Baltimore showers love on Capuchin Franciscans

The Baltimore Catholic community showered its love on the Capuchin Franciscans Oct. 1 with a jubilant Mass at St. Ambrose in Park Heights honoring the 150th anniversary of the religious community’s establishment of the St. Augustine Province and nearly 150 years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Paul Zaborowski, left, pastor of St. Ambrose in Park Heights, and Auxiliary Bishop Bruce A. Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., react with laughter as Capuchin Franciscan Father Robert Marva shares a joke during his homily at a Oct. 1 Mass honoring the 150th anniversary of the religious community’s Province of St. Augustine. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Auxiliary Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., urban vicar, celebrated the more than two-hour-long Mass, thanking the Capuchins for their dedication to the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and praying that they will remain in the archdiocese for “many, many, many, many years to come.”

The Capuchin Franciscans first arrived in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 1875 to minister to German immigrants of Western Maryland at Ss. Peter and Paul in Cumberland. Two years earlier, German Capuchins had been welcomed to Pennsylvania, where they established the Province of St. Augustine in Pittsburgh.

The first clergymen assigned to Western Maryland escaped religious persecution in their native Westphalia in northwestern Germany. They took over for the Carmelites, who had left Ss. Peter and Paul after leading the parish since 1866.

The Capuchins have ministered continuously in Western Maryland ever since, now providing pastoral leadership at Our Lady of the Mountains in Cumberland, which includes St. Mary, St. Patrick and what is now known as the Shrine of Ss. Peter and Paul.

Over time, the order’s ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore expanded beyond Western Maryland – first in the 1950s, in Annapolis, with the establishment of a novitiate house and retreat center; and then, in 1970, with pastoral ministry at St. Martin of Tours in Baltimore and then the Tri-Parish Catholic Community of St. Peter the Apostle, St. Martin and St. Jerome. The Capuchins have served at St. Ambrose in Park Heights from 1990 to the present.

Capuchins have provided other service in the Baltimore archdiocese over the decades, contributing to everything from hospital chaplaincies to work at the tribunal.

In his homily at the anniversary Mass, Capuchin Franciscan Father Robert Marva, provincial minister of the Province of St. Augustine, said it has been a “gift” for the Capuchins to serve the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Robert Marva, provincial minister of the Province of St. Augustine, demonstrates how he wiped lipstick off his face when a few parishioners welcomed him with kisses to the cheeks at St. Ambrose in Park Heights. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

“You’ve helped us to become better friars and brothers to you and to one another,” Father Marva said. “You’ve allowed us to walk with you down the aisle of your weddings, to rejoice at the baptism of your children, to mourn with you at the funeral of your loved ones. Together, we have literally dodged bullets.”

Father Marva noted that Capuchins have stood with people in some of the most difficult times in the life of the city.

“We’ve stood against violence in our community by those who vowed to protect and serve us and became misguided along the way,” he said. “We’ve marched together in our streets for justice and peace. Together, we have weathered scandal and hurt caused by our church and its ministers. We have remained faithful together to the Gospel despite racism, prejudice and bigotry. We’ve continued to welcome the poor, the tax collector, the prostitute in Jesus’ name.”

Trina Jones-Brown, a parishioner of St. Ambrose for 25 years, said Capuchins have a welcoming spirit that makes people feel at home.

“I think the way our parish has become such a beacon of light in the community is because of the friars,” she said. “They come and they are workers – they truly believe in the works, spreading the Good News. They not only preach it, but they follow up with the work that’s necessary to build the kingdom of Jesus.”

Today, friars from the Province of St. Augustine serve in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and Papua, New Guinea.

Parishioners of St. Ambrose in Park Heights participate in a Mass celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Capuchin Franciscans’ Province of St. Augustine. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

During the thanksgiving Mass, parish leaders dedicated large works of art that honor six Black Catholics under consideration for canonization in Rome. They include Venerable Mother Mary Lange, founder of the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence, the world’s first religious community for Black women.

The others are Servant of God Sister Thea Bowman, Servant of God Julia Greeley, Venerable Mother Henriette Delille, Venerable Father Augustus Tolton and Venerable Pierre Toussaint.

Capuchin Franciscan Father Paul Zaborowski, pastor of St. Ambrose for nearly 20 years, said it is important to erect images of holy men and women who come from the Black Catholic community.

“In a lot of places in the city, the African-American community has inherited churches that were not built by them,” he said. “And so there are a lot of beautiful images here, but they don’t look like the people who are worshiping in the church. It’s important, especially for our children, to grow up in a parish where they see holy people, people who are called to holiness, who look like themselves.”

The pastor noted that the only way the six sainthood candidates can make it to formal canonization is for people to know about them so they can intercede through them.

“Then, hopefully, we’ll start getting the miracles we need (for canonization),” he said.

Children depicting what are called the “Sacred Six,” six African Americans who have been presented to the Vatican for sainthood, wait for a blessing during Communion. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

Father Zaborowski acknowledged that ministry in a troubled part of the city can be challenging.

“As Capuchins, we’re called to be in situations that aren’t easy,” he said. “And so, it’s a difficult place to minister at times, but we’re here with the people and we share what they’re going through.”

He added that neighborhoods such as Park Heights tend to get a “bad rap.”

“It’s usually just a few people who choose to do wrong and bad things when ultimately the people who are living here are going to work, raising their families, doing what they do to survive and live,” he said. “The friars are blessed to be a part of them and to be with them.”

Kevin J. Parks contributed to this story.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

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