What had become almost inevitable over the past three weeks finally came to pass last Sunday afternoon. President Biden announced that he would not seek a second term as President of the United States. What was obviously an agonizingly difficult decision for the President left many questions unanswered. What do we do now? There is no precedent for a candidate with pledged delegates dropping out of the race at this late date. Perhaps by the time you read this at the end of the week, some of those questions will have been answered.  This unprecedented political development, however, does provide me with an opportunity to speak about the office to which I was elected this spring (and for which I most definitely did not campaign), Assistant Provincial of the United States Province of Servites

First, a little background. The Servite Priests and Brothers (Friar Servants of Mary) have staffed Assumption Church since it began in 1881. In the nineteenth century, the Archdiocese of Chicago, like many United States dioceses, was predominately an Irish-American operation.  As more immigrants arrived from non-English speaking parts of Europe, bishops often invited Religious Orders to found and staff churches to minister to these ethnic groups. Because the Servites were primarily an Italian Order, we were asked to establish a mission to the Italian speaking population that had just settled north of the Chicago River. Over time, the ethnic identities of many of these churches faded, and most of these “national” churches became territorial parishes. While a bishop or archbishop typically has jurisdiction over only a small area, a provincial of a religious congregation may be responsible for members spread thinly over a very wide area. As numbers of most religious orders have declined over the past half century, the territory for which a provincial has members to care for has grown. When I entered the Servite Order in 1978, there was an Eastern and Western Province in the United States, each with a smaller sub-province or vicariate attached to it. In 1999 we became one province. The Franciscans at St. Peter’s were recently part of a massive reconfiguration in which five provinces merged into one province under one provincial.

Because our numbers are not large, being assistant provincial in our province is a very part-time job, but it is not insignificant.  In addition to attending a provincial council meeting approximately one day a month (most of which are on Zoom) and being available when the provincial is not available. I am expected to accompany the provincial (Fr. Eugene Smith, who lived at Assumption for several years) in visiting the various Servite communities in the United States once a year and those overseas every other year. While visiting Servite communities outside of Chicago can be worked around the parish schedule (There are only five of them), I am expected to accompany Fr. Eugene in a trip to our communities in western Australia at the end of September. Next year, there will probably be a trip to South Africa to visit our communities in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

One question that may arise is this: In a parish like Assumption, staffed by the Servite friars within the Archdiocese of Chicago, who is really in charge—the bishop or the provincial? The answer is “the bishop.” While the provincial is responsible for the care of the friars living here, anyone doing public ministry must be approved and appointed by Cardinal Cupich. Assumption is expected to comply with all policies and procedures and programs established by the archdiocese. The only exception is that because this property is owned by the Servites, we do not need to get approval from the archdiocese for repairs and improvements.

On a personal note, let me add that I would seem ungrateful were I not to make use of the very nice “train riding” fund to which a number of you contributed for my fortieth jubilee. While most of the passenger trains in Australia are aimed at the luxury crowd and involve very long journeys across the interior desert, New Zealand has passenger trains that are more accessible, offer a varied exposure to the countryside, and can be fitted into a more limited schedule. So, I plan to stop over for a couple of days in New Zealand on the way back and see part of this unique island nation by train.  With this elected office, I get a chance to visit two countries I have never visited before; and for two weeks get to avoid the most intense part of the campaign for political office back in the United States.

                                     Fr. Joe