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The annual Father Paul Lecture took place on Monday, October 10 at the James and Catherine Denny Center at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. The theme of this year’s lecture was “The Intersection Between Ecumenism and Justice.”

Father Dan Callahan, SA, celebrated his regular Sunday Mass at Our Lady of the Atonement Chapel at 11 a.m., before blessing around four dozen dogs and two dozen cats at St. Anthony’s Shrine. Father Dan first gave a blessing and then sprinkled the animals with holy water – many of them instinctively recoiling while getting spritzed – before each pet peacefully received an individual blessing.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement continue to hold St. Francis in the highest regard, and pray for his intercession daily. Guests are invited to visit the St. Francis Chapel at Graymoor, and the many other landmarks that honor St. Francis, the Patron Saint of animals; the environment; ecology; and merchants.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement join the world in praying for all who have been impacted by Hurricane Ian, as well as those who are leading relief efforts in the wake of the storm.

Brother Fabrizio professed his first vows as a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement on Saturday, September 10 during a Mass at the Cathedral of San Rufino in Assisi, Italy. “Discovering together with the Lord what He has always planned for us, it is worth it,” Brother Fabrizio said of his first profession.

St. Christopher’s Inn capped off National Recovery Month in a big way, hosting its inaugural Be the Bridge: Walk for Recovery.

The Holy Mountain Franciscan Retreat Center recently added a film festival program, which will begin on Friday, October 21. The first film slated to be screened is “Entertaining Angels: The Dorothy Day Story.” The film will be shown between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Graymoor library on the fifth floor of the main building. The cost is $25 to attend and includes lunch.

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement held their first-ever Celebration of Padre Pio on Saturday, September 24 at Graymoor, welcoming around 100 pilgrims to the Holy Mountain. Festivities included a Mass celebrated in Italian by Minister General Father Brian Terry, SA, and a blessing of the Friars’ new statue of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

Brother Fabrizio Szymanski, NSA, made his firs profession as an Atonement Friar, in a Mass celebrated by Minister General Father Brian Terry, SA.