On February 17, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., ten young men were vested in the habit of the Order during a ceremony that marked the opening of the 2026 novitiate year. The novitiate is operated by the Union of Conventual Friars of Brazil (UCOB – União dos Conventuais do Brasil) and the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC). The vesting ceremony took place at the Santo Antônio de Pádua Friary in Cascavel, Brazil.
The Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Francis of Assisi in Brazil delegated Friar Antônio Felipe de Oliveira ZAGO, a formator of the postulancy program and the Coordinator of the Formation Commission, to preside over the Mass. The event was a significant moment in the life of the Order. Others present included friars and lay persons.
The men admitted to the novitiate came from different Jurisdictions: Friar Victor de Almeida BARBOSA came from the Province of St. Francis in Brazil (São Paulo); Friar João Mateus Rodrigues CAROLA came from the Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro); Friars Arthur Souza de OLIVEIRA, Vanderson da Costa Souza, and Teófilo Victor Pessoa BONFIM came from the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Brazil (Brasília); Friar Yoel Daniel BAJINAY came from the “Rioplatense” Province of St. Anthony of Padua in Argentina-Uruguay; Friars Luis Mario LOPEZ OLLISCO, Ivan Noé CABALLERO, and Juan Pedro TORREZ MONTAÑO came from the Provincial Custody of St. Francis in Bolivia; and Friar Alex Hedil ORTÍZ RODAS came from the Delegation in Paraguay.
During the ceremony, Friar Ramon RUI UREÑA, of the Provincial Custody of Our Lady of Coromoto in Venezuela, who had been serving as the Assistant Novice Master, assumed the role of Novice Master, succeeding Friar André Luiz Ferreira MACHADO.
We entrust these young men and their journey to the Lord, asking for His guidance and blessing throughout the novitiate year, that it may be fruitful and rich in grace.
Province of St. Francis in Brazil
