The Friars
Brothers in prayer, fraternity, and faithful service.
Senior Friars
September 2026
You have two veteran Capuchin missionaries praying for you! Fr. Cyril Repko and Fr. Lester Knoll are in chapel four times a day, and part of their prayers are in thanksgiving for you and for your special needs and intentions. Both friars have spent their lives serving God’s people. Fr. Cyril left for the missions in Papua New Guinea shortly after his ordination in 1962. He remained there until retiring just a few years ago—more than 60 years as a missionary in one of the most remote and poor countries in the world. He loved parish work, although parish work in Papua New Guinea was quite different from here in the States. Just getting to the main parish could be an accomplishment, and then there were dozens of outstations to visit. When Fr. Cyril first arrived, many people had never even seen a wheel! Geography and hundreds of different languages kept villages and tribes isolated not only from the outside world, but often from one another. The missions were changing that. People who had lived only a few miles apart sometimes met one another for the first time when they came together for Holy Mass. Eventually, Fr. Cyril’s brother missionaries chose him to be their superior. He left the parish work he loved to oversee the missions and help them continue to grow and flourish. Fr. Lester also served as a foreign missionary and especially loved training catechists—lay men and women who knew and loved the Catholic faith and could share it with their neighbors. But his service began long before that. Here in the United States, Fr. Lester served as a vocation director, welcoming young men to the capuchin way of life, and later as rector of our high school seminary in Pennsylvania. After returning from the missions, he discerned yet another calling: a more intense life of prayer. With several other friars, he established the Capuchin Hermitage House of Prayer. Today, Fr. Cyril and Fr. Lester are retired. But Capuchin friars never really retire from serving God and His people. These days, their ministry is prayer. And you are part of that ministry. They pray for you because your kindness helps make the work and life of our Capuchin friars possible. Now I am asking you to help us care for them. Your gift today will help provide for our senior friars and the everyday needs that come with caring for men who have given their lives in service to God’s people. They spent their lives giving. Now it is our turn to give something back. Please send whatever gift you can today. Fr. Cyril and Fr. Lester, and all the Capuchin friars pray for you everyday with hearts full of gratitude for your love and concern. We Capuchin friars rely on you. St. Francis of Assisi, our founder and inspiration, taught us to rely on God’s Providence in your wonderful support. We know that the Lord provides in the care you show us. The only thing we have to give in return for your goodness are our prayers for you and your intentions. May God bless you for your kindness and generosity.
Formation
July 2026
Thanks be to God, we have three more Capuchin priests! On a beautiful June morning, our Capuchin family rejoiced as Fr. Stephen Cantwell, Fr. Luke Kim and Fr. Ryan Schmeltzer were ordained to the priesthood. Family members, friends and brother friars filled the church with grateful hearts, thanking God for these three men who have answered His call to serve His people. For these newly ordained priests, the day was the culmination of many years of prayer, study, sacrifice and formation. But it was also a day made possible through the faithful generosity of friends like you. Today, Fr. Stephen is serving at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington, D.C., where his knowledge of Spanish allows him to minister to a diverse parish community. Fr. Luke has returned to St. John the Evangelist Parish in Philadelphia, PA, where he serves the people he first came to know as a deacon. Fr. Ryan is now ministering at Our Lady of the Mountains Parish in Cumberland, MD, bringing Christ’s love to the faithful there. Each day these young priests celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They hear confessions, baptize infants, comfort grieving families, visit the sick, prepare couples for marriage and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every one of these sacred moments is possible because generous benefactors invested in their education and formation. Your kindness helped prepare these three priests. Now I ask you to help prepare those who will follow them. Although we rejoice in these recent ordinations, there are other young Capuchin friars now walking the same path. They are studying philosophy and theology, deepening their spiritual lives and preparing themselves to serve Christ and His Church with humility and fidelity. The journey to the priesthood takes many years. Tuition, books, room and board, healthcare, pastoral training and spiritual formation represent one of the largest and most important commitments our Province makes each year. We want every young man whom God calls to receive the finest education and formation possible, but we cannot do it alone. That is why I am asking for your help today. Would you prayerfully consider making a generous gift to support the education and formation of our Capuchin seminarians? Your generosity is far more than financial assistance. It is an investment in the future of the Church. Long after your gift is made, it will continue to bear fruit in every Mass celebrated, every Confession heard, every child baptized, every family comforted and every soul led closer to Christ by a Capuchin priest. Years from now, another young friar will kneel before the altar to be ordained. He will begin a lifetime of preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments. When that day comes, you can know that your generosity helped make his priesthood possible. Thank you for your faithful friendship, your prayers and your generous support of our Capuchin ministries. Together, we are helping prepare the priests who will serve God’s people for generations to come.
