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Franciscan Brothers of Peace Antonio Pagba, left, and Conrad Richardson, talk with “David” at the friary.  Photo Courtesy of The Catholic Spirit.

Be sure to read The Catholic Spirit's, February 27, 2018, article featuring the Franciscan Brothers of Peace and their work through The Center for Victims of Torture, located at the Queen of Peace Friary in St. Paul.  The center is recognized internationally as a leader in helping victims of torture through an interdisciplinary approach of medical care, psychotherapy and social services with hopes they’ll become productive members of society.

There are aproximately 60,000 survivors of torture in Minnesota — about 44 percent of all refugees in the U.S. are survivors of torture.  However, only a “tiny percentage” of torture victims are eligible for resettlement; most live in refugee camps. But the center’s high rehabilitation improvement rates among survivors has been a source of hope for many. Last year, the center helped around 400 individuals of 40 different nationalities.  The majority of the refugees being helped have escaped unthinkable persecution because of their faith, and have been forced to flee torture and terror and the atrocities of war. 

The 12 brothers provide room and board and fulfill other tangible needs — climate-appropriate clothing, food, monthly mass transit passes and phone cards. Multicultural artwork hangs on the walls of their friary, and their kitchen is stocked with ethnic foods to help give their guests a sense of home.

 To find out how you can further help the Franciscan Brothers of Peace continue to fulfill their mission this Lent, read the full The Catholic Spirit article detailing all that they do for those in need at The Center for Victims of Torture, by following the link below:

http://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/franciscan-brothers-peace-catholics-walk-alongside-victims-torture/

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Minnesota Give to the Max Day is on Thursday, November 16^th, and is a day dedicated to supporting your favorite causes by donating to a charity of your choice. If you are still looking for a cause to support, please consider giving to the Franciscan Brothers of Peace. Our Brotherhood provides much material and spiritual support to the local community, including:

• Praying and sidewalk counseling at abortion centers. Assisting women and men with crisis pregnancies.
• Defending the rights of brain–injured or otherwise severely disabled persons who cannot speak for themselves, as well as the elderly or any other vulnerable persons in danger of death by euthanasia, medical killing or care rationing.                        
• Being a visible witness to the Catholic Faith on our streets, befriending the homeless and outcast, particularly in poor or violent areas most in need of the peace and love of Jesus Christ.
• Providing sanctuary in our friary for international survivors of torture, creating a loving, healing environment for them, assisting them on their journey towards independent living and legal asylum, and then reuniting them with their families by helping to facilitate travel to the U.S. for their wife and children, if any.
• Working with refugee families.
• Visiting shut-ins, those in nursing homes & the hospitalized

In addition to the good your donation would provide for those in need, any donation you give to the Franciscan Brothers of Peace will also be eligible for random drawings to have extra money added to it, and will help us compete for more prize money on our leaderboards to help further our work.  We thank you in advance for any donations you choose to give!

For more information on how you can Give to the Max on behalf of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace, click the Give to the Max icon on our website’s home page or click the following link: https://www.givemn.org/organization/Franciscan-Brothers-Of-Peace

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Fall, 2017

Dear Friends,
It has happened again! Students have returned to school. For some parents it comes as a relief since they do not have to be as creative in keeping younger ones occupied as they did during summer break. For others it is bittersweet seeing off their freshman sons and daughters to colleges and universities.
A reality that we encounter with some of the poor and marginalized families that we work with include parents, many of them single parents, who have little money to provide what is necessary for their kids to attend school with the items they need. So many have come to our door asking for school supplies or clothing to replace the clothes their children have outgrown.

The Brothers have been blessed to assist the refugee families from Burma in various ways. While the enculturation of these beautiful families continues, a fear that many younger parents have in sending their children to school is that they may become so influenced by secular culture, they may lose their strong Catholic identity that is so important among this lovely community. Gratefully, there are a few Catholic schools who are doing what they can to assist a few of these families, but funding is still needed for many others.

We are praying for the necessary means to help as many of these families as possible, but we cannot do it without your support. For those of you who have contributed in recent months, thank you. We ask that you consider helping us again. A gift from you now would help us to support these families and sustain us in all our ministries to those in need and in our Franciscan way of life. For those who have not given in a while, we thank you ahead of time for your generosity. As the line in the popular hymn attributed to St. Francis of Assisi goes, "It is in giving that we receive."
May the Lord bless you and all of your loved ones.

Peace and All Good,
Br. Conrad Richardson, fbp Community Servant

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Friday Night at the Friary