Canada’s Franciscans celebrate amalgamation
Friars of ancient order aim to avoid duplication and improve efficiency
After more than 400 years, it simply seemed the right time for Canada’s Franciscan friars to finally join together.
The historic amalgamation of the eastern and western branches of the ancient order was commemorated earlier this month at a unique ceremony held in Cochrane at the Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre.
The lead minister of this freshly formed “Canadian Franciscan Province” (the entire country of Canada being deemed a province in the order’s terminology) is Brother Pierre Charland. He believes the coming together of the two branches will help revitalize what is one of the oldest religious followings in the country.
“We have very deep roots in Canada,” says Charland. “The first friars came in 1615 when they began ministering with the First Nations people in a very simple way.”
In the 1880s their influence grew, with the development and expansion of the order in Quebec. By the 1950s, there were 500 friars in Canada, including a growing number who had moved to the West. This geographical divide and separation continued until there were two separate “provinces” (or groups of friars) in the same country.
That duplication has finally ended and this historic “coming together” was celebrated this month in Cochrane.
“We decided it was probably worthwhile unifying because today there are far fewer friars,” says Charland. “We are now less than 100 in all of Canada, even with both groups joined. So, there was no use in duplicating the structures. If we could unite, we’d be more efficient.
“We wanted to revitalize Franciscan life and it is a great source of motivation for the friars because this is a new start. Clearly there was a sense of fraternity.”
Fraternity is key to the Catholic order, which follows the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi.
“First and foremost, we are friars,” Charland says. “That means living in fraternity: in prayer and with a common commitment to gospel living. Some of us are priests, some are not; some are in parishes and some are teachers; some work with the poor in the inner cities; some work with First Nations groups. We are not a group to restrict ourselves to one specific ministry.”
The order has been an important part of Cochrane for almost 70 years; an upcoming 70th anniversary is also part of the celebrations this month.
Calgarian Mark Love volunteered to work with the friars at the Mount St. Francis Retreat Centre as they look forward to a new arrangement and partnership with the town, which they have been part of since 1949 when the entire population was less than 1,000 people.
The friars own about 200 hectares of land overlooking Bighill Creek valley, on which their retreat centre is situated. The building itself has several dozen beds that are available to people from all denominations looking for a place to reflect and pray, far from the distractions of modern life.
“In 1949, a local farmer owned a piece of land and donated it to the friars,” he says. “That’s when they moved to the site. Two more pieces were donated later to create the total acreage.
“Lots of people don’t know that,” adds Love. “The Franciscans are a pretty quiet bunch. They don’t make much noise and just go about their outreach work and religious work very quietly.”
Love volunteered to analyze those land holdings and work closely with the town and District of Rocky View going forward.