San Damiano Friary Expansion Dedication

A Celebration to Remember

(San Antonio, Texas) The Conventual Franciscan Friars of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation celebrated and dedicated their new expansion to the San Damiano Friary on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at 11 am. The Minister General, Carlos Troverelli, traveled from Rome to join them. Also present were, San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, Assistant General friar Jude Winkler, Minister Provincials friar Ferena Lambe of the Zambian Province, friar Mario-Castro of the Mexican Province, and friar Wayne Hellmann from the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. Community leaders and supporters were also on hand to celebrate this dream becoming a reality.

This new expansion will continue to form and educate friars from across the broad Franciscan families and countries worldwide. Currently, it forms friars from the United States and Mexico.  The OFM friar families have also joined. Those friars, once prepared, will serve as parish priests, retreat directors, campus ministers, chaplains, and in many other capacities in many other ministries to those in need.

“The Church in the United States has become more intercultural, more representative of the reality of our global human family. This new addition to the Franciscan formation fraternity allows us to share more fully in this new reality.”

-Father Wayne Hellmann, OFM Conv.

San Antonio, Texas, was selected by the friars as a site for a House of Studies in the 1970s. San Antonio provides educational opportunities at various Catholic and private colleges and universities. Many are students at the Oblate School of Theology to prepare for the priesthood or other pastoral ministries.

The new expansion provides twelve bedrooms with a bath and shower in-between each bedroom; a laundry room on the second floor; and a large living room (735 square feet) where the friars can gather for recreation, seminars, and other activities to build fraternity.

See More (in this three-part presentation)

1.Videos
2.Photo Gallery
3.Minister General Visits Posada Guadalupe

Videos

Dedication Highlights Video from SA15 News

Full Dedication Video

Photo Gallery

(Photos by Al Baeza, Xavier Ramirez, and Brian Dearinger)

Minister General Visits Posada Guadalupe

Minister General, friar Carlos Trovarelli, stopped at Posada Guadalupe while visiting for the San Damiano Friary Expansion Dedication in San Antonio. There he toured Posada Guadalupe and met briefly with Father Phillip Ley, OFM Conv., Founder and Director of Posada Guadalupe and recent recipient of the Alfonso García Robles for Outstanding Work in Favor of Migrants Humanitarian Award. He received this award to honor his dedication to immigrants and his work at Posada Guadalupe.

The mission of Posada Guadalupe is to assist homeless immigrants. They accept referrals from local hospitals, immigration attorneys, detention centers, and children’s shelters. Most of their residents are young men who have aged out of detention centers, having arrived in the United States as unaccompanied minors. Posada Guadalupe provides them with food and shelter and assists them in transitioning into productive lives through hospitality, advocacy, and education.

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