Kitchen

Prayer of Thanksgiving

I kneel before Your holy image,
O most gracious Infant Jesus,
to offer You my fervent thanks
for the blessings You have
bestowed on me. I shall incessantly
praise Your ineffable mercy and
confess that You alone are my God,
my helper and my protector.
Henceforth my entire confidence shall
be placed in You! Everywhere
I will proclaim aloud Your mercy
and generosity, so that Your great
love and the great deeds which
You perform through this miraculous
image may be acknowledged by all.
May devotion to Your holy infancy
increase more and more in the
hearts of all Christians, and may all
who experience Your assistance
persevere with me in showing unceasing gratitude to Your holy infancy,
to which be praise and glory forever. Amen.

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.