What began has a Jubilee Year of Hope program at the Shrine of St. Anthony will become a regular offering at the Ellicott City, MD site.

The Shrine offered four Franciscan Pilgrimages of Hope in 2025, each program offering an opportunity for an extended tour of the Shrine, time for Confession and Mass, and an afternoon activity related to the day’s theme.

“These pilgrimages of hope have had a wonderful response and have revealed a true hunger in the people of our local community,” said Friar Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. “By coming to our Shrine during the Jubilee of Hope people are honoring the necessity not only to think holy thoughts but to come to a holy location, to literally walk the way of holiness at our Shrine and campus.”

The Shrine’s resident tour guide, Ray Glennon, OFS, designed and implemented Franciscan Pilgrimages of Hope at the Shrine in response to +Pope Francis’s declaration of 2025 as the Jubilee Year of Hope.

More than 40 pilgrims attended each, with the most popular event in August. More than 100 pilgrims visited the Shrine over two days in which the pilgrimage of hope was offered. The theme of that tour was the life and ministry of St. Maximillian Kolbe, OFM Conv. (Feast Day of August 14). The Shrine of St. Anthony has a relic of St. Maximillian Kolbe and an open-air shrine to the Franciscan saint.

Pilgrimages of Hope for 2026 have already been scheduled. Participation is capped at 50 pilgrims for each event. Interested pilgrims can register on the Shrine website.

• A Light in the Dark
  • Saturday, March 28, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • Theme: St. Clare of Assisi
• Finding Hope That’s Been Lost
  • Saturday, June 6, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. OR Tuesday, June 9, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • Theme: St. Anthony of Padua
• Hope From Out Mother
  • Saturday, August 15, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. *There will be a Mass for the Assumption at 12 p.m.
  • Theme: St. Maximillian Kolbe
• Rebuild My Church
  • Saturday, October 3, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • Theme: San Damiano Cross and St. Francis’s Call

The Shrine of St. Anthony welcomes thousands of visitors every year and is a place where pilgrims can find peace and healing. The Shrine is also home to the most significant relic of St. Anthony of Padua in North America. Every Tuesday, Daily Mass attendees receive a special blessing with the relic from the presiding friar.

To schedule your visit to the Shrine, please visit here.

Friar Franck-Lino Sokpolie, OFM Conv., sent inquiries to two religious orders when he was discerning his call to religious life with the idea that he would trust whoever called him back first. A friar from the Shrine of St. Anthony was the first to call, and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I had no anxiety about ordination,” Fr. Franck-Lino said. “I worked hard, I took the classes, and I challenged myself. I’ve done so many things so I could be fully prepared for this ministry.”

Friar Franck-Lino was ordained to the priesthood exactly 12 years to the day after he first entered the community of Franciscan Friars Conventual. Setting the ordination date for July 19, 2025 felt like a divine providence moment, according to the new priest.

Prior to ordination, Fr. Franck-Lino completed a Master of Divinity at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio. He professed solemn vows with the Franciscan Friars Conventual in 2021 and was ordained a deacon in April 2024.

“People have seen my habit and they’ve called me ‘Father’ already, but ordination brings a spiritual change,” he said. “I’m looking forward to interacting with people in a whole new way – as a spiritual father in the Confessional and in a pastoral setting.” He added he will embrace an open-door policy modeled for him by a pastor in Atlanta. Parishioners seeking help will always be able to find it because the door will (literally) always be open.

Fr. Franck-Lino was born in Togo, West Africa and raised in Europe. About 20 years ago, his family moved to Richmond, Virginia where he first started to feel a call to religious life, particularly as a Franciscan.

“I’m a Franciscan first and a priest second,” he said. “I’m embracing the integration of my Franciscan spirituality and my priesthood.”

Fr. Michael Lasky, OFM Conv. still remembers the pewter whale.

As a student at Baltimore’s Archbishop Curley High School, Lasky heard his principal explain that the whale reminded him of Jonah — how God sometimes redirects us toward the shore where we’re truly meant to serve. A similar whale, given to Fr. Michael as a gift at his first profession, sits on his desk today, not in Baltimore, but in Rome, where he now serves as the Franciscans’ global General Delegate for Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.

