The Franciscan friars of St. Thomas the Apostle, India are members of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan brotherhood), founded in the 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi. As brothers in community we live out the Good News of Jesus Christ in a spirit of obedience, without personal possessions and in chastity. We serve the People of God as Catholic Priests and brothers promoting justice, peace and care of creation.

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News & Updates FRANCISCAN COLORS To speak of the color of the habits worn by Franciscans (men and women inspired by the charism of Francis of Assisi) ... more+ Mumbai Rains: When good samaritans kept city going providing free food and shelter Similarly, Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel at Sion provided water, food, shelter and medicines to about 500 people... more+ Congratulations to Br. Johnson MV One of the main agenda of the FCAO – Ministers meeting was to select the delegates for the Plenary Council of the Order... more+ Plenary Assembly of the Foundation The Plenary Assembly of the Foundation of St. Francis of Assisi, North East India, gathered in St. Clare’s Friary, Salbari... more+ Congratulations Br. Johnson We Congratulate Br. Johnson who has been re-elected as the SAAOC Secretary for Mission and Evangelization and also.. more+ Day 4 – FCAO Meeting This day was a very memorable day. The Conferences kept this day aside for a day of Outing. The Minister Provincial of Indonesia.. more+ Day 3 – FCAO Meeting We began our day little late. We had mass at 7 am followed by breakfast. Friar Gonza (he actually has a very long name and.. more+ Women-Sangaman-2017 Upcoming Women-Sangaman-2017 on 15 July 2017 in Chennai Organized by Nesakkaram, an NGO mananged and run by OFM friars.. more+ Day 2 – FCAO Meeting – Updates By Br. Praveen Henry D’ Souza, the Minister Provincial It's Indonesia and the day begins much earlier here. We had the second day beginning at 6am with Mass and Prayer. Friar Carlos... more+ FCAO Meeting begins in Jakarta, Indonesia We began the day very early on 10th July 2017. Our rising was very early at 4 am to be precise. We went to the friary... more+ Continental Congress For Formators In Jakarta The mass presider was Fr. Shaji Nicolas OFM, Secretary for Formation and Studies of the Province of St. Thomas the Apostle... more+ Mission begins at Kanakankulam in the Diocese of Sultanpet Friars (OFM) of the Province of St. Thomas the Apostle, India take charge of the Parish of Kanakankulam in the Diocese... more+ Provincialate - St. Thomas Fraternity The House of the Provincialate of the Province of St. Thomas the Apostle, India is named as “St. Thomas Fraternity....” more+ Postulancy The Postulancy for the year 2017-2018 commenced on 3rd July 2017. There are 18 Postulants for this year for the Province... more+ Nesakkaram Friars working In Nesakkaram have formally inaugurated A Play School for the Underprivilleged Children. This project... more+ ONE LOVE- Gospel Concert ONE LOVE- Gospel Concert in Tamil and English held on Saturday 10th June 2017, at Sr. Sebastian's Church, Madhavaram... more+ Feast of St. Anthony, Friary, Bengaluru The Three communities in the campus of St. Anthony's Friary came together and celebrated the Feast. The Eucharist... more+ St. Francis of School - Hyderabad The new school building was blessed by Br. Tom MM, Guardian of Shalom Friary. Br. Prasad P, Br. Prasanna and Br. Bhaskar... more+ The Feast of St. Anthony, North Guwahati The Feast of St. Anthony was celebrated with great festivities in North Guwahati. The Antonians of S. Anthony's Schhol... more+ Feast of St. Anthony The Annual Feast of St. Anthony commenced with the Flag Hoisting on 9th June 2017. The Novena has begun and the Feast... more+ Reconsidering the Habit The distinctive external symbol of Franciscans friars is the iconic brown habit – the tunic, hood and white cord with... more+ World Environment Dayin Chundel After the long unbearable, dry summer days the youth of St. Jude' s Parish in Chundel is determined to go green... more+ Renewal of Vows Brothers in Basic Formation renewed their Profession to the Franciscan Way of Life for another Year on 30th May 2017... more+ THE CONCLUSION OF THE GENERALISSIMO CHAPTER The Bull Ite vos of Pope Leo X, May 29, 1517 should have