Want to know about St. Francis? Or about St. Clare? Have you heard bits and pieces about these two friends from Assisi but still don’t have the complete picture? What is a commitment to God’s Creation and ministry to the poor all about?  

Making a high school Franciscan doesn’t just happen. It needs to be an intentional process. Case in point: Padua Franciscan High School, straddling the line between the suburb of Parma and the city of Cleveland. The school began in 1961 as a Franciscan school, an all-boys academy.

There are 8 million stories in the naked city. This line from a late ’50s police TV show is just as accurate today as it was over 70 years ago. It’s a perfect metaphor for New York City, whose residents can feel exposed and vulnerable, with problems known to only those who extend a helping hand. Each person who lives in New York City has a unique story and list of needs. For many whose stories lead them to the St. Francis Breadline, also known as Franciscan Bread for the Poor, Inc., the need for nourishment only scratches the surface.

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

Mount Irenaeus, the rural retreat center that inspired hundreds of St. Bonaventure University students, staff and others, lost its guiding light this summer.