Nearly two hundred Secular Franciscans from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee gathered at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina, September 11-13, 2026, for the Annual Regional Gathering of the Brothers and Sisters of Saint Francis Region. The theme was “Into New Life: Celebrating the Easter of St. Francis.”
The weekend took its shape from the Transitus, the passing of St. Francis, and from the question the keynotes kept returning to: what the Franciscan tradition has to say about loss, caregiving, and being present to one another. The recordings below are shared so that members who could not travel, and fraternities who want to use them in ongoing formation, can sit with the same material.
Keynotes and homilies
Keynote I – Friday evening
Darleen Pryds, PhD – “The Franciscan Path to Resurrection: Living with Loss and Cultivating Authentic Spirituality.” Opens with the welcome and announcements from Regional Minister Ellen Ferrone, OFS, and the introduction by Lynn Oeser, OFS. The keynote closes with the prayer of Fr. Mychal Judge, on the anniversary of September 11.
Keynote II – Saturday morning
Darleen Pryds, PhD – Telling Jacopa’s Story: a personal account of caregiving and care-receiving. On storytelling in the Franciscan tradition, and on Jacopa dei Settesoli – benefactor, friend, and the woman at Francis’ deathbed. It ends with the question that opened the breakout groups: who do you want to be with you as you are dying?
Keynote III – Saturday afternoon
Darleen Pryds, PhD – Involuntary Loss and the Franciscan Path. Elizabeth of Hungary, Peter the Combmaker, Margaret of Cortona and Angela of Foligno: lay Franciscans who met loss with radical hospitality. Her closing remarks to the assembly are included at the end.
Homily at the Saturday Eucharist
Fr. Bill Robinson, OFM Conv., preaching at the Saturday Celebration of the Eucharist, at which a new Spiritual Assistant was commissioned.
Homily at the closing Eucharist
Fr. Bob Menard, OFM, Friar in Residence at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, preaching at the Sunday Mass that closed the gathering, opened by the procession of the fraternity banners.
Presenters and presiders
Darleen Pryds, PhD – keynote speaker. A scholar of lay Franciscan spirituality and long-time teacher at the Franciscan School of Theology, where she moved from full-time to part-time teaching in June 2026. She works through teaching, research, retreats and pilgrimages.
Ellen Ferrone, OFS – Regional Minister of the Brothers and Sisters of Saint Francis Region, which gathers some 26 fraternities across five states. She opened the gathering on Friday evening.
Fr. Bill Robinson, OFM Conv. – honored guest; principal celebrant and homilist at the Saturday Eucharist, at which a new Spiritual Assistant was commissioned.
Fr. Bob Menard, OFM – Friar in Residence at St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, with pastoral ministry across the East Coast in parish, university, urban and seminary settings. He preached at the closing Mass and led the Spiritual Assistants’ small group.
How the three days ran
Friday, September 11
- 5:00 pm – Welcome and Evening Prayer, led by St. Francis of the Hills, Hendersonville
- 6:45 pm – Introductions, Ellen Ferrone, OFS
- 7:00 pm – Keynote, Darleen Pryds, PhD
- 7:45 pm – 9/11 Memorial
- 8:35 pm – Choir practice for cantors and musicians
Saturday, September 12
- 8:30 am – Franciscan Crown Rosary and Morning Prayer, Our Lady of Blessed Sacrament Fraternity
- 9:00 am – Celebration of the Eucharist; commissioning of a new Spiritual Assistant; procession to the Eucharistic Chapel
- 10:45 am – Keynote and introduction to the breakout session
- 1:15 pm – “Singing is Praying Twice” sing-along; gleaning bags for the Society of St. Andrew
- 2:30 pm – Keynote with breakout sessions
- 4:00 pm – Small group meetings: Formation, JPIC, Multicultural, Spiritual Assistants
- 7:00 pm – Office for the Dead, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Fraternity, Augusta
- 7:30 pm – Recognitions and the Renewal of Commitment for all professed
- 8:00 pm – Closing prayer and meditation, John Edgar, OFS
Sunday, September 13
- 8:15 am – Stations of the Cross, BSSF Spiritual Assistants
- 9:15 am – Celebration of the Eucharist, opened by the procession of the fraternity banners
- 11:00 am – Closing prayer, closing comments, adjournment
Padre Pio Fraternity 