Padres Trail December 2012

Volume 26
Number 9
Christmas
December, 2012
Official Newsletter of the
Franciscans of the Province of Our Lady
of Guadalupe
Albuquerque,
NM
A New
Friar Priest
Father
Erasmo
Romero,
OFM
F
riar Erasmo was ordained to the priesthood at
Holy Family Church in Albuquerque on December 8th by the Most Reverend Bishop Arthur Nicholas
Tafoya, former bishop of Pueblo Colorado.
Erasmo was born in Celaya, Geretero, Mexico in
1975. He was ordained to the diaconate on November 19, 2011.
Erasmo’s paraents, Juan Romero and Enedina Ariza
were able to come from Mexico to attend the ordination. Also, his brother, Ramiro and Ramiro’s three
children came from California to attend the ordination. Besides Ramiro Erasmo has eight siblings,
Juana, Maribel, Celso, Damian, Erika, Maria de La
Luz, Adareli, and Manuel.
The first reading was read by Erasmo’s brother,
Ramiro and the second reading was read by José
Rodriquez, OFM. The Holy Family Parish Choir lead
the singing. After the Mass all
were invited to
the parish hall
for a festive
banquet.
Right: Bro. Ramiro
and son in foreground.
H
ere are photos of some of the, highlights of the
ordination ceremony. Besides these photos
there were several hundred more taken. Go to our
web site www.olgofm.org for many more photos of
the ordination.
(PHOTOS BY ANDRES GALLEGOS AND JOE NELSON)
From top left:
Erasmo and parents in procession,
the same in front pew, Bishop
Tafoya preaches
From top right:
Erasmo is prostrate during the
singing of the litany, the bishop
just before imposing hands,
Erasmo’s parents cloth him in
the chasuble, bishop anoints the
hands of Erasmo.
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Page 2
Top right: An
emotional moment as Erasmo
prepares to give
the carved wood
cross, a gift from
the province, to
his parents as he
does in photo on
right.
Left: Erasmo gives
his first blessing to
Bishop Tafoya, Gino
and Ron Walters.
Below: Bishop Tafoya gives to Erasmo
Archbishop Michael
Sheehan;s letter
appointing Erasmo as
associate pastor at
Holy Family Parish.
From top left:
Bishop presents the paten to Erasmo
Bishop presents the Chalice to Erasmo
Erasmo gives communion to his Father and Mother.
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Page 3
The Last Mass at the
Indian Chapel
I
By Gino Correa
t was a beautiful Fall morning and though it had
gotten colder it didn’t keep the people from mak-
ing the final trek to the little chapel of Our Lady of
the Angels Indian Chapel. We had all come together
to celebrate the final Eucharist before the chapel
would finally close its doors. Some had anticipated
that it would be a small gathering since no one
wanted to see this day come. As it turned out the
chapel was full, the music was simple but full
throated and the
Spirit was alive in
the bittersweet
liturgy of Thanksgiving.
Altar at the Indian Chapel
Fr. Gino Correa,
OFM the Minister
Provincial was the
principal celebrant
with Fr. Emeric
Nordmeyer, OFM,
the last of the
Franciscan administrators concelebrating. The
songs and the
readings articulated the sentiments and hopes
of the final wor-
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
shipping community-”Although they
go forth weeping, they carry
the seed to be
sown...”
Fr. Gino shared
the deep-felt
gratitude of the
Franciscans for
the many years
of shared life and
faith and he
mentioned in
particular the
appreciation of
Nils Francis
Thompson, Paul
Juniet, Pio O’ Connor, some of the friars who had the
particular honor of pastoring at the chapel
History of the Indian
Chapel
By Joseph Nelson
he “Indian Chapel” is located at 1100 Indian
School Road and is called the Queen of Angels
Chapel and was the Shrine of Blessed Kateri
Tekakwitha.
T
The chapel was originally meant to service the large
Indian School which was located near the chapel. I
have been unable to find out the date the chapel was
built but the Indian School has a long history.
(Continued next page)
Page 4
Photo of Old Indian School
According to one web site, “the Albuquerque Indian
School was established in 1881 to provide offreservation industrial training to the Indians of the
Southwest. By 1912, the school had 8 primary grades
and over 300 students; by 1925 enrollment increased
to over 800 students and grades 11 and 12 were
added. The Albuquerque Indian School continued
operating until 1982, when its program was transferred to the Santa Fe Indian School.
According to Fr. Nils Thompson, OFM, “The old Indian School was across the street (north of) from the
present Chapel. It was still standing when I first got
there. It originally was staffed by an OFM who lived
at Holy Family Parish. Fr. Maurus Pax, OFM was
chaplain for a long time, then Fr. John Uhl, OFM. Fr.
Valentine Young, OFM did Masses in Latin for a few
years. I did just about everything I could to make it a
really Native American place.”