On May 20, 2025, Fr. Michael joined four of his closest brothers — Fr. Gary Johnson, OFM Conv., Fr. Pedro de Oliveira, OFM Conv., Fr. Robert Benko, OFM Conv. and Fr. Vincent Rubino, OFM Conv. — to celebrate their Silver Jubilee as Conventual Franciscan priests, each having been ordained together 25 years ago.

Fr. Pedro, raised in the Azores and later Fall River, Mass., described his journey as “a sublime mission” that has taken him across languages and continents.

“We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs,” he reflected, quoting Archbishop Oscar Romero. “The kingdom always lies beyond us.”

Fr. Gary Johnson, now Vicar Provincial and Director of the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, recalled a confessional conversation that sparked his call. “Jesus has found ways to confirm I have been listening and responding to his call,” he said.

Together, the five friars have served in parishes, missions, formation houses, shrines, and international justice ministries. But their friendship and shared vocation remain the constant.

Their lives, like Fr. Michael’s pewter whale, are signs of faith—of listening, letting go, and allowing God to guide them to shores they never imagined.

In a coastal region of southern Ghana, six women are nearing the end of professional training and educational programs funded by the first of what is hoped to be many rounds of available scholarships for women in the region. Among them are a physician’s assistant, an engineering student, and the only female architect to come from Elmina, Ghana.

“They are trailblazers,” Fr. Joseph Blay, OFM Conv, said of the students. “They are working to serve their community while seeing the value in helping others in the transformation of society.”

Fr. Joe, a native of Ghana, manages the scholarship funds for six women in the Southeastern region of the country thanks to donations provided through the Franciscan Mission Association (FMA), a ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual of the Our Lady of the Angels Province. The six scholarships – three full and three partial – funding education programs for women in Southeastern Ghana, were established thanks to $15,000 in gifts in 2020.

“The intention of this program is to focus on women because when you educate women, you educate their whole family,” Fr. Joe said. “The girls know the value of an education and then can support the education of their children. This is how we break the poverty chain.”

All the women on scholarship today are studying in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related fields. The scholarships cover tuition and fees for students who otherwise would not have been able to afford their education, Fr. Joe said, with sometimes funding just giving families the boost they need to get started.

He added promoting greater gender equality and empowerment for women benefits the entire community, as more often than with men, women remain at home following their education. He said he has been proud to see the women on scholarship today choosing careers that will directly give back to their hometowns and the future generations that live there.

As an example, Linda, the architecture student, is finishing up her architecture degree at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and has begun creating renderings for a new school in her hometown. The women studying medicine are volunteering in clinics closer to home, as well.

“We are praying we can get more girls on a scholarship,” Fr. Joe said, adding that many more young women in the region are interested. “I think we can do something truly transformational.”

The FMA funds special projects of the Franciscan Friars Conventual as they continue the legacy of St. Francis of Assisi – caring for our poorest brothers and sisters. For more than 100 years, the FMA has supported foreign and domestic missions of the friars and today supports ministries in more than 65 countries.

Fr. Joe has served in Rome as Delegate General for Justice, Peace and Integrity for Creation for the Franciscan Friars Conventual. He has also worked with the Companions of St. Anthony to secure funding for critical medical equipment donated to a clinic he started in his hometown of Jema.

It’ll be a while before Saylor Garcia doesn’t think about what’s for lunch at Assumption Church Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen in Syracuse, New York each day. She lives hundreds of miles away now, having secured a job near Boston, but the kitchen and pantry have left their mark.

Saylor recently finished a year of service with FrancisCorps, volunteering in the kitchen and distribution center. Thousands of vegetables were chopped, but it was the clients that changed her life.

“Getting to encounter the face of Jesus in those who came to receive food almost every day was a true gift,” Saylor wrote in a recent reflection on the FrancisCorps website. “From the person who spoke a different language, to the mother bringing several children to get dinner, to the man who lives in a tent, to the person who just lost their job, and to the kids who came by themselves, they reminded me why I was there. I can only hope they know how much they taught me about God’s endless mercy and love for His children.”

For more than 25 years, FrancisCorps has provided opportunities for volunteers to experience firsthand what it means to live as a Franciscan, serving the community, while also living in community.

A ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual of Our Lady of the Angels Province, FrancisCorps continues to invite young men and women to this experience of Gospel life. The goal is helping volunteers turn their year of service into a lifetime committed to living the Gospel in their families, careers, parishes, and communities.

