Drawn to a Life of Community, Contemplation and Humble Service

Postulants begin a journey of discernment with the Capuchin Francsicans

The Capuchin Postulancy Program is where men discerning a call to religious life with the Capuchin Franciscans start their journey. Based at St. Francis of Assisi Monastery in Milwaukee, the program begins in late summer and concludes in the spring. Following postulancy, discernment continues at the North American Pacific Capuchin Conference Novitiate Program in Santa Ynez, California.

The Capuchin Postulancy program is a joint effort of the Province of St. Joseph, covering the Midwest; the Capuchin Province of St. Mary, covering New York and New England; the Province of the Sacred Stigmata, covering New Jersey and the southeastern United States; and the Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Province in Canada. Discerning men spend the year together in Milwaukee in fellowship and service.

This year, the Capuchin Province of St. Joseph is blessed to have two postulants discerning religious life with our order, Scott Cotto and David Manuel Moreno Inzunza. Scott was born and spent his early years in New York City and later relocated to Florida. He felt a call to religious life but found that the other men's religious orders didn’t click. That changed when he came for a come- and-see weekend led by Capuchin Vocation Director friar Michael Joseph Groark, OFM Cap. “I remember just sitting with the other come-seers with (friar Michael Joseph), and he said something that really struck home for me, which was this idea that for the Capuchins, God comes first, then brotherhood, then the mission,” said Scott. “It's not to understate the mission, that the mission is last, but rather that the brotherhood and God is what allows you to be able to do the mission.”

David is a native of Hermosillo, Mexico, an industrial city and the state capital of the northwestern state of Sonora. David’s ministry in the church began as an altar server at the age of nine. Later, David was introduced to the Capuchins through the example of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. “I didn't know anything about the Capuchins before. I didn't know any differences between (the Franciscans, the Conventuals and the Capuchins). Still, something caught my attention: the way (the Capuchins) treat people, the way they are very approachable, the way they are very kind to everybody and welcoming,” said David.

At the Questors Club fundraising dinner in Milwaukee last spring, silent auction winners were treated to a special multi-course meal featuring dishes from around the world. The meal opened with David’s traditional Mexican Zucchini Soup. “It was amazing and exciting to see people having fun,” said David. “When they were eating it, they were having a great experience.”

We welcome this year’s class of postulants, and we pray with and for them as they discern their future. To learn more about postulancy, visit capuchinfranciscans.org.