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Volume 29
Number 1 January 2015
Winter Issue
Official Newsletter of the
Franciscans of the
Province of Our Lady
of Guadalupe
Albuquerque,, NM
Interprovincial Retreat 2015 at Holy Cross Retreat
W
A
bout 40 friars from across the United States attended the retreat in Las Cruces, NM directed
by Sr. Mary Beth Ingham. (pictured below right)
Mary Beth who has written a book, “Scotus for Dummies,” really did bring Franciscan spirituality as
taught by Scotus down to our (or at least my) level.
e were privileged to be the first group to have
Mass in the new chapel at Holy Cross Retreat
Center and the first reflection preached was by Sr.
Mary Beth. The chapel is being completed in stages
and is finished enough to be used but still lacks things
like tile floor, statuary, and landscaping.
Below is the whole retreat group. [PICTURE FROM JACK CLARK R.
OTHER PHOTOS BY JOE NELSON]
The exterior and interior of the chapel. Most of the windows
are clear so that what you see is God’s beautiful nature and
the pecan trees outside. The beams in the ceiling are huge
whole logs of, I think, Ponderosa pine. The cross is bare to fit
the name of the retreat center, “Holy Cross.”
Nativity Scenes from around the Province
The crib at Holy Family Albuquerque covered the entire sanctuary
[PHOTO BY JOE NELSON)
San Juan Diego Friary had a very small crib and a very tall
tree touching the top of their 10 foot ceiling. [JOE NELSON]
1
2
3
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Fort Defiance (Gilbert) supplied us with three photos.
1. Crib outside the rectory 2. Crib in the church
in the style of a Navajo sheep camp 3. crib inside
the rectory.
Right: this is a nativity scene in the dining room of Holy Cross Retreat Center.
[PHOTO BY JOE ENLSON]
Padres Trail Volume 29 Number 1 January 2015 Winter Issue
Page 2
The End of the Semester
in San Antonio
kind of a retreat can be offered yearly for all the
Spanish speaking friars in the US, like our interprovincial retreat in Las Cruces has become.
Ron will be a “hermit” for a few weeks, “holding
down the fort” so to speak. There are some projects
that he needs to get done. Fall has finally come to San
Antonio, and there are leaves to rake. Another project
are the plastic showers in the big house which need to
be replaced because the cracked and broken floors of
the showers have been leaking into the flooring underneath the shower units.
By Ron Walters
In the photo L to R Ron Walters, Andres Gallegos, Gillermo
Morales, Andres Hernandez, Edgardo Diaz Jorge Hernadez
(Standing), Miguel Gonzalez.[PHOTO FROM RON W.]
Last week, December 7-13,was finals week at San
Antonio Friary with all except Ron studying for exams. We celebrated on Saturday since the end of the
semester coincided with the week of the feast of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, the names day of the Province.
The celebration began with Mass in the friary Chapel.
Ron celebrated the Mass in Spanish The readings
were in English, and Jorge gave a wonderful reflection about the feast also in English, his second language. Andrés Gallegos and Guillermo Morales, a
Sacred Heart friar from Chile, at San Miguel Friary
also joined us.
Afterward, we all went to Soluna, a Mexican style
restaurant nearby, noted for serving goat (cabrito).
We celebrated not only Our Lady of Guadalupe and
the end of the semester, but because the guys were
about to leave for home visits on Saturday, December
13th, we also celebrated Christmas and New Years.
This year, instead of attending the provincial retreat
in Las Cruces, four of the men from San Antonio will
be attending a retreat in Spanish in Guadalajara, Mexico. Reverend Jorge Luna Villalobos will be their retreat director. He has a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology
and is a professor of Metaphysics and Hermeneutics
at the University of Louvain in Belgium. The retreat
will be covering The Joy of the Gospel and the Year
of Consecrated Life. The guys here hope that this
Padres Trail Volume 29 Number 1 January 2015 Winter Issue
Paul Walsman’s 90th
Birthday
On Sunday, January 4 Paul Walsman (SJB), who
lives at San Juan Antonio Friary turned 90 so the San
Juan Friary celebrated his birthday at Cracker barrel
Restaurant. Paul still preaches regularly on weekends
for Food for the Poor.
Around the table clockwise, Ramon Smith, Berard Doerger,
Ulric Pax, Paul, Emeric Nordmeyer, Larry Schreiber, Gorden
Boykin, Joseph Gonsalvez.
[PHOTOS BY JOE NELSON]
“A Shoot shall sprout
from the Stump of Jesse”
Page 3
Our New Affiliate to the Order
You may remember
that in the last issue I
had an article about
Fr. Jerry’s (seen here
with Fr. Jack) being
made an affiliate of
our Franciscan order.
Jerry has written the
following short autobiography so we can
know him better.
I
attended the North American College in Rome,
with classes at the Gregorian University from 1962
to 1966, and was present at both the opening and
closing of Vatican II and in Rome throughout the
Council. I was ordained for the Archdiocese of Santa
Fe in St. Peter’s Basilica on December 18th, 1965.
