Franciscan Vocations OLG Province

BRIEF HISTORY

The Franciscan presence in the Southwest is part of a huge worldwide family. Our history here in the Southwest has two important figures that have imprinted on our hearts the missionary spirit of service; Fr. Marcos de Niza OFM who came in 1539 and Anselm Weber OFM who came from the Midwest in 1898 who pushed the expansion of the Franciscans missions throughout New Mexico and Arizon

a territory
Wars, turmoil and political changes from the 16th/19th century affected the Franciscan destiny in New Mexico and Arizona. In 1848, after three hundred and nine years Fr, Marcos de Niza saw for first time the land of the Enchantment the last Franciscan missionary died and with him ended the first era of Franciscan missions in New Mexico. The rebirth of the Franciscan presence in the Southwest came through the determination of St. Catherine Drexel S.B.C. who had a profound love for Native Americans people. She invited the Franciscans of the Cincinnati Province to embrace the task of spreading the Gospel among the poor Navajos of the Southwest. Through her perseverance the first three friars came to the Navajo Reservation from Cincinnati, Ohio in early December 1898. They were Juvenal Schnorbus, Anselm Weber and Placid Buerger. In the following years many more friars came to the Southwest from the Cincinnati Province. Another benchmark was the ordination in 1936 of the first native New Mexican Franciscan priest Fr. Angelico Chavez. Following many years of ongoing dialogue and prayerful discernment, permission was granted from Rome in 1984 for the establishment of a new province of Franciscans in the Southwest. The new province, placed under the protection and guidance of Our Lady of Guadalupe was officially established at the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico on January 5, 1985 amid much rejoicing and celebration. The Mission Statement of OLG Province states in part: “We are sent by God to bring the Gospel message to the Southwest in a very unique way because of the diversity of cultures and lifestyles (Navajo, Pueblo, Hispanic and Anglo) and to establish a Franciscan presence rooted in these cultures.”

Over the Past one hundred and ten years the Franciscan presence in the Southwestern United States has continue to grow and prosper. In the fall of 2000 the first three young friars came to OLG Province from Mexico. By the year 2003 over twenty more students from Mexico were in various stages of formation in the province. Other men have joined us from Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. Just as Fray Marcos de Niza looked out the Zuni Pueblo and thought it was a “city of Gold,” without realizing what he really saw was a golden opportunity to spread the Gospel in this portion of the Lord’s vineyard. Today the friars of OLG Province continue to pursue that golden opportunity, hoping that more young people will join us in our in our celebration of the Franciscan way of Life, following St. Francis and Clare in embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience so that a new generation of cultures in the Southwest may come to love, admire and imitate the timeless Franciscan tradition.