On October 24-28, 2022, the friars of the Delegation of the Blessed Martyrs Achilles and Herman in Belarus conducted their annual retreat at the Friary of St. Anthony of Padua in Ivjanec, Belarus. The Delegation belongs to the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw).
It is worth noting that, for the first time in the history of the Delegation, the retreat was conducted in Belarus. Before that, the friars participated in the retreats in Poland.
The meeting was led by Friar Andriej BUKO of the Russian General Custody of St. Francis of Assisi. He currently ministers in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was a valuable time to contemplate God’s love together, celebrate Mass as a community and listen to the Word of God. There was plenty of prayer for new and holy vocations to the Order as well as prayer for the five friars from Belarus who currently undergoing various stages of initial formation in Poland.
In the history of the Friars Minor Conventual, there was once a well-known provision that stated there had to be at least thirteen religious in a friary. We currently have thirteen friars working in Belarus, although they are scattered among five locations: three friaries in Ivjanec, Hrodna and Udziela; and two filial houses in Holszany and Svislac.
Friar Alaksiej M. JUCHNIEWICZ