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Friars Today As religious life in the Western world is now facing new challenges, the English Province, like the Catholic Church in Britain, is also struggling against the tides of materialism and religious indifference, so characteristic to our secularised society. Throughout these ups and downs in history the Greyfriars in Great Britain have remained faithful to their charism and tried to contribute to the life of the Church in this nation. However humble and hidden our present efforts may seem to be, there is still optimism for a more renewed and significant future. As custodians and promoters of a great tradition hailing from St. Francis, our presence in Great Britain is so significant to the Order.
Although deeply engaged in parish ministry and relatively few in numbers, we still try to maintain the great Franciscan tradition of preaching and missionary work. We offer ministerial support to the diocesan clergy, perhaps seemingly simple but well in accord with the ideal of St. Francis who admonished his friars to be at the service of clergy and bishops. The work for spreading devotion to the Immaculate Virgin Mary through the Crusader of MI, the efforts in promoting vocations to the Order and to the SFO, Justice and Peace activities etc. are some of our local missionary endeavours. Another significant contribution is our Youth Ministry. Our friars continue the great Franciscan apostolate of ministering at the universities, where they also maintain our Franciscan presence and promote the intellectual traditions of the Order. England has always offered significant support to the foreign missions of the Order. Despite the pressing needs in this country, two of our friars are currently doing missionary work in Africa. Besides, we continue to support the missionary activities of the Order by assisting the formation of missionary friars of other provinces of the Order. Youth Ministry The greyfriars have always been known for their involvement in various apostolate to the young. For several centuries our friars have been ministering to the young through teaching or serving as chaplains of schools and universities. This specific ministry is still continued by the Greyfriars in England. Today our friars try to minister to the young people also through diocesan youth organisations. However, our main ministry to the young is through our parishes and schools. Our friars serve as confessors, councilors and spiritual directors to hundreds of school children across the country. Some of us are also ministering to the university students. The formation we offer to the young people is remarkably rich with its unique emphasis on the Franciscan values of simplicity, respect for nature, spirit of peace and brotherhood etc. We are also interested to promote various activities aimed at the young, particularly the World Youth Day and the Youth 2000. Mass Media Inspired by the example of St. Maximillian Kolbe the apostle of evangelisation, our friars all over the world have been exploring the immense powers of mass media for preaching the Gospel of Christ more effectively. In England, the printing and world wide circulation of the Crusader of MI is our outstanding apostolate in this area. Crusade magazine Each month the crusade magazine is distributed to more than fifty countries of the world, including several African countries; from Ethiopia to Ghana , to Nigeria, Zambia and South Africa. From as far away as New Zealand to as close to home as Ireland. To the United States and Canada; to Brazil, Jordan ad Japan, India and Sri Lanka. Annually we sent 29,784 single copies of the magazine. The first Saturday of each month we distribute 18,000 copies annually: making a grand total of 283,844 copies of the magazine every year.
Bishop
John Jukes
Member of the English Province
John Juke's was born in Eltham, south east London,
on 7th August 1923. Born to Catholic parents, he was educated at Catholic
schools. While preparing to qualify for entry to London University he
met members of the Franciscan Conventual Order at Rye, Sussex, and became
so impressed by their preaching and hospitality. Shortly after, he applied
to be accepted into the order.
After completing postulancy and the novitiate at the orders community in Liverpool, he took the first vows in January 1948. In the same year he was sent to Rome for his philosophical Studies at the Gregorian University and when to obtain the licentiate in theology at the Order's Pontifical faculty which at that time was in the Collegio Serafico in Rome. He was ordained in Liverpool in 1952. In 1953 Father John Jukes was appointed rector at the seminary at Beaumaris in Anglesey north Wales. Later he also served as parish priest at St. Clare's Manchester and at St. Patrick's Waterloo, London. In 1969 he was delegated to establish, in cooperation with the English province of the Friars Minor, the Franciscan International Study Centre at Canterbury. Besides being the vice-principal of the Study Centre, Father John also lectured there from 1969 to 1979 in fundamental theology and canon law. In 1973 Father John Jukes became the Episcopal vicar for the religious of the archdiocese of Southwark, an office he held until 1981. In December 1979 he was appointed by the Holy Father as auxiliary Bishop of Southwark with the title of Strathearn and was ordained bishop in St. George's Cathedral of Southwark by Archbishop Bowen on 30th January 1980. Bishop John served as the area bishop of Kent for two decades. Upon retirement in November 2000, Bishop John responded to an appeal from the then Bishop of Aberdeen, and accepted an appointment to the parishes of St. Margaret Huntly and Banff, Aberdeenshire where he is still engaged in active ministry.
For the English province, Bishop John served as secretary and vice provincial from 1960 to 1969. In 1979 he was elected minister provincial but served for six months only before being appointed as Bishop by Pope John Paul II. He is currently rector of the Franciscan International Study Centre at Canterbury.
Many English Friars have mirrored our Franciscan heritage in their reputed service to the church during the past centuries and have greatly enhance the reputation of the Greyfriars in England. In this century, building on the great legacy of his predecessors, Bishop John Jukes is serving the Church as a good champion of the Greyfriars.
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