On June 3-6, 2004 the Secretaries for the Missions of the Provinces of Poland conducted their annual spring meeting at the filial house in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Next to St. Joseph’s Church in Sofia is the building where the friars have the Ave Maria radio and television studio. This is a special place for Catholics in Bulgaria because it is where Bishop Angelo RONCALLI, later Pope St. John XXIII, lived and worked while serving as the Judicial Vicar and Apostolic Visitor in Bulgaria, from 1925 to 1934.
“By launching this radio station, we wanted to continue the work of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, who was given to our Order as an example of how to dedicate oneself to saving souls through the Immaculata,” said Friar Jarosław BARTKIEWICZ, Director and superior of the house.
During the meeting, the joint activities of the past year were summarized , then, further initiatives were planned which testify to fraternal pastoral activities carried out through the diversity and unity of the communities and the Order.
During the meeting, the Provincial Secretaries of the Missions also had the opportunity to visit some of the most important cultural and religious places in Bulgaria, where the majority religion is Orthodox Christian.
Friar Robert KOZIELSKI, Provincial Secretary for the Missions
