Archbishop Wester's Directives Regarding Phase 1 Reopening of Churches

Archbishop John C. Wester’s Directives Regarding Phase One Reopening of Churches

Archbishop Wester introduces/reiterates the following concerning public Mass in consideration of the fact that longer exposure increases the danger of transmission of COVID-19:

Sunday homilies should be less than five minutes/daily homilies three minutes.

Use Eucharistic Prayer 2 only for the present.

Greetings/announcement periods should be no more than 30 seconds each.

Simply recite rather than sing the parts of the Mass

The intent is to minimize exposure. These restrictions are even more important in special liturgies which contain added rites such as funerals, confirmation, etc. Also, remember that many people have trouble breathing while masked, and so a shorter Mass aids them in being able to attend.

Please also observe Archbishop’s recommended change in reception of Holy Communion:

Once communicants receive the host in the hand, they proceed outside the church for 10-20 feet prior to lowering the mask and reverently consuming it. This is a recommendation rather than a directive and is up to the pastor’s discretion.

june/july2020

Brother Bart Wolf, OFM (1942-2020)

On December 22, 1942, Fred Wolf and Marie Mausser gave birth to a son, Christened Gerhart Wolf, in present-day Brejize, Slovenia. The Wolf family immigrated to the United States and settled in Kansas City, Missouri in 1950. Gerhart became a U.S. citizen on June 16, 1955, at just 12 years of age. He attended De La Salle Military Academy for high school,

Rest in Peace

and later Donnally Junior College. While in school, he visited the Navajo Reservation on a mission service trip, which led to his call to religious life.

Gerhart entered the Order of the Friars Minor on August 15, 1966, where he was given the religious name Bart, by which he was known the rest of his life. He made first vows on August 16, 1967 and his lifetime commitment to the Franciscans on September 5, 1970. Brother Bart served in many ways and communities including being part of the Brothers Work Crew based at St. Michaels, Arizona and working all over the Navajo Reservation, as well as at St. Joseph Mission in Laguna Pueblo, NM, and developing the Franciscan Studio for custom woodworking in Pena Blanca, NM before moving it to Albuquerque.

When Brother Bart was transferred from his ministry in the Pueblo of Laguna, he was presented with a handcrafted bow and arrow by parishioners there with a note that read, “We would like to present you with this bow and arrow as a thanks for choosing your calling to be God’s helper and walking side by side with us to lead our people to do God’s will.” Brother Bart also worked to build God’s kingdom by guiding men entering Franciscan formation in the novitiate programs of both St. John the Baptist in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Our Lady of Guadalupe Provinces here in the Southwest.

For 25 years, Brother Bart literally “built” the kingdom of God through skillful woodworking. In his Franciscan Studio he created fine and beautiful liturgical furnishings for churches and chapels. Over thirty of his commissioned pieces can be seen in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Utah, Indiana, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In New Mexico, Brother Bart’s beautifully crafted pieces grace these churches: Our Lady of Fatima, Prince of Peace Catholic Church, and Mesa View United Methodist Church (Albuquerque), San Albino Church (Las Cruces), St. Francis Basilica and Sangre de Cristo Center (Santa Fe), St. Peter Catholic Church (Roswell), Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church (Truth or Consequences), Santa Rosa de Lima Church (Santa Rosa), San Jose Chapel (Laguna Pueblo), Christ in the Desert Monastery (Abiquiu), San Diego Church (Tesuque Pueblo), St. Anthony Mission Church (Zuni) and Our Lady of Guadalupe Church (Pojoaque). Brother Bart’s legacy in wood will last a long time here on earth and a friend shared that, “He is probably building churches and furnishing them in heaven.”

Brother Bart died on Thursday, May 14, 2020. He succumbed to COVID-19, after dealing for the past four years with Parkinson’s Disease and a recent stroke. He will be missed and mourned by the friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, his brother Fred (Jeanine) Wolf, and numerous nieces and nephews. He is proceeded in death by his parents and his sister Lottie Wolf Halcomb.