Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 10 Apr. 1979 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3 pp; typescript
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
A copy of the official decree issued from the Capuchin Curia Generalizia in Rome, formally establishing the new Western American Province. The text details that after reviewing the visitor general’s report from 11 December 1978, the general definitory decreed the elevation of the Vice Province of California to a full province, delaying its official execution until 18 April 1979. It designates the territory across six states (California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, and Nevada) under the patronage of ‘Our Lady of the Angels’. The final page names the first provincial administration of the newly formed province, consisting of several Irish friars: Fr. Enda Heffernan as Minister Provincial, Fr. Evangelist Kelly as Vicar Provincial, alongside Fr. James Cleary, Fr. Gerald Barron, and Fr. Fintan Whelan as definitors.