Sr. Thea Bowman School: Friar Thomas Eaton, OFM

Sr. Thea Bowman Catholic School is the only Catholic grade school in East St. Louis, IL.  My brother, Br. Tom Eaton, teaches religion and computer skills to some of the classes.  He is looking for used but still usable digital cameras.  If you have a digital camera that is just sitting in a drawer some place, please consider sending it to me (contact information below), and I will see that it gets to the school.

Also, just before school opened in August, someone shot out many of the school windows.  To date, they have not been able to raise the necessary funds to replace those windows.  The current phase of the replacement project is estimated to cost $100K.  If you would like more information about how you can help, please contact the school at 8213 Church Ln, East St Louis, IL 62203; (618) 397-0316.

Franciscans in Africa: Friar Jesús Aguirre-Garza

We have received word that Friar Jesús Aguirre-Garza has been named as General Visitator for the province of St. Benedict the African in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Fr. Jesús has previously worked in DRC and so is familiar with the friars and some of the issues they face.

The job of the General Visitator is to visit the friars and friaries of a province as they prepare for the provincial chapter (i.e., general gathering of the friars).  Once the visits are completed, the Visitator shares his observations with and makes recommendations to the friars of the province.  It is a demanding job, and is an assignment that shows high regard for the capabilities of Fr. Jesús.