TikTok Friar visits London school

A Franciscan friar whose YouTube channel has nearly half a million subscribers visited St Bonaventure’s School in east London with a delegation of American friars last week. 

Fr Casey Cole OFM is the creator of “Breaking in the Habit”, a popular webpage with video and blog content exploring vocation and evangelisation in the spirit of St Francis. Fr Cole is also on Instagram and TikTok, while his books include How to Evangelise Wherever You Are. 

He visited the voluntary-aided secondary school for boys aged 11-16 and girls aged 16-18 in the company of fellow Franciscans Fr Jason Damon OFM, Fr Roberto “Tito” Serrano OFM and Fr Yusuf Bagh OFM. 

The friars were in Britain to attend the International Franciscan Conference in Durham and subsequently visited university chaplaincies across the country. In London, they made a pilgrimage to St Francis of Assisi Church in Stratford, one of the dedicated churches for this year’s jubilee marking the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis. 

They led a day of reflection at the school, as part of its jubilee celebrations, holding talks with students and sharing insights into the daily life of Franciscan friars. Later, they concelebrated at a Mass for students at St Antony of Padua Church in Forest Gate.

“Seeing them in their traditional brown robes and sandals was striking because it showed they are not influenced by trends and gave me a clear understanding of the simple life they live. The best part was realising that they are humble, down to earth, and bring positive energy to those around them,” said one student at St Bonaventure’s. 

The school, whose motto is “Live, Love and Learn in the Presence of the Lord”, was founded by Franciscan friars on its current site in Forest Gate in 1877. “This makes it one of the oldest Catholic boys’ schools in the country and also one of the most successful schools in Newham borough, with 35 per cent of Year 13 students securing places at Oxbridge and prestigious Russell Group universities in 2025,” said headmaster Christopher McCormack. 

Next year St Bonaventure’s will celebrate its 150th anniversary with a series of events.

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