 

Encounter, accompaniment, and care for creation at Siena University 

Later in March, I traveled to Siena University, an institution deeply grounded in the Franciscan tradition and animated by a strong commitment to accompaniment. 

At Siena, the mission is clear: to meet students where they are on their journey of faith and to walk alongside them as companions. With friars in residence, students have access to men who seek first to listen, to guide when invited, and to help shape the college experience through a Franciscan lens. 

Friars are a visible and approachable presence across campus, from classrooms to dining halls to casual moments of conversation. Again and again, what emerged was a simple truth: Presence matters, and relationship opens doors that programs alone cannot. 

One of the most exciting expressions of this witness is the Laudato Si’ Center for Integral Ecology, launched just over a year and a half ago. The Center has quickly become a cornerstone of campus ministry, seeking to educate, nurture, and create opportunities for students to recognize their deep connection with one another and with all of creation. 

Through creative engagement on social media, campus symposiums, and even advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., the Center invites students to become collaborators in the mission. By working to reduce waste, build community, and integrate faith with action, this team offers a compelling vision of care for creation lived as a way of life. 

The sky truly feels like the limit for this work, especially as students are empowered not merely to participate, but to lead.