Franciscan Month invites all to joy, prayer and action

This October, Franciscans nationwide will invite all to celebrate Franciscan Month, encouraging people to rediscover the compassion, gratitude, simplicity and profound joy at the heart of the Franciscan way. The Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe is honored to join their Franciscan brothers and sisters everywhere in an initiative called Franciscan Month, a website where readers can access reflections, events, prayers, and other devotional content that span topics from how to care for the earth to living the Gospel and embracing a life of purpose and service.

The Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe has helped curate this year's resources. Brothers Marc Sheckells, OFM, and Jimmy Kernan, OFM, have provided reflections, and Brothers John Doctor, OFM, Adolfo Mercado, OFM, and Michael Ward, OFM, are serving on Franciscan Month's planning team along with Dr. Kerting Baldwin, Ed.D., APR, the province's executive director of communications.

Since its launch in 2023, Franciscan Month has flourished through the collaboration of Franciscan colleges and universities, religious communities, and lay organizations. Led by Br. Gregory Cellini, OSF, director of the Office of Mission, Ministry and Interfaith Dialogue at St. Francis College, the initiative has grown from a local project into a widely embraced celebration among OFMs, Capuchins, Conventuals, Poor Clares, Secular Franciscans, and other Franciscan communities.