(This article originally appeared in the TAU-USA Fall 2025  Issue #117)

By Sharon Winzeler, OFS • Communications Committee Chair

As part of their National Chapter, on Friday, September 12th, members of the Secular Franciscan Order set aside time for a half-day pilgrimage to St. Anthony Shrine in Ellicott City, MD. The site has long stood as a place of prayer, reflection, and Franciscan witness. Operated by the Conventual Franciscan Friars, the shrine rests on 236 wooded acres, offering both spiritual and natural beauty.

Founded in 1928 as a novitiate, the shrine’s architecture was inspired by the sacred convent of the Poor Clares in Assisi. Its very foundations connect it to local history, incorporating small pieces of marble left over from the construction of the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument.

Within its chapels are relics of St. Anthony of Padua as well as the Polish saints St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Faustina, and St. Pope John Paul II. Winding walking trails throughout the grounds invite pilgrims to encounter creation in prayerful stillness.

The visit also highlighted the friars’ environmental ministry, Little Portion Farm, a living sign of Franciscan care for both the poor and the earth. This three-acre farm operates as an agro-ecosystem, with a diversity of plants and hab-itats that sustain the land while producing healthy food. Since the farm’s founding in 2019, more than 100,000 pounds of produce have been harvested and donated to those in need.

Little Portion Farm’s reach extends beyond its fields. The ministry supports a 13-week culinary program at the Fran-ciscan Center in Baltimore, where students learn valuable skills while preparing meals for those experiencing hunger as well as catering outside meals. During the Chapter visit, participants were treated to a dinner prepared by the Center – salmon accompanied by fresh salad, vegetables, and dessert – a taste of the Farm’s mission in action.

At the center of the day was the celebration of Mass, where Fr. Jude Winkler, OFM Conv., offered a homily that connected the pilgrimage experience to the daily rhythm of Secular Franciscan life. Fr. Jude began with a central question: “How can we convert other people?” His answer was both simple and challenging: “By our own conver-sion.” Transformation, he reminded the Secular Franciscans, is not imposed but inspired. When others see the Gospel alive in us, they are naturally drawn toward God.

On the subject of prayer, he emphasized sincerity over rigidity. “Decide which prayers work for you and pray them,” he said, even suggesting an “Early Bird Special” for evening prayer: “It’s okay to pray your evening prayer at 4:30 p.m.” What matters most, he reminded them, is faithfulness of heart.

He then turned to the delicate practice of fraternal correction, urging discernment and humility. Before offering correction, one must ask: Why am I doing this? Pointing to Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth, he explained that Mary went not to escape but to lovingly share the joy of God’s work. Correction, he said, should likewise spring from love, guided by the Holy Spirit, and offered at the right time.

Fr. Jude encouraged listeners to examine their own expectations when considering fraternal correction. “Is what they are doing really wrong, or do you have different or unrealistic expectations?” he asked. Even the uncertainty of whether to be gentle or firm can itself be turned into prayer. “It’s good to be confused. Offer the confusion as a prayer.”

Returning to his central theme, Fr. Jude underscored that holiness is not perfection but honesty before God. “You might not be perfect, but you are considering God’s call. Consider it humility and resolve. We are what we are, and we’ll be the best we can.”

The half-day away became more than an excursion. The pilgrimage deepened respect for the Franciscan vocation by calling attention to reverence for creation, solidarity with the poor, and a continuing call to personal conversion. From the witness of Little Portion Farm to the inspiration of Fr. Jude’s homily, the day wove together earth and prayer, fraternity and mission, reminding all present that God’s grace is found both in the soil beneath our feet and the conversion of our hearts.

by Kathy Vore, OFS

Photo by Kathy Vore, OFS

Italy joyfully celebrates every Christmas season from the first Sunday of Advent through Epiphany, January 6, unlike the American Catholic Church, which celebrates Epiphany on the nearest Sunday.  Italians recognize Epiphany as a national holiday.

As American Secular Franciscans, my husband and I have been blessed to spend the Christmas season in Assisi, Italy, for the past three years.  It is a time to step back from daily commitments, reflect and pray, attend daily Mass, and walk the steep, cobblestone streets of historic Assisi, where the Piazza is the only flat surface and all routes either lead up or down steep stairways or narrow, picturesque streets.  Most evenings we dine out, enjoying freshly prepared foods unique to Umbria along with tasty local house wines.

Despite often large groups of day-trippers, Assisi manages to retain a sense of calm and peace unlike any other destination.  This past December, an electronic billboard on the road into Assisi read, “Benvenuti ad Assisi Citta Della Pace,” or Welcome to Assisi, the City of Peace.  We saw these welcoming words from the Assisi Link bus we rode up the hill from the train station and knew we had arrived at our spiritual home.

