NEWS

The year 2024 brought countless blessings to Graymoor, as our Friars celebrated Advent and Christmas with joy and devotion in the United States, Japan, Canada and Italy.

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis began the 2025 Jubilee Year by opening the Holy Door, marking the commencement of this sacred period in the Catholic Church. As is customary, the Church will observe a Holy Year, a tradition upheld every 25 years to offer each generation the opportunity to partake in a reflective and spiritual time of grace and mercy. 

Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York, has designated Graymoor as a pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year. We are thrilled and honored to receive this opportunity, especially as it comes on the heels of our 125th anniversary. Truly, this is a remarkable gift from God!

A lot has happened since Dec. 15, 1898, when Servant of God Fr. Paul Wattson, SA, and Mother Lurana received divine inspiration to found new religious communities for men and women at Graymoor. In that time, we have had 22 U.S. Presidents, 11 popes and two World Wars. 

Something amazing happened in 1223 in the town of Greccio, Italy. After returning from the Holy Land, St. Francis of Assisi created the first crèche in a cave so that the town could adore the “Babe of Bethlehem,” as he referred to the baby Jesus.

It cannot be denied that we have commercialized Christmas, and we have sanitized it. Take, for example, the Christmas card and the image of the nativity, a scene which is always presented as a tableau of angelic choirs.

After serving as a chaplain in Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Fr. Ken Cienik, SA, was unexpectedly called into service again on Sept. 11, 2001. He was at the Navy Yard when a hijacked plane crashed into the Pentagon. Without thinking twice, Fr. Ken jumped into action as a first responder.

In the spirit of our founder, Servant of God Father Paul Wattson, SA, the Friars hosted their 2nd annual “Pumpkin Smash” to repurpose Halloween pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. The composted pumpkins will be used at San Damiano Far at St. Christopher’s Inn (SCI), bringing awareness to the life-changing work happening there each day.

The Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement celebrated and remembered two important society feast days in October. The Covenant of Father Paul and Mother Lurana was celebrated on October 7, the greatest family feast day for the Society of the Atonement.