Stewardship Facts

Our Growing Future

For years the friars have prayed for more vocations to the Capuchin way of life. After almost twenty years of declining numbers of new friars, those prayers seem to be working. This year the Capuchins have nearly forty men in formation (training to become friars). Not only are the numbers increasing dramatically, but the quality of young men interested in becoming Capuchins is very strong. They are faith-filled, enthusiastic, solid young men who see in our Order a life they want for themselves. They hear God calling them to be Capuchin friars.

All of those young men are indeed a blessing. The rising number of new friars brings great hope and promise for the future of our Order and the Church. For that promise to be realized, they need to be trained and educated for the hard work that lies ahead.

Any parent of college-age children knows how expensive education has become. It is no less true for the friars. Universities and colleges are expensive to operate, and those costs are passed along in the form of tuition, meaning our education bills are dramatically increasing.

The Capuchins are committed to giving our young friars an excellent education so that they are able to meet the challenges of ministry when they are ready for pastoral assignments. They need to have a solid foundation in the faith and be able to communicate that Catholic faith with honesty and conviction. They also need to know the challenges that people face each day so that they can be effective ministers of the gospel.

Your help is critically needed to ensure that we are able to provide that education and training for our newest friars. The average cost of one friar's education for one year is nearly $40,000. It doesn't take too many men in formation to incur overall costs well over $1,000,000.

With your generous help, we trust that God, who has called these young men, will see that we have a way to pay for that education and training. You can be part of the blessings of new growth and the promise of a Church that has great priests and brothers to serve the generations that follow us.