Solemnity of All Saints
150th Anniversary of the Presence of the Capuchins in Mountain Maryland
Installation of Pastor, Fr. Stephen Fernandes, OFM Cap, Our Lady of the Mountains
Shrine of Sts. Peter and Paul, Cumberland
November 1, 2025
What the Capuchins Brought with Them to Maryland
In 1875, when the Capuchin Friars, Fr. Anthony Schuermann & Fr. Francis Wolff came from Germany to Sts. Peter and Paul Monastery in Cumberland, what did they bring with them? Did they bring a limitless supply of money and supplies? Did they have in their possession priceless vestments, chalices, and ciboria?
No, none of that. Their possessions were few. What they did bring was a rich legacy of holiness that began with St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare of Assisi. In that rich legacy were some yet to be canonized and yet to be beatified. Nonetheless, their virtues and reputations for holiness accompanied those pioneering Capuchins who came to Cumberland—saints and blesseds such as St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, St. Bernard of Corleone, St. Lawrence of Brindisi, St. Conrad of Parzham, to name a few. Today, the number of Capuchin saints & blessed has swelled to more than 115. This led Pope St. John Paul II to comment (and I quote): “They say you Capuchins are very poor but you are actually very rich. You have saints!” … And, my friends, their wealth continues to grow.
Investing the Wealth
As the Capuchin Province of St. Augustine was established and its friars began to minister in Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and far beyond – what did the Capuchins do with all this wealth? – They invested it! They invested their wealth in you, the People of God, as they served in parishes, classrooms, prisons, soup kitchens, and hospitals. They invested the wealth of their total consecration to God in you; they invested the richness of their Franciscan charism in you; they invested their harvest of holiness – in you, the People of God.
Wherever they went, including Mountain Maryland, they reached out to God’s People in every walk of life—mostly hardworking families, many of them immigrant families, trying to make a go of it in a country that was rapidly industrializing – in steel mills, mines, factories, and railroads, but also in farms and small businesses. Those Capuchins shared in the struggles and aspirations of those they served, not ministering to them from afar, but close to the daily realities of their lives. Coupled with their service to parishioners was an abiding love for the poor, and out of their poverty, the Capuchin friars served them generously.
Long before the II Vatican Council underlined the universal call to holiness, the Capuchin Friars were sharing their rich heritage of holiness with the laity. They were intent on helping them open their hearts to Christ – to his Word, to his Presence in the Sacraments, and to a life of loving service. Inspired by the perfect joy of St. Francis, they were intent on helping those they served to live the Beatitudes – embracing poverty of spirit, mourning sin, deferring to others in charity, hungering for holiness, showing mercy, being clean of heart, being peacemakers. In a word, they strove to help those they served to become like Christ.
The Mission Continues
This mission continues. In recent times, it was ably carried forward here by Fr. Greg Chervenak, together with his brother Capuchins and a team of dedicated lay leaders – a mission that embraces St. Mary’s Church, St. Patrick’s Church, and this Shrine of Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as leadership and support for Bishop Walsh School. Today, with the installation of Fr. Stephen Fernandes as your new pastor, another chapter opens in the service of the Capuchins here in Cumberland. He joins with Friar Mark, Friar Erik, Deacon Jim and Deacon Ryan, as well as the lay leadership of Our Lady of the Mountains in accomplishing the evangelizing and sanctifying mission of this parish. Allow me, on your behalf, to thank the Provincial, Fr. Robert Marva, and his Council, for sending such a strong team of priests to Cumberland!
Since 1875, when the Capuchins first arrived in Cumberland, the world has changed, and surely much has changed in Mountain Maryland. Even so, their mission remains the same – the mission to help the People of God answer their baptismal call to holiness, the mission to help the hardworking families of Mountain Maryland to be conformed to Christ and to serve those in need. There remains a true closeness on the part of the Capuchins & their coworkers to you, the people of this parish, and to the wider community. The overarching goal for everyone is holiness of life; it’s to become a saint!
Thus, everything in the life of this parish must converge on this one goal – whether it is the celebration of the Mass and Sacraments, or programs of evangelization and catechesis, or social outreach – all of it, including parish administration – aims at this one goal: that every parishioner of Our Lady of Mountains someday will be numbered among that “great multitude…from every nation, race, people, and tongue”, that multitude that cries out in endless joy, “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne and from the Lamb.”
Jubilee of Hope
How fitting that today’s anniversary celebration and installation take place during the Jubilee of Hope begun by Pope Francis & continued by Pope Leo XIV. For the Solemnity of All Saints is a robust celebration of the hope we share, that God will shower his abundant mercies upon us, that God will bless and console us in this life, but also that God will bring us safely to our true home in heaven, where we will join with all the saints in unending bliss.
Perhaps St. John says it best in our second reading: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed, we shall be like [God], for we shall see him as he is…” And St. John adds, “Everyone who has this hope based in him makes himself pure, as he is pure.”
Let this celebration of All Saints and this 150th anniversary of the presence of the Capuchins, combined with the installation of your new pastor – let it all conspire to bring about a renewal of hope in our hearts, as together, we journey towards the Kingdom of the Beatitudes. May God bless us and keep us always in his love!