On the first Saturday following Epiphany, January 10, 2026, Assisi officially opened the 8^th Centenary of the Transitus of St. Francis with a beautiful ceremony in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, about three kilometers down the hill from historic hilltop Assisi, where we were staying.  The Basilica contains the Portiuncula, and the ceremony took place in front of and inside of the tiny chapel of St. Francis.

We only learned of this event a few days earlier and took the statement that seating would be limited seriously.  So, on a cold, damp Saturday morning, we rode the Assisi Link bus down the hill, arriving at the Basilica an hour before the doors were to open.  We attended the 8 o’clock Mass in a side chapel of the Basilica, then returned to the main entrance, where we encountered a friend from the English-speaking community.  Promptly at 9 o’clock, the Basilica doors opened, and we were soon inside and seated!  We were going to experience this moment of history – the opening of the 8^th Centenary of the Transitus for which Pope Leo XIV announced a special Franciscan Jubilee Year.  What a blessing.

The ceremony began promptly at 10 o’clock (and was live-streamed) with a procession led by the Bishop of Assisi, H.E. Mons. Domenico Sorrentino, and the Mayor of Assisi, Walter Stoppini, who carried an unlit Easter Candle.  The two processed into the Portiuncula, where together they lit the candle, signifying the light of the Risen Christ, as well as the light of peace and forgiveness, a direct reference to the verse about Light in the Canticle of the Creatures.  Shortly before his death in 1226, Francis sent friars to speak to the then Bishop of Assisi, Guido II, and the mayor, who were in a dispute.  As a result of Francis’s outreach, the two men reconciled and since then the two offices have maintained a special relationship.  What began as reconciliation 800 years ago continues to this day.

The hour-and-a-half-long exquisite ceremony included numerous participants, each with a specific role.  The Icon of the Master of St Francis (the oldest image of the Saint in the Portiuncula) could be observed near the entrance to the Portiuncula, having been moved from its usual place in the Sanctuary Museum. The Icon is a wooden panel on which Francis’ mortal remains were placed when they were moved to the town of Assisi for their first burial.

The procession then began moving around the Basilica, pausing at six locations, each for a moment of reflection and prayer, marking the six stages of Francis’ legacy: mercy, prayer, fraternity, work, peace, and blessing.

At each pause, a similar format included a short testament from St. Francis’s writings, an intervention or statement on the topic, and a personal testimony from a religious or lay person.

The fraternity stage concluded with a symbolic gesture: everyone in the basilica was invited to exchange the Sign of Peace with those around them.  This was a particularly moving experience as I exchanged the sign of peace with local residents and Franciscan sisters, who responded most kindly in Italian to my American English, wishing me “Pace.”  I cherish this moment of acceptance and hospitality.

As a Secular Franciscan, I found the work stage of Francis’s legacy to be the most personally impactful.  Tibor Kauser, minister general of the Secular Franciscan Order, spoke of work as “a gift and a grace.”  He said that work is “not a privilege of the few, but the duty of all: helping men and women to have dignified work, to be able to support their families.” This spoke to me, for we Secular Franciscans live and work in the world, bringing the Gospel to Life and Life to the Gospel while following in the footsteps of St. Francis.

He then invited Carlo Bennato Lauro to give his personal testimony on his work as a religious education teacher.  Carlo is the minister of the Santa Maria degli Angeli Secular Franciscan Fraternity.  His participation was especially meaningful to us as just four days previously, my husband and I had the privilege of meeting and spending time with Carlo and his wife at their home a short distance from the Basilica.

They are both kind, caring people who opened their home and hearts to two American Secular Franciscans, serving us tea and sweets.  Then, only a few days later, we read Carlo’s words in English as he spoke that testimony eloquently in Italian, giving us yet another moment to cherish on our Franciscan Journey.  He closed his personal testimony by giving “thanks to God, the good and provident Father, who has granted me this gift (of teaching).”

Before Bishop Sorrentino gave the final Blessing, we were all reminded that this event “is not just a commemoration, but an immersive experience that invites each participant to make the Testament of Saint Francis their own” as St. Francis was “a man of peace, brother to all.”

During our time of reflection in Assisi this past Christmas, we were able to absorb Assisi’s spiritual calm and reconnect with friends from previous visits.  Our hearts felt especially warm each time we were recognized and welcomed back with hugs and genuine smiles.  To then share in this historic and meaningful Saturday morning as Italy and the World began a Jubilee Year of St. Francis was truly a Gift.  We are indeed Blessed.

Note:  Kathy Vore, OFS, & her husband Don Vore, OFS, are members of the San Damiano Fraternity, Ruskin, FL, where Kathy currently serves as minister.