Since 1943, Franciscans from the Midwest of the United States have been serving in seven civil districts of the state of Pará in the Amazon-Tapajos Valley of Brazil. The area reveals a wide range of development, (including the cities of Belém with its population of approximately one million people, Santarém [population approximately 300,000] and Itaituba at the gateway to one of the major gold-mining areas of Northern Brazil). In this are, there are also medium sized towns and villages, small rural communities and undeveloped jungle. At one extreme of the area is the Jari Project, begun by Daniel L. Ludwig, and at the other, the tribal lands of the indigenous Mundurucu people.

The Franciscan missionaries are committed to work with the people in both evangelization and development. The Pastoral planning is guided by the Brazilian conference of Bishops. Programs are tied into the conceptual model of the Basic Christian Community (C.E.B.). A concerted effort is made to cultivate local leadership with the direction and administraton of projects entrusted to the laity of the area.

In the past, the Franciscans, with the support of the Franciscan Missionary Union, have initiated the following types of projects:

A well-digging company for the rural communities adjacent to Santarém; A hammock factory in the City of Santarém; Co-operative stores; Credit Unions; Construction projects (churches, community centers, educational complexes, clinic/dispensaries) ESPERANCA with its programs of immunization, preventative medicine, traveling teams of surgeons, intern center for the State University of Pará

Barefoot doctor program to bring basic health care to the outlying communities; A Maternity Hospital in Santarém with its programs for training midwives to serve in the interior as well as to provide pre-and post-natal care; Radio education Amazon; Support of the Union of Rural Workers; Our support of these projects through our accociation and close friendship with the local leaders involved, and by grants of funds at times.

In March of 1990, this former mission territory of the Sacred Heart Province was officially established as the autonomous Brazilian entity of the Vice Province of São Benedito da Amazônia. Although governmentally independent, the Vice-Province remains economically tied to the Franciscan Missionary Union and to the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart.

In 1976, the Franciscan Province of the Sacred Heart entered a contractual relationship with the Franciscan Province of St. Joseph in Belgium, to provide pastoral care for a number of mission stations in the Diocese of Kolwezi in the Shaba Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). Since that time, the Franciscan Order in Congo has undergone a process of reorganization so that it might truly become inculturated in the country. In 1985, the former mission territories of the Province of the Sacred Heart and the Province of St. Joseph were re-organized into the Vice-Province of St. Benoît l'Africain. This Vice-Province now covers the entire country of Congo and is becoming more and more a Congolese entity.

As a result of this re-organization, the pastoral programs and development endeavors are determined more and more on the local level. A special priority is the training and formation of indigenous Franciscans and clergy. In development programs, the Franciscans will work with local religious and civil authorities. We hope to continue the initial collaboration with other missionaries and local Christian churches.

Development projects include: Continued support of local hospitals and health care programs; A new medical care project for outlying areas; Training programs for agriculture and nutrition; Co-operative stores; Provision of energy sources.

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Other Areas of Missionary Activity

In addition to the two Franciscan Vice-Provinces in which Friars of the Sacred Heart Province minister, we have friars ministering in the following areas:

four friars (2 priests and 2 brothers) work among the Athapaskan and Inuit Native American people in this remote, northern missionary diocese. (Fr. Joe Hemmer, pastor at Kaltag and Ruby, Alaska, pictured at left.)

Currently, two friars are present in the People's Republic, at the invitation of the Chinese government, as teachers in two of this country's institutions of higher learning. Although religious proselytization, and male religious life is forbidden by the Communist regime, our friars evangelize by their presence and lend support to those Chinese people who continue to practice their Faith in spite of renewed harassment and sporadic persecution.

In addition, the Franciscan Missionary Union and the Province of the Sacred Heart have joined with Quincy University (Quincy,Illinois) in sponsorship of Chinese Franciscan students. Our hope is that by exposing these young friars to a contemporary expression of Franciscan life, we will have a hand in shaping the future of Franciscan life in China, where the Franciscans have been present since the 14th century. Another goal of this sponsorship is to provide a deeper formation in Franciscan life and spirituality than is available to them in China.

Jim Edmiston arrived in Novosibirsk on September 26, 2001, to live and work with Franciscan Friars from other countries in this Western Siberian city of 1.5 million people.

Fr. Jim works in the parish and parish school and has some contact with people at the local University. His ability with the Russian language is coming along well since he had spent about 5 summers working in Poland and studying their language. There are similarities in the slavic languages that carry over. Jim is also versed in German, so, he is getting along very well with his communication skills.

When Communism collapsed and religious freedom returned to those countries that were formerly a part of the Soviet Union, the Order was presented with a new opportunity. In view of the manifold religious and human needs of the people, there was a call to offer pastoral care to existiing Catholic communities. Franciscanism was present in parts of this vast region for centuries. For these reasons the appeal was communicated to the friars around the world and Fr. Jim was sent to offer his services to the people of Russia.

In the Fall of 1998, the Province of the Sacred Heart released one of the friar-priests to serve with the French Custody of the Holy Martyrs of Marrakech. The purpose of this entity of the Franciscan Order is to provide a Franciscan presence in this, the first mission of the Franciscan Order (established 1220). The friars minister to the very small Catholic population in the country (mostly diplomatic personnel) and try to maintain an active and constructive dialogue with Islam, seeking to find those areas where our two great religions coincide thus fostering a deep and lasting mutual respect. An additional goal of this dialogue is to seek areas of collaboration in meeting the needs of all people in this country, building up God's kingdom here on earth.

In addition to the "traditional" style of mission, The Franciscan Missionary Union is also heeding the challenge presented to us by the Holy Spirit, Who is raising up in the laity a desire to serve, directly, in mission. We currently sponsor a lay missioner who is working in the war-torn country of Bosnia-Hercegovina, and give thanks for this opportunity to empower the laity in this most needed endeavor. This lay-missioner's presence among our friar-missionaries reminds us that the "call to mission" is directed to the entire Church, and not just to religious communities. This is a rather "new" concept for us, and one which contains its own challenges and rewards. The training of the laity for mission is entrusted to the Franciscan Mission Service in Washington. D.C., a project initiated by the Franciscan Mission Promoters of the United States to respond to the increasing desire of the laity to join us in mission.

The Franciscan Missionary Union, through its Board of Directors, also seeks to assist in the missionary endeavors(both domestic and foreign) of other members of the greater Franciscan Family through the granting of funds for projects that are in line with our aims and purposes. In this way, we hope we are not only assisting our Brother and Sister Franciscans, but also helping people in need who may have no other means of assistance.

Over the years the "model" of mission has changed considerably, and we have seen the numbers of Franciscan Friars and other missionary groups decline dramatically. Nonetheless that which motivates people to mission continues to cry out. The love of the Lord Jesus, and the desire to spread His message of God's love and mercy impels us to the service of others.

Realizing that the Holy Spirit will continue to raise up from among us friars with the desire to "go out" from the security of their native lands, the Franciscan Missionary Union and the Province of the Sacred Heart continues to release men for mission, even though our own needs in the United States are great.

We continue, also, to invite others to join us as "Partners" in our project of Making Christ Known To All! Through their financial assistance, our Partners help us to provide materially, for our missionary friars and the people they serve. Even more importantly, they assist us through their prayerful support, thus becoming MISSIONARIES in a very real sense of the term. Together with our Partners, and the grace of our Loving God, we will continue to carry the Good News to the poor, the marginalized and those who need to hear it, thus achieving our goal, as is stated in our motto: