Local Franciscans add new fraternity
Recent expansion adds diversity to lay Church order

By Andrew Junker, The Catholic Sun
December 7, 2006

SCOTTSDALE — The Franciscan family in the Diocese of Phoenix just got a little bigger and lot more diverse.

Nine men and women professed the solemn vows to be secular Franciscans with another seven entering the inquiry phase Nov. 12 at St. Daniel the Prophet Parish in Scottsdale.

All of them are Korean, many having just recently immigrated to the United States.

“It is very important that Phoenix now has lay Franciscans who not only belong to the large Church family, but also to the large world culture,” said Rosemarie LeClercq, a secular Franciscan who attended the ceremony.

She said the new fraternity, which is called the St. Daegun Kim Fraternity, will witness to the diversity of the universal Church.

“When we come together as family, we show the world that there is a way to live in peace and share the differences of our cultures,” she said.

The Korean community is an offshoot of the larger Peace Fraternity, which meets at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Scottsdale.

Michael Reidy is the elected minister of that community and has led the Koreans in their formation the last three years.

He said secular Franciscans exist to live the radical Gospel message in the everyday world. They gather regularly for prayer and reflection, but also to plan “commissions,” or service projects.

“Our first ministry is to the Church and what it means to live in a secular world,” he said. “We try to live as closely and as simply a Gospel life as possible.”

He thought St. Francis would be proud to see the growing diversity within his order, noting that the charism and teachings of that famous saint attract more than just “western Europeans” to the lifestyle.

The secular Franciscans as a whole have been trying to foster diversity in their ranks, Reidy went on, noting that the St. Daegun Kim Fraternity allowed for the “first multi-cultural committee involvement in the region.”

Though the ceremony was held almost entirely in Korean, LeClercq said a unity with the English speaking Franciscans shone through.

“It was a family event, much like first Communion or confirmation,” she said. “I was made to feel welcome and many expressed their appreciation that we had come to witness this event.”

During the ceremony, the candidates for admission into the fraternity knelt before Reidy and made a solemn promise to live “the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Secular Franciscan Order by observing its rule of life.”

Reidy said at the event that the “local fraternity is a visible sign of the Church, a community of faith and love.” The new members will help form others who wish to join the Franciscans as well as participating in service projects.

Michael Kim, a leader for the St. Daegun Kim fraternity, said the group will assist expatriates from North Korea by sending its members as missionaries to Korean enclaves in China.

He said the new members’ professions came after years of preparation and held a special meaning for those involved.

“The candidates were so moved and had tears in their eyes while reading the profession clauses,” he said. “I saw them becoming one.”

After their profession, the group hosted a dinner at a local Korean barbecue restaurant.

“The Korean community had worked hard to achieve this day,” LeClercq said. “The are ready to express their Franciscan lifestyle to the world.”