Triangle priest honored by Franciscan Mission Service

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.