The Friars

Where are the Friars?

The Capuchin movement began in Italy in the 16th century, and today there are nearly 12,000 friars worldwide.

The first friars who came to what would eventually become the United States were sent from Paris in 1650 to be missionaries among the Native Americans and newly arrived settlers. Their ministry ended with the bloody death of Capuchin friar Christopher Plunkett, who was killed by English Protestants in the colony of Virginia.

Many individual friars worked in the US for most of its history, but it was not until 1873 that Capuchins were independently established in the US. Today there are friars from Maine to Hawaii, each belonging to one of seven different jurisdictions. After some decline in the number of friars since the 1960’s, today there is a resurgence of growth of Capuchins in the USA.

The greatest, almost explosive growth in the number of Capuchin friars is in Africa, South America and Asia. The fruits of missionary labors on those continents is now seen in the indigenous leadership and rapid growth of Capuchin life. Today friars from Africa and Asia are sent as missionaries to western Europe and North America.

The Capuchin Province of St. Augustine consists of the District of Columbia, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, as well as Puerto Rico and Papua New Guinea. The founders of the Province came from Bavaria in 1873; they soon joined forces with the friars from Westphalia, to create a new jurisdiction in the United States that stretched from Maryland to Kansas. In 1977 the province was divided. The western portion (from Illinois to Colorado) became the Province of St. Conrad.

The friars work and live in a variety of settings and circumstances. Several friaries are located in urban settings such Cleveland, Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Others live Capuchin life and serve the Church in more rural areas or small cities and towns in western Maryland, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. There are friaries and ministries in suburban locations as well. The friars are involved in all sorts of ministries. In all places and ministries the friars are committed to serving the Church and witnessing to Jesus Christ in the foot-steps of St. Francis of Assisi.