A Franciscan friar has won praise for stepping in to break up a fight between young men in the Moyross housing estate in Limerick.
The bearded religious brother, who is part of the international order, the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFRs) was wearing his order’s grey habit and a pair of sandals when he intervened in the escalating row over the weekend.
And people say priests do nothing for the community… https://t.co/eZgSRKpn7C
— CiaranBurns (@kburnskburns) September 13, 2022
Muscular Christianity in action. Gardai were "unaware" of fight. https://t.co/xMBgDJyuhf
— Colm O Niadh (@ColmONe89571824) September 12, 2022
His intervention came as one of the fighters was thrown to the ground and was being repeatedly punched and kicked in the back. The video footage of the fight, which has circulated widely online, captured two young people exchanging punches on a grassy area, with one of the individuals dropping to the ground as a number of people looked on without intervening.
One person shouts “it’s fair go” as the young man is told to “let them at it”.
As the young man scrambles to get on his feet, while still lying on the ground, he is kicked and punched by his opponent. Suddenly, the perpetrator of the attack is grabbed by the friar and led away. The Limerick Leader reported on the incident, and said the fact the assailant immediately complied was “a sign of the respect that the monks are held in Moyross”. The paper also contacted Gardaí who said there had been no reported incidents in the area that evening.
The friar is part of the CFRs community in Limerick, which is based in the Delmege Park area of Moyross. The Order also have friaries in Derry City, Bradford and London in the UK, the Bronx and Harlem in New York, Oakland in California, Albuquerque and Honduras.
Their work is largely based in socially deprived areas as they aim to spiritually minister local people, and they first set up their friary in Moyross in 2007 at a time when the estate had become the centre of a lot of gang-related violence.
A group of friars swapped the streets of the Bronx for Moyross following an invitation from former Bishop of Limerick, Donal Murray. Led by Father Sylvester, the small group of American friars left behind their former lives as a teacher, a punk-rock singer, a rapper and a soldier to transform lives through prayer and ministry in the toughest district of Ireland’s toughest city. They created a makeshift friary in Moyross, which was then a “sea of burned-down and boarded-up houses” and was often covered in the news as an area afflicted with drug-related problems, stabbings and shootings.
In a time of crisis for the Church in Ireland, the friars, who take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and live completely on providence, have been able to give people hope in a range of counter cultural ways. Their informal youth ministry offers spiritual advice and support, while they also offer weekly prayer and support groups.
The mission house in Moyross subsequently became the first friary to be set up outside of America. The order has been credited for helping to improve the quality of life in the urban area since they arrived there 15 years ago, and life in the estate, which has also seen a regeneration programme established as part of a plan to improve the quality of life for residents, has significantly improved, They regularly participate in community activities and have been warmly welcomed to the area.
The Order was first founded in 1987, started by eight men, but has since grown into a community of over 140 members, with friaries in five different countries. In imitation of St. Francis of Assisi, the monks and priests seek to “follow in the footsteps of Jesus, as a prophetic witness that life is a pilgrimage to the Father, of faith, hope, and love of God and neighbour, made possible by the Holy Spirit”.
The friars participate in Christ’s renewal of all things through their prayer, fraternal life, service of the poor, and evangelization, as a complement to the work of those whose mission is to serve parochially.
The friars’ fundamental mission is to love and serve the materially poor, “most especially the destitute and homeless”. Each member of the Community is to be personally and directly involved in hands-on work with the poor.