HILTON — Close your eyes and transport yourself back more than eight centuries in time, Bishop John Bonnici told the congregation at St. Leo Church. Imagine yourself in the town of Assisi, Italy, observing a young soldier named Francis who comes from an affluent family but is seeking answers to the societal problems of his day.
He enters an abandoned chapel, sees a large crucifix, and kneels down and prays before it. He hears a voice: “Francis, repair my church; it needs your help.” At first, Francis takes these words to mean repairing the worn-out building in which he’s praying.
However, surrounded by the effects of war and poverty, he comes to realize that God is imploring him to rebuild the universal church. From there, Francis publicly renounces his wealth to undertake a complete life of poverty and serving those most in need. People notice his actions and words and begin following him.
Returning to the present day, Bishop Bonnici noted, “It’s still the same. The poor are marginalized and treated with indifference. The distance between the haves and have-nots is very large.”
However, he said, many devotees of St. Francis of Assisi remain as well, striving to make the world a better place. Their mission was celebrated July 27 during a 5:30 p.m. Mass hosted by the Rochester-area Third Order of Secular Franciscans. The Mass was open to the public, and the church was nearly full.
“Eight hundred years later, the mission of St. Francis is alive and well,” said Bishop Bonnici, the liturgy’s celebrant and homilist.
Secular Franciscan Mass in Hilton is attended by dignitaries
Bishop Bonnici’s appearance at St. Leo marked his first visit to the northwest Monroe County parish since being installed March 19 as bishop of Rochester. Another special guest that evening was Tibor Kauser, OFS, of Hungary, who serves as minister general — or worldwide head — of the International Secular Franciscan Order. Kauser and his wife, Agnes, were in western New York en route to the Quinquennial Congress of the U.S. Secular Franciscans, which took place July 29-Aug. 2 in Lexington, Ky.
The Mass was hosted by the two Monroe County-based Secular Franciscan groups. They are Immaculate Heart of Mary Fraternity at St. Leo, with Katherine Schmidt, OSF, serving as minister, or head; and Glory of the Most High Fraternity, which convenes at St. Padre Pio Chapel in Gates and is led by Lee Strong, OSF. A third group in the Diocese of Rochester, Our Lady of Angels Fraternity, meets at Auburn’s St. Mary Church and is led by Bernie Tomasso, OSF.
The liturgy in Hilton was part of a jubilee Year of St. Francis — proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV and taking place through Jan. 12, 2027 — memorializing the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis (1181-1226).
Rochester-area Secular Franciscans lead strong devotional lives
Professed Secular Franciscan men and women — single and married — make a lifelong commitment toward peacemaking and serving the marginalized, carrying on the spirit of their founder, St. Francis.
“We’re all about personal relationships and treating every person with dignity and love,” said Schmidt, who was professed in 1994. “That’s what we’re about — community and relationships and being brothers and sisters to each other, whatever the need is.”
Schmidt noted that the 23-member Immaculate Heart of Mary fraternity gathers monthly except during the summer, engaging in morning prayer, ongoing formation and social time. The group also donates three times per year to the Focus Pregnancy Center in Rochester. In addition, the fraternity engages in a Holy Hour for priests on the first Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m. at St. Leo, whose pastor, Father Joseph Catanise, is a Secular Franciscan as well.
Schmidt, a parishioner at Brockport’s Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, said members of her Secular Franciscan group come from many churches in and near Monroe County and typically engage in acts of service in their respective parishes.
Bishop Bonnici encouraged Mass participants on July 27 to maintain all their noble efforts.
“The world needs you, every day,” he said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: To learn more about the Secular Franciscans, contact Katherine Schmidt at kathyschmidtofs@protonmail.com; Lee Strong at leefstrong@aol.com; or Bernie Tomasso at berniet8@gmail.com.
Tags: Faith in Action, Feast Days & Saints, Monroe County West
