American brother elected to general council of Capuchin Franciscans

Published: 2006-10-09

DENVER (CNS) -- Brother Mark Schenk has become the first lay friar in the history of the Capuchin Franciscans to serve on the order's general council. The Kansas-born Brother Mark had been provincial vicar of the Denver-based Capuchin province of Mid-America since 2000. His parents, Bernard and Mary Jo Schenk, live in Great Bend, Kan. As one of eight general councilors or definitors of the religious community known formally as the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Brother Mark will live at the order's general headquarters in Rome and be involved in all the major decision-making of the order. He also will serve as a traveling liaison between the order's general minister and various provinces and other divisions of the order. Brother Mark previously served in Rome as undersecretary-general of the order, 1988-94; secretary-general pro tem, 1994-95; and information systems manager, 1997-2000. There are 11,000 Capuchins serving in more than 100 countries. About two-thirds of the members are priests and the rest are brothers, also called lay friars.

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