Back in May I let on that I had been elected Assistant Provincial of the United States Province of Servites and that I would have to accompany our Provincial, Fr. Smith, when he visited some of our Servite Communities, including Australia, later this year. Ever since then people have been asking, “When are you leaving?” Well, I am finally going somewhere. So, the all-night parities in the Parish Hall can begin!

I leave this Sunday afternoon September 15 for a two-day Provincial Council meeting and a visit with the friars at The Grotto in Portland, OR. The Grotto is an outdoor shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Sorrows that sits on 62 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds right in the city of Portland. It is a place that welcomes people of all faiths (and no faith) to meditate and enjoy the beauty of nature. Mass is offered daily, and on Sundays during the summer, Mass is offered outdoors in front of an altar carved out of the side of a cliff. In December the place literally lights up with a Festival of Lights, with various activities for children, religious displays, and visiting choirs. Naturally, there is also a gift shop!

The Grotto is presently celebrating its centennial this year. It traces its roots to the gratitude of a little boy in Kitchener, Ontario, who prayed to Mary when his mother became deathly ill following the birth of his younger sister. Both his mother and his siters survived and that boy promised to do what he could to bring honor to Mary. Ordained a Servite priest in 1918, Fr. Ambrose Mayer was assigned to a parish the Servites staffed in Portland. He learned of a rugged sixty-acre site just outside the city of Portland that was about to be sold for housing. With the blessing of the Church, he was able to make a downpayment on the property and conducted a national fundraising campaign to build The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. Fr. Mayer’s original plan was to build seven chapels on the property, one for each of the Seven Sorrows of Mary. That would have left very little room for trees and gardens! Fortunately, his fundraising campaign wasn’t THAT successful! At the dedication of the Grotto in 1924, Archbishop Christie described the purpose of the Sanctuary in words that are just as relevant today: “Let this be a sanctuary of peace for all peoples of the earth; and surely in this day a sanctuary is needed. Torn with differences, strife, and grief, the world needs sanctuary, where the human spirit can seek peace and consolation.”

I return on Wednesday September 18, and then I am scheduled to depart for Australia the following Wednesday, September 24 and return on Thursday, October 10. In Australia, the Servites have what is called a Delegation—a group of friars affiliated with another province. In this case, the United States Province of Servites. Servites first came to Australia in 1951. The first Friars were from the United States, Ireland, and Scotland. Later, men from Australia were ordained; and, in more recent years, friars have come from India, the Philippines, and Africa to minister—which is not just a missionary endeavor, but a reflection of what the Catholic Church in Australia looks like today. The Servites founded a high school in 1958, and presently staff three parishes and serve as hospital and school chaplains. All of our friars are presently based in western Australia in the area around Perth. This will be my first trip to Australia and it is meant to coincide with the Delegation’s annual Chapter Meeting October 1-3. Wrapped around this meeting, Fr. Smith and I will visit the various ministry sites and have conferences with each friar. This give us a chance to check on their physical and spiritual wellbeing and how they are doing in ministry. The Archdiocese of Chicago has a similar process. I meet with our area bishop and the dean of our group of parishes each year.

 Since my fortieth jubilee in June, people have also been asking whether I am doing any train riding—fearing perhaps that they had made a poor investment in a train riding fund. Yes, I will be drawing on the train riding trust fund during my time in the southern hemisphere. I am flying through Auckland, New Zealand, and on the way back I will be stopping over in New Zealand for a couple of days to ride a train and see a bit of the countryside. Yes, they do have long-distance trains that cross the central desert of Australia; but they aimed almost exclusively at the luxury travel market.

Meanwhile, I want to thank Fr. Paul Gins and Fr. Frank Falco, Servite Friars from Our Lady of Sorrows, who have been helping out while Fr. Guimon and Fr. Fontana are away this month. I also want to thank Deacon Zajdel and Fr. Fontana, who are taking care of the three weddings I had to duck out on because of the trip to Australia.

                       Fr. Joe