Br. Bernard Mary then ventured up to the Kenyan Friars’ presence in the Green Bay Diocese, where he was invited to speak at Masses and was also asked to present a talk to the Middle and High School Religious Education students at the Clintonville Parish of St. Rose; the topic was on Discernment and incorporated the Jubilee Year theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’

As the March deadline for those applying to enter the CFF Postulancy Program from our Province approached, the four applicants came to the House of Studies in Chicago, on two separate weekends respectively, to undertake their psychological evaluations as the final step in the application process. Dr. Barbera Toohill from the Antioch Group in Peoria, IL, graciously made the trip up both times to administer the evaluations – she is a former parishioner of ours from Holy Family and a good friend of the friars who served there.

Br. Bernard Mary took the long road trip to Bismark, ND, to join the students and staff of the University of Mary for their annual ‘Vocations Jamboree.’ The organizers said that this 10^th anniversary year is the largest event yet, with around seventy exhibitors from religious congregations and organizations. The Conventual booth was blessed to be assigned prime real estate at the front entrance of the building near the cafeteria where there was high traffic and plenty of engagement. Attendees were intrigued by the first-class relics on display at the booth, many young men took materials for further discernment, and a handful even left their details for follow-up. While in Bismark, Br. Bernard Mary and Sr. Teresa Paul, from the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, made a pilgrimage to the burial site of Servant of God Michelle Duppong, a young local woman and longtime Focus Missionary whose cause for Canonization has been opened by the Diocese of Bismark; while there, they were able to meet Michelle’s parents and spend the day on their farm, joining the family for lunch and hearing the first-hand accounts of her amazing life, her battle with cancer, and the many miracles already attributed to her intercession.