Deceased Friars
Fr. Andrew Hohman, 1920 - 2011
Date of birth: July 28, 1920
Temporary Profession: July 14, 1949
Perpetual Profession: July 14, 1952
Ordination: May 29, 1954
Date of death: August 28, 2011
"All of my prayers to the BVM were answered.
I found another good job for the rest of my life."
Our Fr. Andrew Hohman used to relay the story of his mother who brought him to the Miraculous Medal Novena at St. Anthony's in East Wheeling when he was a teenager. These were the days of the Great Depression. In the stillness of the church, the two processed to Our Lady's altar where his mother lovingly prayed that Mary would take care of her Son and find him a good job. "Here is my son Andrew," she is told to have said. "He is too much for me to handle; you take care of him." And handle him she did.
Br. Jim Townsend, 1927 - 2011
Date of birth: January 27, 1927
Place of Birth: Bristol, PA
Temporary Profession: February 6, 1973
Perpetual Profession: February 9, 1976
Date of death: June 12, 2011
"All I can say is that if God could get to me,
he can get to anybody.
He gave me a hope and a future." -- Br. Jim
There are very few friars in our history who have their names found as frequently on Internet search engines as our brother Jim Townsend. It's hardly ironic that a man who loved to relish in story-telling would have his own story repeated so often and in so many various contexts. Jim sat at friary dinner tables and told stories about himself; he would stand before audiences of hundreds of people and tell stories about himself; and he would stand in the local grocery store or in parking lots talking to people and telling stories about himself. His story is now being recounted by many people who have never even met him or talked to him.
It is a dramatic story.
Fr. Ralph Zehe, 1913 - 2011
Date of birth: February 28, 1913
Temporary Profession: September 19, 1947
Perpetual Profession: September 26, 1949
Ordination: June 6, 1950
Date of death: February 22, 2011
"He demanded very little of this world or of this life.
He gave himself . . ."
He was a quiet man. That's how Fr. Ralph would be described by most of the friars of the Province. Whether at the old St. Augustine Friary or at his "new" home at Our Lady of the Angels Parish House, Ralph was always in the "background." We all knew that he worked -- he was the one you'd see after meals cleaning up or mopping the refectory floor. He was the one who emptied waste paper baskets. He was the one in the back of St. Augustine Church waiting to hear the next confession. But Ralph was never the center of attention. Did most friars even know what he did?
Papua New Guinea Capuchins Welcome the Newest Postulant
Our brother Modest Eligi, OFM Cap., the Superior of our Custody of St. Michael in Papua New Guinea sent word of the installation of their new Postulant. Celebrated on March 8, 2025, the ceremony welcomed Ignasius Paul at Padre Pio Friary in Madang in the Southern Highlands Province.
In the photo taken after the installation are, from left, "Joachim," a fellow Franciscan friar present for the ceremony, along with our Capuchin brothers Justin Purusi, Kevin Malimo (new to PNG from the Custody of Kenya), their new postulant Ignasius, Modest Eligi and Jim Bikine.
Postulancy is the first step in our way of life before receiving the habit in the Novitiate year. Ignasius is seen above wearing the TAU cross: the symbol of the Crusader in 13th Century Italy. Our brother, St. Francis of Assisi, used that sign for his own Crusade to spread of the Lord's peace and goodness. He would place that TAU in sacred places he visited on his pilgrim journeys.
Please keep Ignasius and the other six postulants of our PNG Mission in your prayers.
From our Novitiate: The Caperone, March 2025
Check out the news from our Capuchin Novices
at San Lorenzo Friary in Santa Ynez, CA,
in March's edition
of their monthly Caperone.
March for Life 2025
January's March for Life certainly experienced a Capuchin presence . . . . As our brother Pablo Lopez, OFM Cap., our photographer and reporter wrote:
We had our brother Cardinal Sean O'Malley, OFM Cap., as the celebrant for the Mass for Life in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrines, joined with many concelebrants. Our Vocation Director, Br. Mike Herlihey, OFM Cap., was the homilist for the Mass." To round out the group, our Cap Corps Lay Volunteers, friars from Baltimore and Cleveland's Capuchin Formation Program were in attendance at the Mass and march, as well as as well as 14 candidates who were staying the weekend at Capuchin College to discern our way of life.
The Friars' Table Is Open to Serve
A major December event, along with our ministerial outreach at Philadelphia's Annie's Home, was the blessing and opening of The Friars' Table at city of Cleveland's Playhouse Square. Our brothers serve the St. Paul's Shrine and at the parish of St. Malachy's in the city, but Cleveland's Ordinary, Bishop Edward Malesic, posted a special moment on his Instagram page:
Last evening, I was pleased to bless the newly opened The Friar’s Table restaurant at Playhouse Square. The eatery is a collaboration among Cleveland Capuchin Ministries, EDWIN’s Leadership & Restaurant Institute and Playhouse Square, offering training and job opportunities for many people who are trying to build a new life.
Among the guests for the event were our Provincial Minister, Robert Marva, OFM Cap., joining our brothers in Cleveland. The press for the new endeavor has been fast and frequent from various news outlets in the Cleveland area.
This November Article appeared in the Diocese of Cleveland's webpage on November 20th:
The Friars’ Table restaurant plans job fair,
prepares to begin service
See more photos & read more about our unique sponsorship . . .
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