From their earliest days, the Franciscans and the Capuchins have been in the forefront of the Church’s effort to bring the Gospel to the entire world. Thus North American Capuchin-Franciscan friars are presently serving local churches in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Australia, Japan, the Mariana Islands, Hawaii, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Puerto Rico, Zambia, and the Middle East.

The Capuchin presence in the United States was due to the missionary character of the friars who came from various countries to evangelize the New World. As the Capuchin Constitutions state:

"Therefore our order welcomes as its own the commitment to evangelize, which belongs to the whole Church. It values missionary work and undertakes it as one of its principal apostolic tasks, as a contribution to the renewal and building up of the Body of Christ."

Two of our province's brothers currently serve in this manner:

Father PETER MEIS, in Papua New Guinea since 1968

Archbishop STEVE REICHERT, in Papua New Guinea since 1970

To help support the efforts of our three Capuchin missionaries and those from other provinces, contact the Capuchin Mission Office: P.O. Box 11605 | Denver, CO 80211 or (303) 433-0296.