As we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Anthony of Padua, I remember making a trip to Padua. Of course, I went to the Basilica of St. Anthony- a magnificent church that houses many of St. Anthony’s relics, including the body of St. Anthony. Thousands of pilgrims come here to ask for the intercession of the Saint of Miracles.

The late Tony Bennett sang about a city by the bay where “the morning fog may chill the air.” For San Francisco lovers, the image is a romantic one. But the morning chill means something different for those who live on the streets of the Tenderloin District. That’s where Brother Andrew Dinegar, OFM, comes in. He will frequently provide blankets, offering those most desperate a respite from the cold, as well as coffee and

A normal part of life in Butler, New Jersey, (population 8,000) are when the bears come down from the nearby hills, foraging for food. Only an hour’s drive from Manhattan, the northwest New Jersey borough, tucked away in Morris County near the New York border, also deals with other pressing issues. Its population is aging, its rubber manufacturing base is long gone, and new immigrants, many willing and able to work in low-wage jobs, struggle to get by. Fr. Matthew Pravetz, OFM, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Butler, leads a parish which responds in a way that lives up to its Franciscan heritage in its concern for the poor.

The aroma of baked butter pervades the friary at the Parish of Santa Clara de Assisi in Carolina, Puerto Rico. For chef and Bro. Eddie Caro, OFM, it is a way to spread joy. “Nobody is unhappy with a sweet treat,” he says. Bro. Eddie first learned to bake at home from his mother. Now he has extended his craft as an integral part of his Franciscan ministry, educating himself in the ways of producing delicious pastry.

June is often a time when we begin lifetime promises. It is when we frequently celebrate weddings and ordinations to the priesthood. Graduations in this season also unleash the hope of new beginnings and future commitments. At this time of marking promises, we invite you to provide for another kind of promise by creating a lasting legacy of care for the poor and marginalized by remembering the Franciscan