FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - November 11, 2004
CONTACT: Sarah Lingenfelter, Media Relations (585) 567-9559

FRANCISCAN FRIAR GLEN SUDANO TO SPEAK AT HOUGHTON COLLEGE

HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Father Glen Sudano, a Capuchin Friar of the Renewal (Franciscan), will speak at Houghton College on Monday, Nov. 15 and Wednesday, Nov 17 at 11 a.m. in the Wesley Chapel. An instructional Mass will also be held on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts recital hall.

On his fourth visit to Houghton College, Father Sudano will be accompanied by several postulates, young men in the process of making their commitment to the religious life. Father Sudano is well versed in the topics of social responsibility, social action, spiritual development and discipleship. He speaks frequently on the similarities and differences between Catholicism and traditional evangelical thinking especially pertaining to practical concerns.

Operating several shelters for the homeless in the Bronx, the work of the Friars is to “serve the material needs of the homeless and destitute and the needs of the spiritually homeless through evangelization, always working toward a greater renewal and reform of the church.” The Capuchin Friars are an order dedicated to the return to the life and rule of Saint Francis of Assisi.

Although Saint Francis of Assisi died in 1228, the Capuchins were not established as a religious order until 1528. Three friars in the Franciscan Order founded the Capuchins as a reform movement, trying to restore the ideals of Saint Francis that had gotten lost in the years after his death - to live more simply, serve the poor, and preach the Word of God. In 1856, two diocesan priests from Switzerland - Francis Haas and Bonaventure Frey - admired the Capuchins so much in their homeland that they desired to establish the Capuchin Order elsewhere. Looking for a home that resembled their native Switzerland, Francis and Bonaventure settled in Mt. Calvary, Wis., which became the founding site of the Capuchin Order in the United States.  Today the Capuchin Order has spread to nearly every region of the world and is one of the largest religious orders in existence in the Catholic church.