A new cohort of volunteers joined the program in August, shortly after six college graduates completed their service year, including Ali Tregle, who spent her year of service at St. Joseph’s House for Women.

“I learned to slow down and truly see people for who they are, beyond their circumstances, and to hold space for them with gentleness and respect,” Ali wrote in a reflection titled, “When Service Becomes Formation.” She continued, “My time at Joseph’s House strengthened my interpersonal skills in a way that will carry into my career, teaching me how to build authentic connections rooted in compassion and trust.”

Ali is moving on from her year of service into a career as a Provisional Licensed Professional Counselor (PLPC) and will be counseling individuals facing adversity much like those she encountered last year.

“I hope to continue serving God and others through my career, carrying the lessons of mercy, hope, and the inherent dignity of each person into every session I share with those entrusted to my care,” she wrote. “I learned that service often looks like simply being present and listening, and that this, too, can be a profound act of love.”

For Jake Schneider, the family connection to St. Francis High School in Hamburg, New York goes back to the laying of the first stones.

In the years since Jake’s father worked for the construction company that built the first St. Francis High School building, three generations of Schneider men have been students: Jake, his sons, and now his grandsons.

“I’m proud to have been able to have my sons, and now grandsons, attend St. Francis and benefit from learning the same things I did,” Schneider, St. Francis Class of 1973, said. “We were taught compassion, forgiveness, and understanding.”

St. Francis High School is sponsored by the Franciscan Friars Conventual of the Our Lady of the Angels Province. Donations from Companions of St. Anthony support scholarships for students attending St. Francis and other Province-sponsored high schools. Through their gifts, Companions help friars spread the teachings and values of their founder, St. Francis of Assisi.

Students attending St. Francis High School benefit from an education rooted in faith and spiritual growth. This comes in the form of daily prayer, retreats, and service projects.

As one rising senior, Patrick Coughlin, at St. Francis High School explained, attending a Catholic high school is about more than “the fancy tie and dress shoes you wear to school everyday.”

Patrick added: “It’s the logo you wear on your chest representing our school and what we mean as a brotherhood. How we should conduct ourselves as St. Francis gentlemen and men of God towards others.”

An exciting donor match opportunity, sponsored by Jake and his family, is available up to $100,000. All gifts made to this fund will be doubled, and used for unrestricted help for school capital projects, including renovating infrastructure and supporting arts and sports programs for students.

“Our hope is our gifts will perpetuate their ability to provide a Franciscan education to even more young men,” Jake said.

Brotherhood and Collaboration  

Friar Nicholas Rokitka, OFM Conv, St. Francis Class of 2002, spent a year teaching at St. Francis during his final year of formation (2014) and returned to the school full-time in 2024 as the business manager. He is one of seven friars on staff at the school serving as an important presence on campus.

“We demonstrate the community and the brotherhood we’re trying to teach the students,” he said, which can be invaluable for young men whether or not they pursue religious life after graduation. “In a world where everyone is fighting for their own turf, the collaboration we teach makes young men more attractive in future careers as they are easy to work with and better prepares them for their future.”

In fact, it was witnessing the life of brotherhood and service among the faculty when Friar Nick was a student that helped inform his own discernment process. That, and the opportunities for service.

Service in Action

St. Francis High School continues to be a place that fosters a strong sense of brotherhood and community – students build lifelong friendships and learn the value of collaboration. And in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, they also come to understand the importance of serving their community. St. Francis High School, and other high schools sponsored by the friars of the Our Lady of the Angels Province, are deeply committed to providing opportunities for extensive community service.

“Our charism is so valuable to these young guys,” Friar Nick said. “The sense of community and charity really go hand in hand.”

St. Francis students can take weekly trips to the local soup kitchen and have the chance to participate in service trips and pilgrimages outside of the Buffalo, NY-area.  Whether assisting local charities, going on international mission trips, or mentoring younger students, the young men learn through performing service.

For Fr. Nick, the service component of his high school education more than two decades ago was a key part of his decision to join the Franciscan community. While that’s not the case for every student who comes through St. Francis High School, learning to live a life of service benefits all students.

“A lot of things have changed, but the vision of the school is the same,” he said. “It remains fundamental that there’s community and charity in all we do, and we demonstrate how to follow Jesus.”

As St. Francis continues to attract more and more students, including from farther zip codes, the special projects funded by this donor match opportunity will offer even greater returns.

To take advantage of this donor match opportunity and support the St. Francis High School, please email info@companionsofstanthony.org for more information.

 

Boxes of documents, photos, and items for cataloguing and preservation often appear in a small office of the first floor of the Immaculate Conception Friary in Rensselaer, New York. Most of the time, the contents of the boxes are bureaucratic or liturgical in nature, related to the ongoing work and ministry of the Franciscan Friars Conventual on the East Coast of the United States.

And, according to Mary Doehla, the Our Lady of the Angels Province archivist, even if a paper napkin showed up with notes from an important meeting relevant to the work of the friars, she’d be tasked with preserving it.

“When in doubt, send it to me,” Mary said she tells friars of the Province. “I’d rather get too many things sent to me than records be lost or disposed of.”

Mary joined the Our Lady of the Angels Province in January 2019 and is responsible for preserving the history of the Franciscan Friars Conventual and making that history accessible. A tall order considering the Our Lady of the Angels Province was formed from two merging groups of Franciscan Friars Conventual – the Immaculate Conception and St. Anthony of Padua Provinces in 2014.

But archives do not exist just to merely store information. Mary is so committed to her work because she wants the archive she stewards to be a living resource for friars and lay staff ministering in the Province today.

“As an archivist, my job is to welcome people to come and view records so they can be used and we can learn from them,” she said. “These documents are not just in a holding room because we need to keep them. They are primary resources that capture snapshots of time.”

The St. Anthony Companion recently spoke with Mary about her role as an archivist for a religious Order and how her work benefits friars today. The conversation has been edited for clarity.

The Companion: To ask in the most plain of terms: What does an archivist do?

Mary: My job is to collect, to organize, to preserve, and to provide access to the collection of records the Province has. I help keep records of the history of the governance and activities of the friars and their ministries and make those records available, when needed.

Records run the gamut and it’s everything you would expect would be generated to carry out the friars’ work, from bureaucratic to liturgical. Really, the archives give us a sense of what the Province is, who has been here and what’s been done over the years. I’m proud to be the steward of this collection.

The Companion: Can you describe a ‘day in the life’ of an archivist?

Mary: I have a laundry list of ongoing projects that need to be done and most of my days are spent rehousing and cataloging records obtained from the two provinces that merged in 2014, and really organizing out the extensive joint archive we have now.

If research requests come in, I shift to handling those in a timely manner. Sometimes the requested information may take months to find, so long-term projects are put on hold until those are done. Since this is a private archive, most requests are internal and could be from a friar looking for information about something they did or were a part of in their lifetime. I get most of my requests from Provincial administration seeking information about prior work of friars, Provincial agreements, contracts, or personnel.

The Companion: How do new records come to your custody?

Mary: Before things come to an archive, people working in an office that’s generating papers need to know what they need to keep. So, I’m working to create a formal records retention schedule for every. Information about scheduling appointments or buying supplies is not important for us to save and can be disposed of. But some things need to be maintained and transferred to my office when they are no longer in use. Some things are obvious, but it’s my job to make sure everything that’s needed is coming.

 

The Companion: What is the most memorable project you’ve worked on?

Mary: When I first started and I was creating an inventory of records I came across something that made me stop in my tracks. It was an American flag, folded in the way it’s supposed to if it’s not being used, in a box labeled, among other things, with the word space. It turns out, the flag was gifted to a friar who served as a military chaplain on a naval ship that was tasked with recovering spacecraft as it landed in the ocean. The American flag really sticks out because I was so perplexed.

I’ve also come across some photos that just make you pause. Like photos of friars in Germany before World War II or a photo of a friar with Mother Teresa. Our friars have been everywhere, witnessing history. And I get to see these unique pieces of history and be reminded that our friars are serving all over the world. This archive really is a documentation of people.

 

The Companion: What excites you about coming to work every day?

Mary: What really motivates me is making headway and creating order out of chaos. Really, that’s how I can best describe my job. I’m dealing with hundreds of boxes of materials that haven’t been processed, and I really like that when I open a new box, when I’m finished with it, I will have made those records accessible to anyone who needs them in the future. And there’s information in there that may not have been previously known or remembered.

My work probably seems boring and mind-numbing for some people. But I like it because it means at the end of a project, I will have brought order. I like getting control over chaos.

