Great Britain & Ireland: The Second Part of the Chapter

On September 18-21, 2017, the friars of the Provincial Custody of Blessed Agnellus of Pisa in Great Britain and Ireland met at the Hayes Conference Centre at Alfreton, England, for the second part of their Ordinary Custodial Chapter.
Friar Ciprian BUDAU, the newly elected Custos, presided over the Chapter with the assistance of Friar Jude WINKLER, the Assistant General of the Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF). Friar James McCURRY, the Minister Provincial of the USA Province of Our Lady of the Angels, was not able to attend due to the serious illness and eventual death of Friar Justin BIASE, the former Minister Provincial of the USA Province of the Immaculate Conception.
The friars produced a practical, well thought out five-year plan for the Custody, which included a comprehensive study of all their presences and apostolates. They approved the establishment of a presence of the friars at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, an ancient and esteemed shrine to our Lady in East Anglia. The Custodial offices will continue to be at the friary in Waterloo, London.
There was a sense of “passing the torch” to the next generation when several of the friars who are younger in profession were assigned to positions of responsibility in the Custody. There was also a sense of passing from a period of working for the survival of the Jurisdiction to one in which the Custody can dream and plans toward the future.

Friar Jude WINKLER OFMConv.