The Capuchins are a branch of the first Franciscan Order and reform of the Observants of the Marches, instituted in 1525 by Father Matteo da Bassi. Those who joined him broke away from the Franciscans and began a reform movement which stressed the priority of contemplative prayer, more rigorous austerity, and ministering to the poor. Aiming at a more perfect return to the primitive observance of the Rule of Saint Francis, in resistance to the secularizing tendency which accepted certain relaxations, Father Matteo sought and obtained from Pope Clement VII permission for strict adherence to the traditional rule of poverty, wearing the original Franciscan habit, and preaching the Word of God.
In 1526, by Papal Brief, Father Matteo and two companions were exempted from the community life of the Observants, being permitted to live in hermitages. In 1528, the Capuchins were founded, they were released from the jurisdiction of their superiors, being constituted a distinct and separate family. The first chapter was held at Albacina in 1529, and drew up the new constitutions. The combination of the eremitical life and active ministry was the informing ideal, the former to be accomplished through small communities in secluded situations. The reform then counted 18 friars and four “hermitages.” So rapidly did it grow, admitting the Observants in great numbers, that two Briefs issued by Pope Paul III (1534, 1535) forbade the further reception of Observants before their next general chapter, and in 1537 they were forbidden to establish houses outside Italy; but in 1574 this was revoked by Pope Gregory XIII who accorded them the right to extend their provinces. In 1619 they were made independent of the Conventuals, having the power to elect their own minister-general. Notwithstanding the modifications which became necessary as the order increased in numbers, the Capuchins strove to maintain the simplicity and detachment which characterized them as true sons of Saint Francis. Their constitutions were approved by Pope Urban VIII in 1638; reviewed, modified, and approved anew by Pope Saint Pius X in 1909.
The Capuchin reform was most influential in the Church in the 16th and 17th centuries when their works of charity in times of pestilence and need undoubtedly contributed to the success of their home and foreign missions.
In the census of 1900, over 400,000 Italians were listed as living in New York. These new immigrants were in great need of spiritual care. In 1912, a petition was made to the General Minister of the Capuchin Franciscans, for Italian speaking priests. He referred the request to the Provincial of the Tuscan Province. The Provincial selected Fr. Raymond Tonini and Fr. Michael Gori. Before leaving for the United States, they stopped in Rome to have a private audience with Pope Pius X. He gave them his blessing and told them, “Be true Apostles of Jesus Christ…Seek souls and not money, for this will come in by itself, because we must confide not so much in human shrewdness, but in the assistance of Divine providence,”
In 1918, the Italian Capuchins were given Our Lady of Pompei Church in Paterson, NJ. This was the first step in establishing the Italian Capuchins in the United States. When two more friars were sent from Italy to assist Fr. Raymond and Fr. Michael, they felt it was time to return to NY to assist the Italian immigrants. In 1920, the Archbishop of NY asked them to take charge of Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx.
As more friars were being sent from Italy, the friars began to expand in NJ. They now had enough friars to become a Commissariat. In 1922, Fr. Raymond was elected by the friars to be the first Commissary Provincial. Little by little as numbers grew, they also began to receive American vocations. In 1934, the first American seminarians were ordained. This was a source of great joy and hope. In 1937, the Capuchin Order recognized the growth of the Commissariat, and changed the stature from Commissariat to Custody. Fr. Accursio Rasi was named Custos.
In 1944, the Custos, Fr. Felix received a letter from the General Minister, to provide Italian friars who are also able to speak English for the mission in Australia. There were about 80,000 Italians there, many working as sugarcane and tobacco farmers. Four friars volunteered for the mission.
In 1961, The Custody was raised to the stature of a Provincial Commissariat by the General Minister of the Order. The Province was given the territory of New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia. Then in 1965, the General Minister extended the area of the Province to include North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. In the 1960s some of the Italians began to move to the suburbs and were being replaced by Spanish speaking immigrants. In 1969, St. Francis Church in Hackensack began to celebrate a weekly Mass in Spanish. Immaculate Conception Church in the Bronx began their Spanish Mass in 1976.
In 1973, it was sixty years since Frs. Raymond and Michael had left Italy and arrived in the United States. The General of the Order had given the permission for the Provincial Commissariat to become a Province, The Province of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis.
In Wilmington, DE, Br. Ronald Giannone began the Ministry of Caring in 1977. An emergency shelter for homeless women was first opened. Next came a dining room for the hungry. A second dining room was followed by a transitional residence for single women and a job placement center. Today, the Ministry of Caring consists of a network of 19 programs that form a continuum of care for the poor and homeless throughout the city.
In the 1990's, The Province began to move South into North Carolina. Taking on these new parishes was a challenge, but it helped extend the reach of the province further into the territory it was given in 1965.
2013 marked the 100-year anniversary of the arrival of Fr. Raymond and Fr. Michael to the United States. We give God thanks for all the many blessings and graces of the past and we look forward in hope to the future. Inspired by the missionary spirit of our founding fathers and the powerful words of St. Pope Pius X, the Province is moving forward to expand our Capuchin Franciscan presence to the southern portion of our territory. St. Pio Friary was established in the Archdiocese of Miami in February 2019. Our Lady of the Angels Friary was established in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in July 2020. Responding to the needs of the Church, these new fraternities will not be associated with staffing a parish, but will be focused on living the Capuchin Franciscan Charism of prayer, living a simple life as brothers, and ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of the people, particularly the poor and marginalized.
We entrust the beginning of this new era of our Province to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Strengthened by her prayers, may we continue to faithfully follow her Son, Jesus Christ, walking in the footsteps of our Seraphic Father St. Francis.
Our Lady, Queen of the Friars Minor Capuchin, pray for us!