Franciscan Father Ignatius Harding, parochial vicar at St.
Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle, received the 2018 Anselm Moons Award by
the Franciscan Mission Service at the World Care Benefit and Celebration in
Washington April 27.

Franciscan Fr. Ignatius Harding received the Anselm Moons Award April 27. COURTESY
A native of Hartford, Conn., Father Harding joined the Franciscan
Order in 1965 and professed his first vows in 1966. He professed his final vows
in 1970 and was ordained a priest in 1972. He served from 1972 until last
summer in Bolivia in various locations and in varied roles. He belongs to Holy
Name Province.
Past recipients of the Anselm Moons Award include other members
of Holy Name Province — Franciscan
Father Joseph Nangle and Franciscan Father John O’Connor, who presented
the FMS award to Father Harding. The award was launched in 2006 in honor of Franciscan
Father Anselm Moons, a friar from Holland who founded the Franciscan Mission
Service.
Father Harding earned an associate’s degree in liberal arts from
St. Bonaventure University in New York; a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from
The Catholic University of America in Washington; and a master’s degree in
theology from Washington Theological Union. He graduated from Holy Trinity High
School in Hartford, where he was taught by the Sisters of St. Francis.
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2018