reconciled the differences that were already apparent between the Friars Minor... more+ Entry In The Order of Friars Minor and First Profession in the Order of Friars Minor. The Franciscans in India are once again blessed with Brothers for the Order... more+ Sultanpet Br. Arok Sundar and Br. Peter Saleth Nathan will take charge of the Parish of St. Theresa of Child Jesus, Kanakankalam in the diocese of Sultanpet... more+ SPUTY The Provincial Council for On-Going Formation is organizing a special meeting for all the SPUTY Brothers (who are Solemnly Professed... more+ Holy Land Pilgrimage Br. Praveen Henry D Souza, Br. Joseph Raj, Br. Bryan Carneiro leave for Holy Land on 9th May 2017 and return on 21st May 2017 ... more+ Congratulations We congratulate Br. Alex Martis on his successful completion of Doctorate in Canon Law... more+ Solemn Profession at Ramnagar, Hyderabad. Br. Anthony Mathew Joseph made his solemn profession on 7th May 2017 at 9. 15 AM, St. Francis Assisi Church, Ramnagar, Hyderabad. more+ Solemn Profession at North Guwahati Br. Shanborlang Wartde made his solemn profession on 8th May 2017 at 6.00 PM, St. Anthony's Friary, North Guwahati, Assam. more+ Solemn Profession at Nanasera Br. Ushar Kachhua, Br. Bipin Kishore & Br. Augustine Tirkey made their solemn profession on 7th May 2017 at 8.00 AM, St. Francis Assisi Church,... more+ Solemn Profession Br. Arun ND & Br. Roshan Lobo made thier Solemn Profession in the Order... more+ STATEMENT OF THE FIRST LAY BROTHERS GATHERING IN ASIA 36 lay brothers from six entities of the East Asian Conference gathered... more+ Interview by GIUSEPPE CAFFULLI Fr. Michael A. Perry, Minister General of the Friars Minor was in Lebanon... more+ FRANCISCAN PERSPECTIVE OF GOVERNANCE CAN EXPAND CHURCH LEADERSHIP POOL VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- For St. Francis of Assisi, following Christ meant... more+ ST. FRANCIS’ MESSAGE TO THE SULTAN IN EGYPT ust as St. Francis once left the Portiuncula and went to Egypt to meet... more+ Franciscan superiors ask Pope to allow brothers to be elected leaders The superiors of the four main branches of the Franciscan friars formally ... more+ Children Parliament Kalai Mela – 26/3/2017 Nesakkaram-SEEDS aims at providing opportunities to Street and Slum children for humane growth. In the last 27 years Nesakkaram has reached... more+ Art student priests argue for freedom of expression Among the 33 graduating scholars who displayed their works at a show titled ‘Labyrinth’ at RLV College of Music and Fine Arts... more+ Br. Balraj Madanu is No More With great sadness, we inform you that Fr. Bal Raj OFM has passed away today - Sunday 05. March 2017, after celebrating... more+ soft launch of the new website of the Order of Friars Minor We are thrilled to share with you our newly redesigned website, with a clean new look and simpler navigation experience... more+ Peace and Perseverance Br. Deen Dayal The Province extends its hearty congratulations and wishes you Peace and Perseverance on the important day of your life... more+ Br. Matthias Maier, begins his visit in India 18th February 2017. He was welcomed by Brs. Baptist D' Souza, Joseph Raj, Xavier Durairaj and Michael Anand... more+ The Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue The Order’s Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue gathered at the General Curia... more+ Grateful Felicitation for Fr. Elias ofm Br. Elias ofm, after having served the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India for a period of 5 years as the Executive Secretary ... more+ Welcome to Br. Stephen Jae in Kim Br. Stephen, Jae in Kim arrived in India on 2nd February 2017 for an Exposure Programme in India. He was welcomed by Brs. Michael Anand ... more+ Hearty Welcome to Br. Jesus Aguirre We have Br. Jesus Aguirre visiting us. He is arriving on 19th January 2017 and will be there till 26th evening. He belongs to the Sacred ... more+ Congratulations to Br. Phyrnai Lyngdoh The Province extends to you hearty congratulations on the important day of your life: The Ordination to Priesthood. May God sustain you ... more+ Meeting of the Newly elected Provincials in Rome We had a simple introductory session on the first day (video and photos we can see in the website). The second day we had the introductory ... more+ Welcome to Br. Davis Kallookaran We extend