50 years of Franciscan presence in Guatemala
Mount San Francisco, Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Central America and Panama
14 November 2025On 11 November, the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Central America and Panama celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Mount Saint Francis Fraternity — now the seat of the Provincial Curia — in the village of Puerta Parada, Santa Catarina Pinula, Guatemala.
The history of this Franciscan presence dates back to 1974, when the area was just a landscape of farms. Mrs. María Luisa Castillo V. de Monge donated the land to the Franciscan Friars of the Seraphic Province of the Immaculate Conception (USA), in the hope that the Franciscan charism would flourish there. Construction of the Franciscan Novitiate for Central America and Panama began on that site.
According to the chronicles of Fr. Bonicio Morin, OFM, the first friar to arrive at Mount St. Francis: ‘There was nothing here, only cornfields where the chapel of the Retreat House now stands.’ He arrived with 30 novices who, while the novitiate was being built, lived in the Porziuncola, using the small room of that little house as a dining room and study room.
During the celebration, Fr. Cirilo Morisco, OFM, the first superior of the fraternity, and the Provincial Minister of New York, the Most Reverend Fray Juan María Cassese, OFM, were remembered with gratitude.
The Eucharist of thanksgiving for the 50th anniversary was presided by Mons. Luis Enrique Saldaña Guerra, OFM, and concelebrated by Fr. Edgardo Manuel Pérez Tejeira, OFM, together with friars from various regions of the Province. Benefactors and friends joined in this celebration to give thanks to God for these 50 years of Franciscan presence.
Mount San Francisco is an emblematic place for the Province of Central America. It was a novitiate house from 1975 to 2019, forming more than 44 groups of novices. Since 2017, it has been the seat of the Provincial Curia.
Throughout 2025, various activities were held to commemorate the 50th anniversary, culminating in a fraternal meal at the current retreat house, shared with brothers of the Third Order, members of the Mount San Francisco committee, friends and benefactors.
© Photo: Juan Manuel Lopez
