A record of the administrative appointments and personnel changes decreed during a meeting of the Custos Provincial and Assistants held on 15 September 1949, at St. Francis of Assisi in Los Angeles. Signed officially by Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap., Custos Provincial, the roster assigns Capuchin Franciscan friars, fathers, and brothers to specific leadership and supportive roles across fourteen distinct regional sites.
Murtagh, Stephen, 1894-1980, Capuchin priestPhotograph of a group of Capuchin friars on a religious retreat in Bend, Oregon. Manuscript annotation on the reverse of the print reads ‘Retreat, Bend Oregon, 1945, Br. Patrick, Frs Valerian, Venantius (retreat master, American Province), Fr. Vincent and Fr. Urban’.
Copy of the decrees and resolutions of the Custos Provincial (Fr. Stephen Murtagh OFM Cap.) and Consultors. The document lists new appointments for the Capuchin Franciscan Fathers across California and Oregon. The letter lists the leadership teams for several key missions and friaries:
Hermiston, OR (Our Lady of Angels): Fr. Alban (Superior/Pastor) and Fr. Fabian.
Bend, OR (St. Francis of Assisi): Fr. Edmund (Superior/Pastor), Fr. Vincent, and Fr. Victor.
Roseburg, OR (St. Joseph’s): Fr. William (Superior/Pastor), Fr. Bernard, and Fr. Leo.
Ukiah, CA (St. Mary’s): Fr. Adrian (Superior/Pastor), Fr. Valerian, and Fr. Roger.
Burlingame, CA (Our Lady of Angels): Fr. Sylvan (Superior/Pastor), Fr. Anthony, Fr. Isidore, and Fr. Daniel.
Los Angeles, CA (St. Lawrence of Brindisi): Fr. Thomas (Superior/Pastor), Fr. Fergus, and Fr. Leopold.
Solvang, CA (Old Mission Santa Ines): Fr. Urban (Superior/Pastor) and Brother Conrad.
Wilmington, CA (St. Patrick’s Monastery): Fr. Joseph (Vicar), with a significant number of additional friars including Fathers Benignus, Aidan, Conleth, Irenaeus, and Norbert.
Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. with Fr. Fintan Roche OFM Cap. and other individuals at the ruins of the La Purísima Mission in in Lompoc, California.
Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. (left) with Fr. Fintan Roche OFM Cap. at the ruins of the La Purísima Mission in Lompoc, California.
Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. and Fr. Fintan Roche OFM Cap. and other individuals at Mission Santa Inés in California.
Photograph of (left) Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. and Fr. Raphael Quinn OFM Cap.
Photograph of Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. standing at a doorway in Mission Santa Inés in California. Manuscript annotation on the reverse reads ‘Taken, March 1, 1929 / ‘Vincent’.
A photograph of Fr. Vincent Kerwick OFM Cap. at the door of Mission Santa Inés in California. The wave line design on the door represents flowing water in mission iconography.
Letter from Fr. Joseph Fenelon OFM Cap. to Fr. Angelus Healy OFM Cap., Provincial Secretary, Fr. Fenelon expressing his delight at hearing about the progress being made by the Capuchin mission in South Africa. This aligns with the arrival of the first Irish Capuchin friars in Cape Town in 1929 and their expansion into areas like Athlone and Livingstone around 1931. Father Fenelon refers to the request for ‘Mass Intentions’ (stipends for priests to say Mass for specific intentions). He regretfully notes that they are ‘very straitened out and hard pressed’ in the United States at this time, likely due to the economic impact of the Great Depression. He promises to seek other sources to help the brothers in South Africa.