Secular Franciscan Order, Lady Poverty Region at 1111 Freyburg Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15203-1211 US - Home
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LADY POVERTY REGION
The Lady Poverty Region was established as Region #68 of the National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order-USA on October 23rd, 1994. One of the National Fraternity’s 30 active regions, Lady Poverty Region serves the geographic area north as far as Waterford, PA, south as far as Charleston, WV, west as far as Steubenville, OH, and east as far as Altoona, PA. As of December 31, 2010, Lady Poverty Region has 25 Active Fraternities, one Emerging Fraternities, and one Reactivating Fraternity in the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, and Maryland. Lady Poverty region has fraternities in seven dioceses and is bonded to six Franciscan Provinces. At the end of 2010 the region had 391 Active Professed Secular Franciscans, including 23“Excused” members, with 34 Candidates and 42 Inquirers.
Lady Poverty usually holds its annual business meeting the third weekend in May In 2010, the Chapter of Elections for Regional Executive Council was held with Dennis Ross, SFO, National Treasurer, presiding and Fr. Christopher Panagoplos, TOR serving as ecclesiastical witness. In 2012, the region will have their tri-annual fraternal and pastoral visitations. Fr. Lester Bach, OFM Cap, National Spiritual Assistant is scheduled to do our pastoral visitation.
Every three years, the region sponsors a retreat open to all regional Secular Franciscans. The last tri-annual regional retreat was held at Paul VI Pastoral Center in Wheeling, WV, Friday evening September 25 through Sunday September 27, 2009. Because the Quinquennial will be held in Chicago in 2012, there will not be a regular triennial regional retreat until 2013. In September 2011, the region will be sponsoring a “SALT Experience” at St. Paul of the Cross Retreat Center on Pittsburgh’s South Side.
Each local fraternity is assigned a member of the Regional Executive Council as their liaison to address problems, answer questions, and assist in scheduling elections and visitations. The Council/ Fraternity assignments are listed in the directory
The region distributes its quarterly newsletter, La Pobrecita, to each local fraternity that is to be made available by the minister to every fraternity member. The Region has its own website. You can access it at www.ladypovertyregion.org or at www.ladypovertyregion.catholicweb.com/
MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS
Approved by Regional Fraternity on May 17, 2008
MISSION STATEMENT OF THE LADY POVERTY REGION:
The Lady Poverty Region of the Secular Franciscan Order supports, encourages, and guides the fraternal and evangelical life of the fraternities within it.
VISION STATEMENT OF THE LADY POVERTY REGION:
Through Scripture, Tradition, Prayer, and Liturgy, Lady Poverty Region cultivates the integration of the human, Christian, and Franciscan identity of her Franciscan family and promotes Apostolic action by encouraging and supporting their efforts for justice, peacemaking and care of creation in the world and the Church.