Our Brother Tim Visits Our Mission in Papua New Guinea

 In May, the fraternity in Washington, DC, joined in prayer and farewells for confrere Tim Rubeling, OFM Cap., one of our student friars studying for the priesthood at Catholic University there. Now in Papua New Guinea, Br. Tim is visiting the Custody in a trip arranged by the Custody's Minister, Neil Blue, OFM Cap. What follows is Tim's report from the South Pacific, but we're assured that he'll be back toward the end of July before his Solemn Profession alongside our brothers Kevin Campos, OFM Cap., Philip Paulson, OFM Cap. and Sam Roberts, OFM Cap. on Saturday, August 15, 2026 . . . 

See more about Tim's Journey . . .

Ordinations to Priesthood 2026

  On Saturday, June 6, 2026, our brothers Luke Kim, OFM Cap., Stephen Cantwell, OFM Cap., and Ryan Schmeltzer, OFM Cap. (l-r) were ordained as priest friars in a Mass celebrated at St. Augustine Church, in Pittsburgh, PA

You can view the livestream on YouTube!

Reaching Youth: Jack's YAKs Lives on in Philly . . .

  It's all thanks to our brothers Luke Kim, OFM Cap., and Paul Dressler, OFM Cap.!

  St. John the Evangelist in Philadelphia attracts a remarkably diverse group of young adults, and young professionals and students gather there carrying their ambitions, dreams, concerns, and hopes for the future. Among the members of Jack's YAKS are medical students, physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals from Jefferson University and its affiliated hospitals -- not to mention lawyers, teachers, and professionals from many other fields. The reason they come is not very different from young adults elsewhere. While they are actively pursuing careers and goals, they are also searching for genuine friendship and authentic community. A group of young adults who desire to grow together in faith is gradually taking root there.

   Thanks go out to Luke for sending along this update on their activities . . .

Read Br. Luke's Update . . . .

Pope Leo XIV Names Our Brother a Bishop

From our Provincial Minister Robert Marva, OFM Cap.:

Dear Friars, Family, and Friends of the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine, it is with great joy that I ask you to join with me in thanksgiving to Almighty God and humble gratitude to the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV for choosing our Br. Emilio Biosca, OFM Cap., as bishop to serve as the third bishop of the Diocese of Venice, Florida.

While this announcement has come as a surprise to many, it is for others a confirmation of the pastoral zeal, commitment to the poor, and care for the stranger and alien that have marked Bishop-elect Biosca’s ministry as pastor to the people of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, DC, as well as to the friars and people of Cuba where he also labored for a number of years.

Bishop-elect Emilio brings to the service of the Church of Venice thoughtful wisdom and a faithfilled disposition marked by prayer and fidelity to the Rule of St. Francis and the Constitutions of our family of Capuchin Franciscans.

The Mass of Ordination and Installation in the Diocese of Venice is set for Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 2:00 PM.  It will be at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers, Florida, since the cathedral is currently being renovated in Venice, Florida.

More to come in the days ahead!

From our Novitiate: The Caperone

Check out the latest edition of our Caperone
from our Capuchin Novices at San Lorenzo Friary in Santa Ynez, CA.

Celebrating 450 Years of St. Fidelis: 1577-2027

  What's in a name?

  This year, we begin the 450^th year celebration of the birth of Marcos Rey, son of Juan Rey, a native of Spain. His mother was Genevieve Rosemberger. It’s well known that he was born in Sigmaringen [now in Germany] into a Flemish family, and that he received a solid Christian education before becoming a compassionate and charitable lawyer. Later, he became a  Capuchin friar named Br. Fidelis. He died a martyr’s death during the Wars of Religion in 1622 at 45, but his martyrdom, on April 24^th, would lead to his being named the Patron of the Vatican Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith [now called the “Evangelization of Peoples”].

  A few centuries later in 1873, Pope Pius IX issued a decree authorizing the Capuchin Order to establish preparatory seminaries. It was a major move from the Vatican, but it was also the time when German Capuchins had begun moving out of Europe to propagate the Americas. And so what? Well . . .

  In October of that same year, our Capuchin confreres Hyacinth Epp and two companions arrived from Bavaria and found a welcome in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA. Within months, the friars gathered a group of boys at St Augustine's and gave them fundamental lessons in English (for the young German immigrants) and in Latin. At St. Augustine’s Friary, the boys were only day students. It became obvious to them that the present arrangement was a poor substitute for the ideal set up by Pius IX. The friars realized that they had to find a different place for a seminary and a novitiate. 

There's more to the story . . .

Following the Footsteps: Our brother David Domansky

We're commemorating the 800th anniversary of the death of our founder and inspiration, St. Francis of Assisi. Our brother David Domanski, OFM Cap., serving in the Cleveland Diocese as Pastor to Holy Spirit Parish, Garfield Heights, and in ministry to the incarcerated at Cuyahoga County Jail (Cleveland Diocese), was interviewed for the Cleveland podcast, Catholic Pore Over. The hosts asked our brother to share his thoughts on our call as Capuchin Franciscans and on our ministry within the Church.

Victor Kriley, OFM Cap., 1938-2026

Our Capuchin brother Victor Kriley, OFM Cap., 88, died on March 7, 2026, at Embassy of Saxonburg under the care of Bridges Hospice Care in Saxonburg, PA. He had been a resident at Embassy since December 2012, and had benefitted from the support of caregivers for more than 13 years. After  many years of service in the United States and in Papua New Guinea, these final years allowed him to benefit from the encouragement and love of his large number of relatives – brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews – who had always seen our brother as a friend and a hero. In the same way, Victor himself once wrote this when he celebrated his Jubilee as a priest:

Sometimes in ministry I have met people who did not seem to have any other members of their family that they communicated with -- no members of the family cared for one another. I could not understand that and didn't really believe it until a death happened in that family. Other members hardly had time to come to the funeral to pay their respects to a brother or a sister. I am blessed with a wonderful family. It was very common for my sisters and brothers (along with their spouses) to make special efforts to come together for an evening - sometime each month. I'm grateful for my family and how we have stayed close to one another.

The family continued that “closeness” throughout his life; many were there at his funeral, together in prayer, as he went on to meet Sister Death.

Read about our brother's life and work . . .