hearty welcome to Br. Davis Kallookaran who will be returning to India on 17th of March 2017. The Provincial Definitory places ... more+ Welcome to Br. Mathias, The President of MZF Br. Matthias Maier, The President of MZF is visiting India. He will be here in India from 18th February 2017 to 10th March 2017... more+ Welcome to Br. Paul O Keefe Br. PauL O Keefe from USA will be visiting India from 2nd to 13th February 2017. He is coming to India in view of bringing a group ... more+ Welcome to Br. Marco Aurelio da Cruz Br. Marco Aurelio da Cruz, the Minister Provincial of Most Holy Name of Jesus, Brazil will be in India from 16-19 January 2017. He is the Minister... more+ The Minister Provincial Greets the President of MZF Br. Praveen Henry D’ Souza, the Minister Provincial arrived in Germany on 5th January 2017. He greeted Br. Matthias Maier, the President... more+ Farewell to Br. Tulio de Oliveira Freitas Br. Tulio returns to Brazil along with his Provincial . He is very thankful to all the brothers in India for their welcome and hospitality... more+ Invitation from the Bishop of Sultanpet Diocese The Latin Catholic Diocese of Sultanpet, Palakkad, Kerala, was erected on 28th December 2013. This new diocese is divided... more+ Farewell to Br. Ben Bolmer Br. Ben Bolmer was in India for nearly three months. He returns to the Netherlands on 20th December 2016 after a memorable... more+ Inauguration of Chapel at Krishnapuram, Gospadu The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Krishnapuram, a substation of Parish of Gospadu will be blessed on 20th December... more+ Manager of Together Br. Christopher has been appointed as the Manager of Together and we wish him all the best in his new responsibility... more+ Vardha strikes Nesavanam Cyclone Vardha has struck Chennai, and wreaked havoc on life and property in various parts of the City disrupting the normal life... more+ Congratulations Br. Francis Kaviyil is appointed as the Guardian, Missionszentrale der Franziskaner, Bonn. We wish him all God’s blessings and guidance... more+ Message on the Occasion of The World Aids Day 2016 By Br. Michael A. Perry, OFM In the diverse presences of the order there are communities that for over 20 years have been working faithfully and devoutly in this field... more+ Guidelines for An Evalution Of Our Life Of Poverty and Minority The document invites us to focus on four areas: being ‘Lesser Ones’; living Gospel Poverty; being poor amongst the poor; and working in a spirit... more+ Hearty Welcome to Br. P. Alexander & Br. Balraj Br. P. Alexander from the Province of Austria will be visiting India along with Br. Balraj. Br. P. Alexander is the Guardian of the Community... more+ Minister Provincial’s Visit to North East Br. Praveen D’ Souza, the Minister Provincial along with Br. Charles Bernard visited the Foundation from 20 to 23 October.. more+ Peace and Perseverance The Provincial Definitory wishes “Peace and Perseverance” to the brothers who renewed their Profession on the Feast.. more+ Bon Voyage Br. Bienvenido Baisas, The Delegate General The entire Province of St. Thomas the Apostle together with the Custody of Mary the Mother of God and the Foundation.. more+ Meeting with the Outgoing Provincial Definitory The incoming and outgoing Provincial Definitory met together at the Provincialate, St. Anthony’s Friary, Bengaluru.. more+ A Day of Animation for the Provincial Definitory The Provincial Definitory participated in a day of animation on 6 October at Shalom Nivas, Carmaelaram, Bengaluru.. more+ Videos Province Province Of St. Thomas The Apostle, India Custody Dependent Custody Of Mary, The Mother Of God, North India Foundation Foundation Of St. Francis Of Assisi, North East India

St. Francis of Assisi Provincial Rev Fr. Praveen FRAIRS B'DAYS (September) Arikiam John 8 / September / 1976 Niranjan Toppo 8 / September / 1993 Salun Kispotta 9 / September / 1995 Athanasius Xaxa 10 / September / 1959 John Sekar 13 / September / 1982 Varghese Sebastian 17 / September / 1947 Mesia Elias Moses M. 19 / September / 1973 Tom John 20 / September / 1961 A.Mathew Joseph 23 / September / 1989 Sagaya Soosairaj 25 / September / 1968 Nicholas D' Souza 28 / September / 1945 Lourdu Augustine 28 / September / 1976 Pradeep Anthony L. 28 / September / 1992 Sushil Beck 29 / September / 1973 Salim Baxla 29 / September / 1974