NEWS

By decree of Pope Leo XIV, the Church will observe a Jubilee Year honoring Saint Francis of Assisi on the eight hundredth anniversary of his Transitus, from January 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027.

Surrounded by fellow community members and family, Br. Alexander Espinosa, SA, made his final profession of vows to the Society of the Atonement on December 12. The profession ceremony and Mass were celebrated in Lima, Peru.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, headquartered at Graymoor in Garrison, NY, welcome Archbishop-elect Ronald Hicks and look forward to working with him in strengthening ecumenical and interreligious relationships and improving the lives of men and women in recovery.

With the arrival of a new year, we are given a chance to begin again, connected in God’s faithfulness and strengthened by hope for what lies ahead.

On January 16, 1863, Lewis Thomas Wattson — the future Fr. Paul Wattson, SA — was born in Millington, Maryland, to an Episcopal minister and his wife. No one could have imagined that this child, raised within the Anglican tradition, would one day become a Roman Catholic priest and a prophetic voice calling all Christians to unity.

As we near the end of 2025 – this “Ecumenical Year” in which so many major anniversaries are being celebrated and the future of interchurch and interreligious peacebuilding is coming into focus as increasingly urgent – Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII) has been hard at work on new initiatives and partnerships that are already bearing fruit.

This past October, Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII), a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, hosted two inspiring installments of the Paul Wattson Lecture Series, continuing a tradition of interreligious dialogue and theological reflection that honors the legacy of Servant of God Father Paul Wattson, SA.

There is a well-known novella written by Charles Dickens in the mid-19th century titled “A Christmas Carol.” It’s a timeless story that most of us know well, retold again and again on stage and on screen over the years.

In recent weeks, members of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII) had the privilege of participating in two significant events that reflect the vibrant and evolving landscape of Christian unity in the United States.