St. Francis of Assisi

Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness joy.

Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

For it is giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Our Missionaries

The Franciscans have 5,400 missionaries and 800 missions throughout the world. They serve the poor in every continent, following in the steps of St. Francis, with a special ministry to people with leprosy, many of whom are children.

In Need of Prayer

Queen Elizabeth II has awarded three people from Aitape, Papua New Guinea high honors. Bishop Austen Crapp, OFM, with Commander of the Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.), Archbishop Sir Brian Barnes, OFM with Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (G.C.M.G.) and Mr. Robert Parer with Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (K.B.E.) All served with distinction in the 1998 tsunami which destroyed five villages and killed 2200 people.