We are a Franciscan Marianist & Teilhardist Organization that operates different ministries. Ministers and Brothers serve as chaplains to prisons, hospitals, the military, police and fire departments. Friars serving as chaplains do not live in a friary, but meet regularly to pray, eat and celebrate the Eucharist. Under the Order of Franciscans of the Eucharist’s charter membership, each charter member will operate independently, maintaining their current system of disciplines and teachings. We accept the authority of the Order of Franciscans of the Eucharist over all matters of Faith and Practices. Ministers serve in sacramental ministry in addition to the many other ways a brother may serve, such as religious education, teaching, administration, service to the poor, the arts, worship, counselling, and more. All friars bring their gifts and join the team of friars and lay ministers, serving for the good of the Church of Christ.
We are Catholic, practicing the Anglican (Episcopal) rituals from the Book of Common Prayer.
Independent Catholicism is an independent sacramental movement of clergy and laity who self-identify as Catholic (as Independent Catholic) and form “micro-churches not-claiming apostolic succession and but valid sacraments”, in spite of not being affiliated to the historic Catholic church, the Roman Catholic church. The term “Independent Catholic” derives from the fact that “these denominations affirm both their belonging to the Catholic tradition as well as their independence from Rome”.
It is difficult to determine the number of jurisdictions, communities, clergy and members who make up Independent Catholicism, particularly since the movement “is growing and changing in every moment”. Some adherents choose Independent Catholicism as an alternative way to live and express their Catholic faith outside the Roman Catholic Church (whose structures, beliefs, and practices Independent Catholicism often closely aligns with), while rejecting certain traditional Catholic teachings.
Independent Catholicism may be considered part of the larger independent sacramental movement, in which clergy and laity from various faith traditions, including the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and other non-Catholic Christian churches, have separated themselves from the institutions with which they previously identified. Within this movement, various independent churches have emerged from the Eastern Orthodox Church, but members of these independent Eastern Orthodox groups most often self-identify as independent or autocephalous Orthodox rather than as Independent Catholic.
Some Independent Catholic churches have joined the International Council of Community Churches, a denomination based in Frankfort, Illinois, in the United States. In doing so, it gives them a place and voice in national and international Christian organizations such as Churches Uniting in Christ, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and the World Council of Churches, whose membership is usually reserved for larger, longer-established church bodies. We at Eric Michel Ministries International are members of the Order of Franciscans of the Eucharist, which has a charter, and Archbishop Eric Michel is a member of the International Conference of Catholic and Autocephalous Bishops (ICCAB).
All members of the Independent Catholic movement possess “a deep commitment to the catholic sacramental tradition” and worship according to a prescribed liturgy from the Book of Prayer.
We are a Ministry or Ministries, in our case, not a Church
Church refers to the organized body of people who follow a specific faith. Ministry is the work a church member does to serve God. It can range from serving on a church board to leading a Bible study or a Chaplaincy.
Church and ministry are often used interchangeably. Ministry refers to a person’s work to serve God and His people. Church, on the other hand, is a place where people come to worship God. There is a big difference between the two. Under Canadian legislation, the tax classifications for ministries and churches are essential for compliance and administrative purposes. The proper legal form must be chosen for a church or ministry. Legal differences between churches and ministries include duties and responsibilities, such as Federal and Provincial tax filing requirements, the formation of corporate identity under Canadian law, donor funding, and the application for exemptions. We are not a church but a Canadian Not-For-Profit Religious Corporation. Ministry refers to the role of individuals set apart by a religious authority as clergy members, or to those whose call to a unique vocational service is accorded some measure of recognition in Christianity. Ministry is the work Christians undertake to articulate and share their faith through the Great Commission. It is conferred on each believer after baptism to carry forth Jesus Christ’s mission in the world.
Ministries often have a specific mission, such as youth, women’s, or social justice, to serve particular groups within the church or the broader community. Our Ministries are the Chaplaincy, the Seminary, and the Churches Association.
A ministry is a flexible entity governed by Christian principles, while a church is a well-structured organization with defined protocols and governance.
Marianist
EMMI Coat of Arms & Marian Seals pre 2026
Guillaume-Joseph Chaminade, SM (also known as William Joseph Chaminade; Périgueux, 8 April 1761 – Bordeaux, 22 January 1850) was a French Catholic priest who survived persecution during the French Revolution and later founded the Society of Mary, commonly known as the Marianists, in 1817. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 3 September 2000. His feast day is celebrated on 22 January.
The Marianist Family’s other three branches, the religious sisters known as the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, the married and single men and women of the Marianist Lay Communities, and the consecrated laywomen of the Alliance Mariale, also look to Chaminade as a founder or inspiration.
See Eric Michel’s Certificates
We are Teilhardists
and
practicing Teilhardism
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1 May 1881 – 10 April 1955) was a French Jesuit, Catholic priest, scientist, paleontologist, theologian, philosopher, and teacher. He was Darwinian and progressive in outlook and the author of several influential theological and philosophical books. His mainstream scientific achievements include paleontological research in China, including participation in the discovery of significant Peking Man fossils at the Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing. His more speculative ideas, sometimes criticized as pseudoscientific, have included a vitalist conception of the Omega Point. Along with Vladimir Vernadsky, they also contributed to the development of the concept of a noosphere.
In 1962, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith condemned several of Teilhard’s works based on their alleged ambiguities and doctrinal errors. Some eminent Catholic figures, including Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, have since made positive comments on some of his ideas. The response to his writings by scientists has been divided. Teilhard served in World War I as a stretcher-bearer. He received several citations and was awarded the Médaille militaire and the Legion of Honour, the highest French order of merit, both military and civil.
Benedikt XVI, born Joseph Alois Ratzinger, German, 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Pope Francis 17 December 1936 – 2025) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian pope Gregory III
Sister Ilia Delio is a Franciscan sister of Washington, DC, a theologian, author, and university professor. She holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair of Theology at Villanova University. Delio is the founder of the Center for Christogenesis, an online educational resource for promoting the vision of Teilhard de Chardin and the integration of science and religion.
Richard Rohr OFM (born 1943) is an American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church in 1970, founded the New Jerusalem Community in Cincinnati in 1971, and the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque in 1987. In 2011, PBS called him “one of the most popular spirituality authors and speakers in the world”.
Rohr’s notable works include The Universal Christ, Falling Upward, and Everything Belongs. His spirituality is rooted in Christian mysticism and the perennial tradition.