Sharing His Talents with Community

by Fr. Andy Martinez, OFM Conv.

Friar Vincent Peterson is a Conventual Franciscan Friar and member of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. He has been solemnly professed for 35 years and a friar priest for 34 years. He comes to the OLC province from beautiful summers and cold winters of Minneapolis, Minnesota. He came to know about the friars when he would visit the retreat house in Bloomington, Minnesota. Friar Vince as he is known to many, has worked in parish ministry, formation ministry and currently is working in retreat ministry at the Mary Anderson Center at Mount St. Francis, Indiana. His ministries have taken him from the east coast of Washington DC to even down south serving as a parish priest in Las Cruces, NM. His hobbies include gardening, preaching and is an avid promoter for social justice. One unique thing about Vince is his love for painting. He says his theme of art is “God is Beautiful” and this inspires him to sit with nature and paint. Several of his paintings hang on the walls of friaries where he has lived in. He always thinks of his brothers when moving to a different ministry by leaving something beautiful behind for friars to enjoy. He was asked, what do you like about St. Francis of Assisi that would have attracted you to this way of life and his answer was “I want to be in communion with the poor”. We can say that Vince’s paintings are unique and can move us to something deeper especially when encountering nature. This is something very common we find in the writings of St. Francis, how the poor humble servant of the Lord, Praise be You my Lord through our Sister, Mother Earth who sustains us and governs us, producing varied fruits with coloured flowers and herbs. ~St. Francis of Assisi

To see more of Friar Vince’s paintings please visit his website: www.sacredearthcollection.com