My assignments in the Archdiocese included
Parochial Vicar in Santa Rosa, at St. Anne’s and
Cristo Rey in Santa Fe. I ministered to troubled families, including children who were involved in criminal activity, as well as various other ministries at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary. I served as pastor
of the parishes in Springer and Cimarron with their
missions and chaplain at what was then called the
New Mexico Boys School (a correctional facility for
juveniles). After receiving a degree in Canon Law
from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., I served as Judicial Vicar of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for twelve years. During that time I
resided in and served at San Felipe and Risen Savior
in Albuquerque. Upon retiring from the Tribunal, I
continued on at Risen Savior until taking up ministry
at San Martin de Porres and coming to live at Casa
Guadalupe with the friars about two and a half years
ago.
My education has included Masters degrees in
the Teaching of English and Counseling from the
University of New Mexico, a Masters degree in
Christian Spirituality from Creighton University in
Omaha, and a Licentiate in Canon Law from the
Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
I had a number of Franciscan connections before coming to live with the friars at Casa Guadalupe.
I was taught in elementary school by Felician Franciscan Sisters at Good Shepherd Parish in Chicago.
Padres Trail Volume 29 Number 1 January 2015 Winter Issue
My father’s sister, Sister Celestine, was a Felician
who died at the Felician convent in Rio Rancho at
age 96. I attended St. Bonaventure High School in
Sturtevant, Wisconsin, conducted by the friars of Assumption Province, then their novitiate at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for almost a year, before discerning
my call to the diocesan priesthood. Now it seems that
I have in a way come full circle back to Franciscan
roots!
–
Rev. Jerome Plotkowski, O.F.M.
Ulric Pax’s 83rd Birthday
S
an Juan Diego friary celebrated a second birthday
Saturday, January 10 with a Pizza Party for Ulric.
(He had a sugar free cake on Friday.)
Left to right: Andrew, Ulric, Mike, Gordon [PHOTO JOE NELSON]
As you can see from below they have a few more
coming up soon.
anuary Birthdays
J
1. Nils Thompson
4. Maynard Shurley
11 Dale Jamison
19 Gordon Boykin
Abel Olivas
27 Berard Doerger
28 Angel Garcia
F
ebruary Birthdays
2. Larry Bernard
6. Bruce Michalek
14 José Luis Peralta
25 Ron Walters
Page 4
Chef Bruce Michalek
Casa Guadalupe
P
reparations for Christmas dinner at our Provincial
House. Yankee Style Pot Roast.
H
ere are pictures from two festive meals which
Bro. Bruce prepared with his comments from
his facebook page. THANKS, BRUCE!
I
prepared a special Holiday Dinner for our friends
and benefactors living in the Albuquerque area.
We had over 40 guests in attendance on December 12
at our Casa Guadalupe. It was great fun but I am tired
out!
Padres Trail Volume 29 Number 1 January 2015 Winter Issue
Page 5
US OFM Renewal/Restructure Team to
Meet Ministers Provincial in Albuquerque
T
he first meeting of the newly named Renewal/
Restructuring Team for the OFM friars in the
United States with the seven US Ministers Provincial will be in Albuquerque on the 24th and 25th of
February. The Team consisting of Page Polk of
SJBP, William Beaudin of HNP and Richard
McManus of SBP was discerned at the end of October. They have met a couple of times already to
begin to organize the work that they will be doing
between now and 2017. Their aim is to present a
plan or plans for the renewal and restructuring of
the seven current US Provinces into either one,
two or three Provinces. In order to prepare those
plans, they will be meeting with friars all over the Left to Right: William Beaudin of HNP, Richard McManus of
United States (Richard and Page were at the Inter- SBP, and Page Polk of SJBP
provincial Retreat at Holy Cross Retreat Center)
Provincial and the Team. To facilitate the work
and calling together friars to meet with them.
of the Team, they will be moving in together into
a friary of the Immaculate Conception Province
In February they will present their preliminary
in New York City and leave aside all of their
plans for those gatherings and their work to the
other assignments to work full-time as of FebruMinisters Provincial who are overseeing the entire ary 1st. The provincial administrations will all
process. Jack Clark Robinson, of Guadalupe Prov- meet with the Team again in August.
ince serves as the liaison between the Ministers
Article and photo by Jack Clark Robinson, OFM
A NEW SCHEDULE FOR THE
PADRES TRAIL
We have been publishing the newsletter whenever there is enough material.
Beginning in March we will have a deadline of the first of each month to submit material
for the Padres Trail. We will publish it soon after even if there is only material for one
page.
We will send out a reminder to all the friars of the upcoming deadline.
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 P.O. Box 98; Oldenburg, IN 47036-0098 Cell phone 505-977-4110
or office 505-831-9199
Send articles, photos, letters or ideas for articles to
[email protected]
Padres Trail Volume 29 Number 1 January 2015 Winter Issue
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