Two nearly life-size paintings of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, which for many years were housed at St. Joseph Friary in Springvale, Victoria, Australia, have found a new home at the Friary of the City of the Immaculate in Niepokalanów, Poland.
According to the Commentarium Ordinis Fratrum Minorum Conventualium, Annus LXXX (Rome, 1983), p. 138, the two paintings were donated in 1982 by the Polish artists Janusz and Danuta ZAKLIKOWSKI of Warrawong, New South Wales, Australia, during the celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of the birth of St. Francis of Assisi (1182–1982) and the canonization of St. Maximilian M. KOLBE, which took place on October 10 of that same year. The celebrations were held at St. Joseph’s Church in Springvale and were presided over by the Most Reverend Thomas Frank LITTLE, Archbishop of Melbourne, together with numerous priests, including the Pastor, Friar Leonard TESTA, OFM Conv., and his Assistant, Friar Anthony FOX, OFM Conv. Following the celebrations, the paintings were placed in the chapel of the adjacent St. Joseph Friary.
Due to the continuing decline in vocations within the Australian Jurisdiction, the friars were required to withdraw from St. Joseph’s Parish in Springvale, where they had ministered for fifty years. Upon leaving the Archdiocese of Melbourne on January 11, 2026, the paintings were returned to their donor, Janusz ZAKLIKOWSKI, who subsequently decided to donate them to the Friary of the City of the Immaculate in Niepokalanów.
On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, Janusz ZAKLIKOWSKI and his second wife, Anna (whom he married after the death of his first wife, Danuta), personally presented the paintings at Niepokalanów.
Friar David Francis BLOWEY, the Assistant General for the Conventual Franciscan Federation (CFF), reported that the paintings were received with great enthusiasm and that the Friars intend to have them professionally framed before placing them in a prominent location where they will be accessible to pilgrims and visitors. According to Janusz ZAKLIKOWSKI, this is expected to take place during August or September of 2026.
Friar David F. BLOWEY