 

The Companion: How does working with these archival records put into perspective the work of the friars throughout the history of the Order?

Mary: While many of the records I deal with are maybe only a few years or decades old, when I think about the work of the friars we’re really dealing with such a huge expanse of time. St. Francis almost feels mythological because of how long ago he lived, but then I’ll have an experience with a friar that reminds me of that direct connection and suddenly 800 years doesn’t seem that long ago.

As guests enter the double parlor of an 1830’s neoclassical manor house, it’s hard not to marvel at the beauty of the space designed to entertain. From the detailed woodwork to the high ceilings and grand windows, it’s easy to imagine why members of one of the wealthiest families of early America commissioned the building of such an elegant home.

But guests in Carrollton Hall in Ellicott City, Maryland are also reminded as they walk through the halls how the grand house and the impressive retaining wall keeping it on elevated earth were built with slave labor.

“Public history sites should be places where we are caring for people,” said Elisabeth Mallin, Director of Carrollton Hall. “And one group should not be cared for at the expense of another.”

In line with the Franciscan Friars Conventual commitment to honoring the dignity of all people, the historic site stewarded by the friars is interpreted in a way that includes all who lived there. This includes not only the story of Emily Caton McTavish – a granddaughter of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence – for whom the house was built, but also the enslaved people who lived and worked on the property.

“There’s a lot of damage that comes from the complex history of a site like Carrollton Hall,” Elisabeth said. “Hopefully, the job we do here equips everyone to reckon with that history.”

Stewardship of an Historic Building

Carrollton Hall was the epicenter of more than 200 acres of property the Franciscan Friars Conventual purchased in 1928 and thus became a hub of friar activity for many decades. The house served as a novitiate – a place where formation of young friars was taking place. Friars in residence at Carrollton Hall also preached in the surrounding community or prepared for missions further away.

As other infrastructure has been developed on the Ellicott City property, the use of Carrollton Hall has changed. Ellicott City is now also home to the Shrine of St. Anthony, the Companions of St. Anthony, Little Portion Farm, the Franciscan Mission Association, and the Provincialate of the Our Lady of the Angels Province.

The friars, with immense support from the community, were able to renovate Carrollton Hall from 2016 to 2021 and begin preparations to open it as an historic site to the public for tours, meetings, and events. The future of Carrollton Hall allows the building to continue to be the space of education and exploration it has always been under the stewardship of the friars.

“For us, opening Carrollton Hall is about extending a hand in welcome to the surrounding community, especially those interested in history, social justice, and advocacy,” said Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of Our Lady of the Angels Province. “Every time we open the doors, we may be introducing someone new to the powerful, though sometimes painful, history of our region, with an eye towards a hopeful future.”

An Inclusive History

While open to the public, research on the site and its inhabitants is ongoing. We know from the historical record that the house was built on what was once known as Folly Quarter Farm, a 1,000-acre gift from Charles Carroll of Carrollton to his granddaughter, Emily, towards the end of his life.

As Elisabeth seeks to fully uncover and understand how Emily engaged with the property throughout her life, she’s simultaneously seeking to learn about the lives of the enslaved people who lived and worked at Folly Quarter Farm before and after Emily built Carrollton Hall. She collaborates with descendants of inhabitants of the property, including those who were enslaved there. Collecting oral histories is particularly important as they help fill in the gaps of surviving written records, particularly for enslaved communities, Elisabeth said.

“We have to remember that historical tellings have disproportionately told white stories,” she said. “We’re telling an interwoven story that gives equal weight and equal humanity to everyone involved.”

In addition to ongoing research on the site, Carrollton Hall serves as a space where visitors can reckon with difficult pasts and explore ways to build a more just and equitable future.

“This peaceful, tranquil, historically rich site invites others to be rejuvenated to share the peace, healing, and love that Christ gave and Francis and the friars have sought to embody,” said Fr. Tom Lavin, OFM Conv., who resides on the friars’ Ellicott City property.

As he’s come to learn more about the history of the house, he’s been continually impressed by the work and community outreach.

“Being present and listening to the stories of the past can be painful, but is so necessary for us to understand how we fit in society today,” Fr. Tom said. “As I think about how my fellow friars are engaged in social justice and teaching in the community, doing this work at Carrollton Hall is especially fitting.”