On December 15, 2020, the Formation Commission, recently established by the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO), conducted its first online meeting.

The meeting began with a greeting from Friar Marian GOŁĄB, the President of the FEMO Federation and the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow). Friar Marian then gave a report on the scope of the Commission’s upcoming works, stressing that initial formation in the FEMO Federation is already quite well organized. In the near future, the Commission will pay particular attention to planning activities related to ongoing formation in the Federation and developing tools for their proper implementation. Therefore, it is not a question of organizing further activities or events, but of forming friars to overcome the challenges they encounter in the places where they live, taking into account the age of each friar and the problem he is facing.
The rest of the meeting was led by the President of the Commission, Friar Robert ZBIERAŃSKI. Friar Robert proposed a calendar for the Commission’s upcoming meetings and what specific topics would be discussed.
The Formation Commission was established in October of 2020, with Friar Robert ZBIERAŃSKI of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk) as the Commission President. The rest of the Commission members are: Friar Andrzej LENGENFELD, the Vicar Provincial of the Province of Gdańsk and President of the Provincial Commission for Initial Formation; Friar Marcin GUZIK, Director of the Postulancy Program and President of the Commission for Initial Formation for the Province of Cracow; Friar Bogdan KOCAŃDA, President of the Commission for Ongoing Formation for the Province of Cracow; Friar Sebastian GRUCA, Prefect of Formation for the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic; Friar Stanisław WÓJTOWICZ, Formation Director for the Russian General Custody of St. Francis of Assisi; Friar Jarosław CAR, Rector of the Post-Novitiate for the Provincial Custody of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. in Slovakia; Friar Piotr ŻURKIEWICZ, Rector of the Major Seminary for the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw); and Friar Krzysztof PELC, Rector of the Pre-Postulancy Program for the Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross in the Ukraine.
The meeting was also attended by Friar Piotr STANISŁAWCZYK, Secretary General for Formation (SGF).

Friar Piotr STANISŁAWCZYK, Secretary General for Formation