Franciscan brothers plan Festival Eucharist> Associated food drive will benefit pantries

BANGOR — The Franciscan Brothers of St. Elizabeth of Hungary will celebrate the feast day of their patroness, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, with a festival Eucharist at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 231 French St.

Presiding at the service will be the Rev. Canon Clyde H. Cox Jr., the interim rector of St. John’s.

Music for the service will be provided by members of the St. John’s choir, under the direction of Dr. Fred Jones, organist and choirmaster. Music will include Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” and soloist Bruce Mallonee will sing Franck’s “Panis Angelicus.”

The Franciscan Brothers of St. Elizabeth of Hungary are a small Franciscan community based in Mariaville, and they are communicants of St. John’s Episcopal Church. They live the Rule of Life as it was given to St. Francis more than 500 years ago. They are bakers by vocation and their bread already has become well-known locally.

The brothers invite all to share in this special day. Following the service, a pot-luck dinner will be held in the church undercroft. Those attending are asked to bring nonperishable foods to be donated to the local food pantries.

Elizabeth was a 13th-century princess who, after the death of her husband, became a Third Order Franciscan and devoted the remainder of her life to assisting the poor and destitute. The brothers are conducting the food drive following her example and hope to make a substantial donation to the Bangor Shelter Pantry and the Eastern Maine AIDS Network Pantry.

For additional information, contact the brothers at 537-3232.