News

You may have already begun your Christmas shopping, but have you considered how to enter into the "Spirit of Giving" this upcoming Christmas season? Here are three ways to participate in the life-giving ministry of the Friars.

In honor of the Centro Pro Unione’s 50th anniversary, the Friars will host the 21st annual conference in recognition of Servant of God Paul Wattson and Mother Lurana White. This year’s conference will recognize the 800th anniversary of the meeting of St. Francis and the Egyptian Sultan with the theme “St. Francis and the Sultan - Foundations for Christian-Muslim Dialogue in the 21st Century.”

The Friars recognize that discovering one’s vocation is not usually as simple as asking God’s will for your life and hearing a direct, clear answer immediately in one’s heart. Very often, it’s a process, a conversation between an individual and God, sometimes over the course of a number of years.

Our Friars have been faithfully serving the community for over fifty years at the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton, Massachusetts.

OBITUARY NOTICE: Rev. Martin A. Madison, SA, Franciscan Friar of the Atonement (November 16, 1933 – October 4, 2018)

(October 9, 2018 - Graymoor, Garrison, NY)   Rev. Martin A. (nee Thomas) Madison, SA, a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement, passed from this life on Thursday, October 4, 2018 at Cabrini of Westchester Nursing Home, Dobbs Ferry, NY. A wake service will be held on Sunday, October 14, 2018 at 7 p.m. in the St. Paul Friary Chapel at Graymoor in Garrison, NY. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, October 15, 2018 at 10 a.m. in the St. Paul Friary Chapel. Interment in the Friars’ cemetery will immediately follow the funeral. Fr. Madison was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ. He attended elementary schools in Jersey City and then went to Seton Hall Preparatory School in South Orange, NJ. After graduating in 1950, Fr. Madison studied Architecture at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. In 1953, Fr. Madison entered the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. He professed first vows in 1956 and made his final vows in 1959. Fr. Madison was ordained to the priesthood in June 1962 in Garrison, NY by Francis Cardinal Spellman. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Theology in 1962 from St. Pius X Seminary in Garrison, NY. In 1980, he earned a Master of Arts degree in Divinity in 1980 from Howard University in Washington, DC. Fr. Madison worked as a Professor of Religion at St. John Seminary in Montour Falls, NY from 1962-1963.  From 1963-1965, Fr. Madison served as Associate Pastor of Sao Sebastiao Parish in the Diocese of Jatai, Goias, Brazil. He was assigned to pastoral ministry at the St. Paul Friary at Graymoor from 1965-1966 before being assigned to pastoral ministry at the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton, MA from 1966-1967. He was Associate Pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Golden, British Columbia from 1968-1969. Fr. Madison served as Chaplain at Raybrook Hospital in Saranac Lake from 1969-1971. In 1971, he was appointed Associate Pastor at All Saints Church in Harlem, NY. From 1973 to 1980, Fr. Madison worked in campus ministry at Howard University. From 1980-1986, he was Associate Pastor at Christ the King Church in High Point, NC. In 1987, he was named Pastor of the church. Following a brief sabbatical, Fr. Madison ministered at the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton from 1988-1989. He returned to High Point, NC in 1990 as Pastor of Christ the King Church until 1994. He was associate pastor at Our Lady of Victory Church in Brooklyn, NY from 1994-2007. Fr. Madison retired from full-time ministry in 2007. From 2007-2018, Fr. Madison lived at Graymoor and ministered part-time. He moved to Cabrini of Westchester Nursing Home in 2018 and was a resident there at the time of his death. Fr. Madison was the son of the late Dr. L. Keith Madison of Warrenton, VA and Dr. Lena F. Edwards of Washington, DC. Dr. Edwards received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. Fr. Madison is survived by three brothers, Dr. Edward Madison, of Jersey City, Paul Madison, of Englewood, NJ and Dr. John Madison, of Alexandria, VA; two sisters, Dr. Marie Metoyer, of Manchester, NH and Genevieve West of Jackson, NJ; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

This year, the National Catholic Development Conference (NCDC) celebrated 50 years of gathering with fundraising and development colleagues to share, network, learn, pray and support each other.

When Br. Gregory Lucrezia, SA, talks about Assisi, Italy, you can hear the love in his voice. “I think Assisi is really the place to be. It’s incredible.” Roughly two hours from Rome, Assisi is accustomed to visitors who want to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis.

This fall has been a time of celebration for the entire community of Friars as we witnessed the profession of vows and vow renewals of three men in formation. These milestones are an opportunity for the Friars to recommit to their own vows as well as extend their welcome to the newly professed.

While most of our country was celebrating Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer, Fr. Bob Warren, SA, was welcoming 25 people to Graymoor for the “Do Not Fear to Hope” annual retreat.

The following reflection is from Sam Janson, a 2016 participant in the Franciscan At-One-Ment Mission Project—an eight-week summer discernment internship which includes living with the Friars while engaging in the Friars’ ministries.  Sam lived at and ministered to the men of St. Christopher’s Inn. He is pictured next to St. Christopher’s Inn bell.