An Experience, Franciscan Style

This year two youth from St Margaret attended The Franciscan Experience in Baton Rouge – Anna Hanks and Catalina Rojo. TFE is a 6-day immersive experience into the Word of God, the rich and beautiful Catholic tradition, and service as the hands and feet of Christ in the community!

Since the beginning of The Franciscan Experience in 2017, St. Margaret has sent several youth group members to attend, and we are very thankful that The Franciscan Experience has helped form these young people in our community!

Past St. Margaret Participants include:

2017 Avereigh Barras

2018 Joseph Johnson

2019 Grace Purvis and Joseph Johnson

2021 Mary Hanks, Audrey Purvis, and Molly McCarroll

2022 Anna Hanks and Catalina Rojo

We are thankful for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FRANU) and this summer institute they offer! Anna and Catalina were asked a couple of questions at the end of their time at TFE: What was most impactful about your time at TFE? How will you bring your experience from TFE back into our St Margaret community?  Here are their responses:

Catalina Rojo:

“At TFE, we focused on our faith, learning some theology, and serving others, as well as building a community of people who have a common goal: to strengthen their relationship with God. I enjoyed every part of TFE, especially the time we served others every day at the service sites. One day, I was at the cemetery cleaning up after painting some graves when a lady stopped by. I talked to her and she told me how thankful she was for us coming to clean up the cemetery. She said that this meant a lot to her because she had a lot of family members buried there. This made me realize that not only were we working out of respect for the people buried there but we were also doing this for their family members who are affected too.” 

Anna Hanks:

“The most impacted thing about TFE was when  we all prayed over each other on the last night. And the sense of community that there was, and still is. We still do night prayer every night as a group. To bring my experience back to the St. Margaret community I would  recommend the youth group to go to adoration more. It is just so powerful to sit with the lord and feel his presence. And I will definitely recommend TFE to the other people in the youth group. It was the best week of my life and really life changing.”

Thanks to these young ladies for being such a witness for our community!