WHAT ARE ‘FRANCISCAN FRIARS’?
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‘Friar’ comes from the Latin word ‘frater’, which means ‘brother’. A Franciscan friar is therefore a Brother-Follower of St Francis who tries daily to live the Gospel life in the footsteps of his founder St Francis. Friars live together in houses called ‘friaries’. They are not confined to monasteries like monks. Instead, they are mobile and exercise their ministry among the people in the world while maintaining a life of prayer and contemplation. Friars take the vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, called the ‘evangelical virtues’. While every Christian is bound to live these virtues according to his or her way of life, friars publicly profess to live these vows in the particular expressions of living a life together, owning no personal property and having no exclusive love commitments. As a consequence of their vows, friars are known as ‘religious’, in the same way as the Franciscan sisters, Carmelite nuns, Marist and De La Salle brothers, Redemptorists, Jesuits and other ‘religious congregations’. As religious, friars wear a distinctive brown habit with a white cord,
(i) as a sign of their unity;
(ii) that they are members of the universal church who have chosen to live in this particular way of life;
(iii) and as a form of witnessing to Jesus and his values.
In addition, as religious, friars are bound to live in communities, where they share their life together in meals, work, ministry and prayer, especially the Divine Office. Friars strive to live prayerfully and joyfully as brothers, with numerous moments of fun and laughter, because the life of brotherhood is the main purpose of their existence in the Church. While some friars are called to be priests, all friars are brothers, regardless of race, language, position, seniority or ministry. -
1950S
The pioneer friars of the Sociological Centre
Singapore has a Franciscan presence today for several reasons, not least of which is the threat of communism that loomed in south-east Asia through the 1950s. The Vatican decided that there was a need to counter this threat and reach out especially to the Chinese in the region.
It asked the Franciscans to set up a Sociological Centre in Singapore, which would translate Christian literature from Latin and English into Chinese and other languages for wide dissemination in pamphlet form. These included Christian views on justice, equality, fraternity and the universal family of humankind. There were no Franciscans in Singapore in 1957, so the Job of starting the Centre went to Friar Vergil Mannion OFM, an Irish Franciscan who had been a missionary to China for many years.
In his book ‘A Life Remembered’, Mannion recalled his reaction of being told of his move to Singapore and the purpose: "Sociological centre? But I’m not a sociologist. And I’ve never even built a dog house in my life!" Nevertheless, he was in Singapore in March 1957. He stayed 6 months with Singapore Archbishop Michael Olcomendy, before moving to St Joseph’s Church in Bukit Panjang. With the help of the parish pastor, he bought a four-acre piece of land on what was then Old Jurong Road.
In a tropical location 60 miles from the Equator, no untrodden piece of ground can be free of shrub or a massive grass called ‘lallang’, The contour, the surface outline, can only be known by burning the overgrowth when one has already bought the land, or just going in and feeling the way by foot with the possibility of a snake challenging every step."
He bought the land from three brothers, and by mid 1958, work began for the Sociological Centre building and a chapel. The centre building is today St Anthony Friary and the chapel, since rebuilt, is now Church of St Mary of the Angels in what is today Bukit Batok. Mannion was joined by Friar Agnellus Van der Weide, previously a missionary to China who "was big�strong and�Dutch, a force that inspired dedication in the workers and would see that the building grew according to the specifications."
He bought the land from three brothers, and by mid 1958, work began for the Sociological Centre building and a chapel. The centre building is today St Anthony Friary and the chapel, since rebuilt, is now Church of St Mary of the Angels in what is today Bukit Batok. Mannion was joined by Friar Agnellus Van der Weide OFM, previously a missionary to China who "was big, strong and Dutch, a force that inspired dedication in the workers and would see that the building grew according to the specifications."
The friars who started out at the centre were an internatioal group for, apart from Mannion and Van der Wilde, there were Friars Guido Goerdes from the Saxony province, Thomas Chen from the Dutch province, Angelo Lee from the Venice province and Bonaventure Tung, who came from Rome. The house did not come under any Franciscan province, but was overseen directly by the OrderÂ’s headquarters in Rome. -
1960S
On October 1960, Friar Fulgence Gross, long- time missionary in China, arrived for what would be the start of more than three decades in Singapore. later, he would recall the community that greeted him: "We had 2 Italians from two different provinces, several Chinese priests from various missions districts of China, a Brother from the Irish province and myself, whom you know as American but who spent very little time in the USA. The other fathers are degreed men, having studied in Spain, Germany and Belgium and received licentiates, doctorates, etc. from universities in sociology, labour and economics. And they are all working hard at writing books and tracts in the Chinese language."
Gross worked with the other friars to translate the scriptures and church teachings into Chinese. He was also made the guardian of the community, worked with the parishes and conducted retreats in Malaysia and Singapore. he remained in Singapore after the Sociological Centre moved to Taiwan in 1970. -
1970S
Praying
Recreating
Cooking
Through the 1970s, however, as the Franciscans started making their presence felt in Singapore and as the parish of St Mary of the Angels grew, there was still no formal programme for training the young men interested in joining the Order.
It would be some years before that came about, and in the intervening years, many would come through St Anthony Friary�s doors, only to leave eventually. For a short while, aspirants were sent to the Philippines for their formation, but this did not prove to be a satisfactory arrangement for the long term. -
1980S
Friar Alban Mitchell OFM arrived in early 1984 as novice master to take charge of three young novices. In 1986, Friar Phillip Miscamble OFM arrived in Singapore to be the director of vocations. Since 1986, a total of 117 men have been interviewed. Of these, 67 were Chinese, 41 Indian and 9 Eurasians or other races.
Left to right: Friar Bob Matthews OFM; Friar Paul Pang OFM, who was pastor at St Mary of the Angels Church during the early days; Friar Bonaventure Tung OFM, who was involved in the formation of the novices for a spell. -
thank 4 the information must have spent alot of time on it. may god be with u alway.