There’s a quiet for four Franciscans who live at the St. Francis Friary in Teutopolis in central Illinois.
With immense joy and deep gratitude to God, the Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe have humbly accepted stewardship of Parroquia Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish) from the Diocese of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
On June 20, Franciscan TV’s Friar Time presented a voice that perhaps isn’t listened to enough—not the voice of an expert, a politician, or a commentator, but a young man.
When St. Francis famously met up with a leper, he didn’t just throw him some money. The man from Assisi embraced and kissed him.
“25 years ago, a morning began like any other. Coffee poured, subways filled, prayers whispered at morning mass, and then the unthinkable happened.”
Before the city fully stirs, a line forms outside St. Francis Center in downtown Los Angeles. Some arrive wrapped in blankets; others carry their belongings in one bag. Young and old, men and women come not only for a meal, but also for something far rarer in their daily lives: to be seen and treated with dignity.
For Franciscan Friars, learning a language is a practice of presence, humility and relationship. This vision led to an immersion program in Puerto Rico for Brothers James La Grutta, OFM, and Ciduoane Joseph, OFM, who recently completed hands-on preparation for future Spanish language ministry.
On May 25, 2026, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.” This historic document has received a great deal of secular and religious press coverage.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Greenwood, Mississippi, features a non-descript little church located in a largely non-Catholic region of the Delta. The sounds of Black Gospel and Mexican music resonate from its sanctuary every Sunday. While it has only a few hundred parishioners, few churches can boast of its wide impact.
A job description written in heaven. That’s what Chris Rivera thought when he was asked to create the Office of Youth & Young Adult Ministry for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe. “It was literally a job description that covered everything I’ve done in my life and all the dreams I had for the future,” says Chris. “It was like the vision I have for my life and the vision God has for my life came together into a beautiful symphony.”
