In December of 2023, the publishing house FE-Medienverlag published the first German language version of the collected lectures of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, which he delivered to his friars in Niepokalanów, Poland. The book was published under the title “Impulse.”
On March 4, 2024, a symposium was held in Blieskastel, Germany, to raise awareness of this book. The friars of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow) have been providing pastoral service in Blieskastel since 2005.
The symposium was organized by Friar Hieronim JOPEK, the pastor of the church in Blieskastel. He explained: “We are very grateful that Miguel BORDAS PROSZYNSKI from Madrid, and Friars Zdzislaw KIJAS and Gilson Miguel NUNES from Rome, accepted our invitation. Their lectures and openness engaged and inspired the more than eighty people who attended this symposium.”
The Postulator General, Friar Zdzislaw KIJAS, focused his lecture on the meaning and celebration of Marian consecration. The Delegate of the Minister General for the Assistance of the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.), Friar Gilson Miguel NUNES, demonstrated once again, in a vivid and specific way, the value of the help and maternal guidance that arises from being consecrated to the Immaculata. Finally, the M.I. International President, Miguel BORDAS PROÓSZYNSKI, encouraged the German faithful to feel personally invited by Father Kolbe to see themselves as an important part of the whole Church, and stressed St. Maximilian’s closeness and connection with Germany’s cultural and spiritual heritage.
In addition to the lectures and the discussions that took place during breaks, a beautiful Mass was celebrated in the church in Blieskastel. It was presided over by Friar Mateusz KOTYŁO, the Vicar Provincial of the Province of St. Elizabeth in Germany. In his homily, Friar Mateusz encouraged everyone to even greater commitment in the world, in the spirit of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe.
At the end of the symposium, Friar Mateusz MICEK presided over Evening Prayer. He gave a speech, stressing the importance of drawing upon the treasure of Father Kolbe’s spirituality in our daily lives.
Going forward from this event, we invite everyone to make Kolbean spirituality better known so that it might spread to all church communities.
For more information, go to: www.mikolbe.de
Friar Andreas MURK