No one was available after Fr. Emeric Nordmeyer
could no longer serve as chaplain because of ill
health. For this and other reasons the diocese decided
to close the chapel. With the Canonization of Kateri
Tekakwitha the shrine in her honor was moved to the
Isleta Pueblo.
Isleta Mission St. Augustine, site of new Kateri Shrine
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Archbishop Michael
Sheehan Establishes
New Kateri Shrine
O
n Saturday, November 10th, Archbishop Michael Sheehan, had a special Mass celebrating
the establishment of the Archdiocesan St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine at the Isleta Pueblo Mission, St.
Augustine.
PHOTO BELOW BY CELINE RADIGAN
Archbishop Sheehan with priests in attendance
The Shrine is just inside the front door of the Mission
on the right.
(Continued on page 6)
Page 5
Preparations for the
50th Anniversary of ST. BERNARD Parish
at NAVAJO, AZ, Oct. 11, 2014
By Gilbert Schneider, OFM
At the Navajo Mission, St. Berard, we are encouraging our parishioners to begin now preparing for this
Anniversary of the parish and the original church
building. The original building, which is now the
parish hall, served many functions: the South half
was the church, the North half was the parish hall, the
East side of the building was the residence of the friar
pastor. Now, the entire building is used as a parish
hall. A new “Hogan style” church was built about
1992.
Friar
Murray
Bodo and
I, Gilbert
Schneider,
were at St.
Michaels
the summer of
Original church, now the parish hall.
1963 to
assit with summer school. On a Saturday afternoon
we went to Navajo to observe the building of the new
church. I recall walking across the floor where r-bar
was in place for the pouring of the slab. Fr. Davin
and Brother Donald were the builders. George Rupp,
a contractor was living on the site with his wife,
Continued from page 5
Rosemary,
in a trailer.
George
helped with
the construction and direction.
New Hogan
style church
We are asking the people to recall their own family stories:
about how they came to the church, who was the first
member of the family to become interested in the
Catholic Faith. What priests were instrumental in
bringing them to the church.
We are also in the process of asking families to gather
what pictures they may have that could help us publish a booklet about the 50 year history of St. Berard.
Of course, the beginnings of the faith go back much
further.
We also attest to the fact that God has always been at
work with the people of this area. It was at the proper
time that the message of the Gospel came to Red
Lake/Navajo.
PICTURES SUPPLIED BY GILBERT
PHOTOS BELOW BY CELINE RADIGAN
Friars (l to r) Martin Sanabria, Bart Wolf, and Paul Juniet
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Fr. Larry Bernard, OFM (center) also assisted at the Mass
Page 6
Regional Meeting
By Duane Torisky
(This is a shortened version of Duane’s original article. ED)
There were
some lively
discussions.
Larry S., Bart, Gerry, John, Ron,
Sylvester, Gonzalo, Larry B.
Below: Gino,
José, Ramon,
Cecil, Joseph,
Pio.
Thirty-eight friars gathered at Holy Family Parish hall
on November 8th for the Albuquerque regional meeting. Using the questions for discussion agreed upon by
the regional planning committee as a springboard the
following are some main observations that grew out of
the discussion in the
morning and following
lunch.
The tensions between vocations and our call to
itinerancy for a new century were discussed. Itinerancy implies constant
change which makes vocation work difficult.
Our recruitment from
Mexico over the past
twelve years reflects the
new directions in which OLG is being called to in the
province and the US church. We have been ministering
among the Native Americans for centuries. Have we
been successful, or does their native religion have
stronger values for them.
Pat Schafer was chairman for
the meeting.
We need to concentrate our ministry to adults and
young adults who are bringing up their children now.
They are the future.
How are we becoming less parochial as an Order (7 US
provinces) and more international/multi-cultural in
scope? What would it look like if the seven current
provinces merged into several (3?) entities to cover the
US? Is there room for friars who want to spend the remaining years in ministry as it has been done in the past
as well as those who want to pursue a new vision of
mission and ministry? Prayer and fraternity are genuine
concerns.
Sooner or later we must deal effectively with what we
are about in terms of Franciscan presence in the US and
how we are to be organized. This is long overdue. Administrative needs (Vocations, finances, Fund raising,
etc) would be national. Prayer and fraternity models
could be handed on a regional level.
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Gilbert, Seán, George,
Paul
We must not force younger members
into ministries that have served us in
the past but where their interests no
longer lead them
Abel, Lalo, Charlie,
Gonzalo
Holy Name, Immaculate Conception and St. Barbara
provinces are unfamiliar with collaborative efforts that
Assumption, OLG, Sacred Heart and SJB provinces
have fostered for over twelve years. In what areas can
the seven US provinces collaborate
now?
But not ALL was
lively!
(Many more ideas were expressed,
too many to include here. These ideas
were for input to the meeting of the 7
provincials and their councils with
the minister general in Milwaukee.
