Fraternal greetings from the Provincial Administration

Our Provincial Chapter was a moment of renewal, fraternity and hope that brought together 300 friars to pray, discern, dream and make decisions about the future God is calling us to embrace.

With the spirit of the Chapter still strong in our hearts and minds, the Provincial Council reflects on its experiences of the Chapter and shares its hopes for the years ahead. Their words reveal a common vision: a province united as one brotherhood, strengthened by the Gospel, rooted in fraternity and committed to serving God’s people with peace, compassion and joy.

Get to know the Provincial Administration

Br. Michael Perry, OFM, Minister Provincial

Before the Chapter, Br. Michael served as director of the Laudato Si' Center for Integral Ecology at Siena University in Loudonville, New York.

He professed simple vows on Aug.11, 1978, followed by solemn profession on Oct 10, 1981. He was ordained a priest on June 2, 1984.

He served the Order of Friars Minor as Minister General, the 120th successor of St. Francis of Assisi, from 2013 to 2021, as well as Provincial Councilor and Provincial Minister for the legacy Sacred Heart Province.

Br. Michael worked at the International Office of Justice and Peace at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, as well as Catholic Relief Services and Franciscans International, which works on human rights, poverty, peace, and integral ecology at the United Nations. He also served as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly known as Zaire).

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Quincy University, a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in in Missiology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, and a Ph.D. in religious anthropology from the University of Birmingham, U.K.

Br. Erick López, OFM, Vicar Provincial

Br. Erick served on the first Provincial Council of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Born in Cuba, he migrated to Colombia as a young adult and in 1999, he moved to the United States. He professed simple vows on June 3, 2006, followed by solemn profession on Aug. 21, 2010 and ordination on May 21, 2011.

Br. Erick ministered for nearly nine years at St. Camillus Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland. He also served on the novitiate formation team at Old Mission Santa Barbara, California. He has served as regional vocation director, guardian, Provincial Councilor of the legacy Holy Name Province, and board member of Siena College (now Siena University).

Br. Erick holds an undergraduate degree in chemistry and a Master of Divinity from Washington Theological Union.

Br. John Aherne, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Before the Chapter, Br. John served as pastor of St. Mary's Parish in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey, a suburban church of about 2,800 families.

He was born in the Bronx and was raised in Queens, New York. He first encountered Franciscan spirituality as a teenager attending St. Francis Prep, a ministry of the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn. While attending New York University and working as an editor, he became reacquainted with the friars at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Manhattan.

He professed simple vows on Aug 5, 2012, followed by solemn profession on Aug. 27, 2016. He was ordained a priest on June 23, 2018.

He holds a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological University and a Master of Science in Church Management from Villanova University. He has worked as an editor and taught Irish dancing.

Br. Peter Boegel, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Before the Chapter, Br. Peter served at San Solano Missions in Topawa, Arizona, 20 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border on the Tohono O’odham Nation. He previously served as the province's Secretary of Missions and Evangelization and director of the province’s Mission and Evangelization Office.

He answered God's call to become a Franciscan, professing simple vows on Aug. 23, 1987, and solemn vows on Dec. 1, 1990.

His ministry experience includes church restoration, facility maintenance and repair, serving eighteen years on the Mescalero Apache reservation and ten years on the Tohono O'odham reservation. He has served the fraternity as a guardian, syndic/bursar, Provincial Councilor for the Province of St. Barbara (2003-2009) and Secretary of the Province of St. Barbara (2009-2016).

Br. George Camacho, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Before the Chapter, Br. George served as a member of the novitiate formation team for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Based at Old Mission Santa Barbara, California, he mentored novices as they deepened their relationship with God and their Franciscan identity.

He is originally from Rosedale, New York. Before his current role, he served as director of the Damietta Cross-Cultural Center at Siena University in Loudonville, New York.

He professed simple vows on June 11, 2011 and was solemnly professed on Aug. 27, 2016.

Br. Henry Fulmer, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Before the Chapter, Br. Henry served as guardian for Holy Name College Fraternity in Silver Spring, Maryland. He has experience with African American ministry, parish ministry, multicultural ministry, retreat/preaching and vocations/formation.

He professed simple vows on May 28, 1988, and solemn vows on June 19,1993. He was ordained as a permanent deacon on April 20, 1996

He has served as board chair of Franciscan Bread for the Poor, parochial vicar of Sacred Heart Parish in Tampa, Florida, and pastoral associate and administrator of St. Joseph Parish in Wilmington, Delaware.

Br. Colin King, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Before the Chapter, Br. Colin was assigned to the missions of Western Jamaica, serving as pastor of Mary, Gate of Heaven Catholic Church in Western Westmoreland, St Mary Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church in Revival and St Luke Catholic Church in Little London. He has served in Jamaica since his ordination on June 10, 2017.

Br. Colin was born and raised in Central Ohio and worked as a special education teacher before entering the Order of Friars Minor, which he says felt like a homecoming. He professed simple vows on June 11, 2011, followed by solemn profession on Aug. 23, 2014. He has a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union and an Executive Masters of Nonprofit Administration from the University of Notre Dame. He has served as a dean and Vicar of Education for the Diocese of Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Br. Roger Lopez, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Br. Roger served on the first Provincial Council for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Born and raised in Pensacola, Florida, he attended the University of West Florida and became a firefighter before entering the Order of Friars Minor.

Br. Roger professed simple vows on June 15, 2009, and solemn vows on Aug. 25, 2012. He was ordained a priest on June 11, 2016. He earned a Master of Divinity from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and an Executive Master of Nonprofit Administration from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

Br. Roger served as theology teacher and director of community outreach at Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati. He also has experience with youth and young adult ministry, service to the poor, campus ministry and hospital chaplaincy.

He has served in various roles with the National Catholic Committee on Scouting, Padua Franciscan High School, Academy of American Franciscan History and the Secular Franciscans (Northwest Region).

Br. Rommel Perez Flores, OFM, Provincial Councilor

Br. Rommel served on the first Provincial Council for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Raised in a large Mexican family, he first learned about the Franciscans when he met a friar from Puerto Rico who taught him about St. Francis. He was drawn to community life and the joyful, faithful witness of the friars he met.

He professed simple vows on June 15, 2007, and solemn vows on Aug. 28, 2010. He was ordained a priest on May 7, 2011.

He finds great fulfillment in fraternal life, parish ministry and by accompanying people as they journey through spiritual life.

His ministry experience includes co-director of formation, pastor, vicar of three different friaries and served on the last provincial council of legacy Sacred Heart.