The Franciscan Order was founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209. Today, we are worldwide, including five provinces in North America. Our Chicago province of St. Bonaventure was founded in 1939. The initial emphasis of our ministry was serving the spiritual needs of immigrants. While we continue this work, we have expanded our work to other areas of service to God's people. Here is a brief look at some of these ministries.

  Our friars serve in 
 several parishes, in 
 Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 
 Rockford and Peoria,
 Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; and Northern Indiana.   Parish life is a wonderful  immersion into the life of the local Church: celebrating the
 sacraments, providing 
 spiritual and atechetical
 formation, and njoying  
 a full range of other
 community experiences.

Major Locations
National Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe - Marytown
Education and Evangelization
Missions
Many Gifts
Ministry web sites - St.Bonaventure Province

  A source of many vocations to our province is  Marytown, the National Shrine of St. Maximilian  Kolbe (Martyr of Charity of Auschwitz), in Libertyville, Illinois. The shrine provides sacramental ministry and spiritual direction to the many visitors who come each day. Visitors participate in the perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament  which began in Marytown's chapel in 1928. Marytown is the North American center of the Militia of the Immaculata Movement which was founded by St. Maximilian to promote consecration to Our Blessed Lady. The friars publish the Immaculata Magazine and other spiritual works. It is also the site of the Chicago area's newest retreat and conference center, hosting numerous events each year. The friars are aided in their work by live-in volunteers, who dedicate a year of their lives to working for the mission of Marytown, while discerning a possible vocation to the priesthood or brotherhood.

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  The friars have long been 
  involved in the ministry of 
  education. Our province
  currently has friars teaching on
  both the high school and
  university levels. And although 
  every friar's ministry could be
  described as a ministry of
  evangelization, some have
  been able to reach vast
  numbers of people with the
  message of the Gospel
  through the production of
 Catholic media, specifically
 CD's and film.

Some of our ministry 
takes us to other countries. Our province  has a long history of  service to God's people in the foreign missions. At  present, we have friars in Zambia and Mexico. We also provide material assistance in support of missionary activity in diverse locations throughout the world.


Our identity as an international community means that, at various times, friars from our Midwest province are also called upon to minister to the many pilgrims who visit our basilica in Assisi, Italy, built over the tomb of St. Francis. We are also requested to assist with the Sacrament of Reconciliation at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, where the Conventuals have been the official confessors since 1773.

Whether for ministry at home or abroad, every friar is encouraged to use his gifts and talents, and to discover and develop new capacities. These gifts and talents are also engaged for "internal ministries," such as the formation of our candidates in the Franciscan way of life, spiritual direction to the Secular Franciscan Order, and the administration of our religious community as a worldwide body and as a Midwestern American province. Tailoring, the culinary arts, nursing, counseling, music, and the fine arts, are some of the countless skills and gifts that enhance our own fraternal life and build up the Kingdom of God.

St. Anthony's Parish (Rockford, IL)
www.stanthonyrockford.com

Holy Family Parish (Peoria, IL)
www.peoriaholyfamily.com

St. Josaphat Basilica (Milwaukee, WI)
www.thebasilica.org

Marytown (Libertyville, IL)
www.marytown.com

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