As I finished this issue we received a
letter from the provincials outlining,
as a result of the meeting, how they
will pursue collaboration and restructuring in the coming year. ED)
Page 7
Jessie Garcia Honored
J
essie Garcia has been a secretary at Holy Family
for over 40 years and so the province took the opportunity of the meal time during the Regional Meeting to honor her.
A framed declaration was given to her which read:
“Jessie Garcia,
‘You have known the best of the friars;
you have known the worst of the friars,
and you have loved all the friars.’
For that love, and for the dedication you have shown
in over forty years of ministry to the dozens of friars
whom you have known, helped and blessed in countless ways, as well as for your ministry to thousands of
parishioners with us at Holy Family, it is our joy and
honor to announce to the world what is in our hearts,
you are one of us.
Be it known, Jessie Garcia is hereby affiliated to the
Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe of the Order of
Friars Minor. In witness thereof, the seal of the Province is hereto affixed, given this 8th day of November, 2012. God bless you, Jessie!
The secret was well kept,
she was certainly very surprised.
This medallion was also given
to Jessie.
Left: After
the celebration Jessie
posed with
family and
friends.
Right:
Some of
the many
gifts and
cards Jessie
received.
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Page 8
News Briefs
C
hristmas trees! Bart Wolf and Joe Nelson took
an overnight trip to Cloud Croft on Sunday and
Monday December 8 and 9 to cut Christmas trees
from the Lincoln National Forest for Casa Guadalupe.
We drove up on Sunday and slept in the church trailer
overnight and on Monday spent several hours searching for that perfect tree! We found some beautiful
trees and will have a 10-foot one in the friary living
room. We picked up one for branches for decorating
and a
couple
for members of
the staff.
Bart cutting down
one of the
trees.
Joe by
the partially
loaded
truck
with
trees.
T
his hand carved wood statue of St. Francis on the
left will be one of the art works for the new
building at San Juan Diego. It was carved by a wood
carver, ____, from Santa Fe. It stands here in Bro.
Bart’s shop and is still to have different shades of
stain applied.
O
T
n the right is the latest addition to the niches in
the garden wall, our Brother, Archbishop Robert
Sanchez. PHOTOS BY JOE NELSON, THANKSGIVING BY GINO
hanksgiving at Casa Guadalupe Casa Guadalupe was filled with friars from the area on
Thanksgiving day as
Bruce
cooked up
his usually
culinary delights for a
grand
Thanksgiving feast.
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Hey! Send us your
photos and stories
of OLG, Christmas
decorations, and
celebrations for the
next issue of Padres
Trail! Editor
Duane helps
out in the
kitchen and
all enjoy the
feast.
Page 9
Remember these friars in
your prayers
Fr. Flann O’Neil is holding his own and anxiously
awaiting the visit from his brother from Tallahassee
on December 21. Flann, being Flann, comes to Mass
and prayer when he is able, even getting his own supper at times. He still enjoys company if you would
like to visit.
Pray for Fr. Larry Schreiber who continues to recover from double knee replacement at San Juan
Diego Friary.
Fr. Joe Nelson will be having a hip replacement operation in the next month or two.
Birthdays
Sorry we left out November in the last issue.
November 2012
2 Joe Nelson
5 Gino Correa!
7 Gerald Grantner
10 Andrés Hernandez
12 Erasmo Romero
20 Diego Mazon
24 Hilaire Valiquette
December
11 Larry Dunham!
13 Salvador Aragon
22 Cecil Klebor (92 years!)
Bart Wolf
25 Jesus
January
1 Nils Thompson
4 Maynard Shurley
10 Ulric Pax
11 Dale Jamison
19 Gordon Boykin
Abél Olivas
27 Berard Doerger
Lights Along My Path by Jack Wintz
A Friar’s Journey in the Footsteps of St.
Francis
A Book of Interest!
W
hile visiting Jack
Wintz in Cincinnati on my vacation he
gave me a copy of this
book. I read most of it
on the plane home and
was fascinated. For
those of us who were
around Jack’s time the
book will bring back
fond memories because
we would remember a
number of the “lights”.
Jacks, for example,
speaks about, Fr. Brian Irving OFM, Duns Scotus
College, Fr. Leander Blumlein OFM, Fr. Philipert
Ramstetter, St. Leonard and the Bird Blind in the
woods and many others.
Martin Sheen, actor, praises the book in the Foreword. It is published by Tau press but is available
through Franciscan Media (SAM). Thanks Jack for a
great read. Joe Nelson
You can read this and all back issues of the
Padres Trail at our web site www.olgofm.org
A Blessed and Joyous Christmas to all!
The Padres Trail is the newsletter for the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Albuquerque, New Mexico
The editor is Fr. Joseph Nelson, OFM
Contact at 1204 Stinson St. SW, Albuquerque, NM 87121-3440. Cell phone 505-977-4110
or office 505-831-9199
Send articles, photos, letters or ideas for articles to
joenelsofm@aol.com
Padres Trail Volume 26 Number 9, Christmas, December 2012
Page 10