(Garrison, NY-8/17/2016) On August 5, Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement, V. Rev. Brian F. Terry, SA, was installed as President of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men in the United States at a Mass that followed the CMSM Annual Assembly in Columbus, Ohio. Father Terry was elected in June 2015, and he will serve a term of two years. The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) supports and offers resources for U.S. leaders of Catholic men’s religious institutes. CMSM promotes dialogue and collaboration on issues of religious life as well as peace and justice issues with major groups in church and society. There are more than 17,000 religious priests and brothers in the United States.
Prior to his profession as a Friar of the Atonement in 1990 and for ten years after it, Father Terry performed various parish ministries at St. Luke’s Parish, MacLean, VA, in the Deaf Community at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, and at Holy Cross and St. Joan of Arc parishes in Toronto, Canada. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1997. In 2003, he went on to be Mater Ecclesia Instructor at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome (Angelicum). This was followed by several posts as instructor in various capacities both at the Angelicum and at the Pontifical North American College in Rome as well. He served as Novice Director for the Friars from 2005 until 2014 until he was elected as Minister General. In addition to his present work with friars in formation, he is an invited professor of Ecumenism at the Angelicum,Rome. He began his ministerial life as a Youth Minister at St. Luke's Parish, McLean, Virginia, before entering the Order. His family attends Christ the Redeemer Church in Sterling, Virginia, a parish of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. He celebrated his 25 year Jubilee as a Franciscan Friar of the Atonement on June 27,2015.
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement are a Roman Catholic order of brothers and priests founded in 1898 by Fr. Paul Wattson, S.A., Servant of God, at Graymoor in Garrison, NY. Since that time, the Friars have worked for reconciliation and healing through “at-one- ment” — the unity of men and women with God and with one another — so that the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” might be fulfilled. Through their mission and ministries they serve people of every race, religion, and walk of life. Their social ministries help the poor, the needy, and the homeless; people living with HIV; frail and elderly in hospitals and hospices; those in prison;and people seeking recovery from alcoholism and chemical addictions. They are part of the international movement to heal divisions within Christianity and among all faiths through their ecumenical outreach and research Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, in New York City, Centro Pro Unione in Rome and serving as diocesan ecumenical officers. Since 1945, the Friars have been guardians and administrators for Sant’Onofrio al Gianicolo, Rome, the official church of the papal order of knighthood, Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Through their prayers and pastoral ministries, they bring spiritual renewal, unity, harmony, and reconciliation throughout the world and carry the Gospel message to three continents. For more information about the friars, visit AtonementFriars.org.
PHOTO CAPTION: Very Rev. John Connor, LC, Region 2 Chari; Very Rev. Brian Terry, SA, President; Very Rev. James Greenfield, OSFS, Former President; Very Rev. Timothy Kesicki, SJ, Secretary Treasurer