Miquel BORDAS PRÓSZYŃSKI re-elected International President.
On November 27-30, 2025, the memorial of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the General Assembly of the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) gathered at the Seraphicum College in Rome. The Assembly was conducted in the context of the Jubilee Year, under the motto, “Pilgrims of Hope, with the Immaculata.” Fifty delegates from twenty countries on four continents attended.
The M.I. conducted this ordinary General Assembly in order to elect the new Council of the International Presidency for the next five years. The Assembly reelected Miquel BORDAS PRÓSZYŃSKI as the International President of the association, a position he has held since 2021. He is a layman from Spain whose family originated from Poland. The laywoman Margareta BEGIĆ was elected as the International Vice-President. She had been serving as the National President of the M.I. in Croatia. Angela DE MARCO (Father Kolbe Missionaries of the Immaculata), an Italian missionary in Bolivia who had served during the previous term, was reconfirmed as the Secretary of the Council. The Assembly also elected three councilors, namely, Sister Wiktoria Maria Ewa KOMAŃSKA from Poland, a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Militia of the Immaculate; Friar Jobe ABBASS OFM Conv., from the United States, who is serving as an Assistant to the M.I. in Canada; and the laywoman Margherita PERCHINELLI from Italy, who had been serving as the International Vice President. As the General Assistant to the M.I., Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI, the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual, will continue to guide the M.I. through his Delegate, Friar Gilson Miguel NUNES, OFM Conv. Friar Gilson was confirmed in his position following the 203rd Ordinary General Chapter of his Order, celebrated last June.
Over fifty delegates—priests, religious, and lay people—attended the Assembly. They came from more than twenty countries located in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. They prayed together during the Assembly and reflected on the apostolate of the Militia of the Immaculata around the world.
Before starting the work of the Assembly, coinciding with the feast of the Miraculous Medal, the participants made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Miracle at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in Rome. This symbolic place is where Alphonse RATISBONNE, a Jew, was converted through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. It is also where the altar stands at which St. Maximilian Kolbe celebrated his first Mass. The visiting Militia members celebrated Mass there and entrusted all their work to the Immaculata.
On Thursday afternoon, November 27, the participants listened to reports from the National Centers and from the various Pre-Assembly Commissions (formation, family and children, youth, and communication).
On Friday, November 28, the day began with Mass presided over by the Secretary General, Friar Tomasz SZYMCZAK, representing the Minister General, Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI. Approximately twenty priests among the Assembly members concelebrated, along with Friar Immacolato Maria ACQUALI, the Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.
After the Mass, there was a brief report by the General Delegate, Friar Gilson Miguel NUNES. Next, the outgoing International President, Miquel BORDAS PROSZYŃSKI, presented his report on the activities, mission, and internal aspects of the M.I. over the last four years. The “Protocol for the Protection of Minors and the Prevention of Abuse” was then presented. This was followed by the presentation of the financial report, together with the auditor’s opinion. After lunch, the outgoing International President proposed some amendments to the General Statutes. The Assembly, however, decided to postpone his proposal until a more detailed examination could be conducted at a future Extraordinary Assembly. The day concluded with a Prayer Vigil and Eucharistic Adoration led by Friar Andrea Paolo SCALVINI, OFM Conv.
On Saturday, November 29, the Delegates began the day with Mass presided over by the National Assistant to the M.I. in Poland (and the Guardian of the Niepokalanów Friary), Friar Piotr SZCZEPANSKI. Afterward, the Delegates elected the new Presidency Council. During the morning session, they elected the International President and Vice-President of the M.I. After lunch, they elected the Secretary and Councilors, as well as the new Board of Auditors. In the evening, they joined in the recitation of an international Rosary, praying with, and for, all Militia members worldwide and entrusting this new stage of the Militia’s mission to the Immaculata.
On November 30, the First Sunday of Advent, the Assembly concluded with a discussion among the Assistants. They presented various proposals and pastoral guidelines. Immediately afterward, the new Presidential Council held its first official meeting. The final event was a Mass presided over by the Most Reverend Dario GERVASI, Adjunct Secretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life, and Auxiliary Bishop of Rome. He encouraged the Militia members to continue their Marian apostolate, following in the footsteps of their founder, St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Over the course of the Assembly, the members also renewed their Consecration to the Virgin Mary and their desire to spread this devotion to every heart, as St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe wished. Expressing the same intention, the newly elected President, Miquel BORDAS PRÓSZYŃSKI, encouraged all members of the M.I. to “be passionately dedicated to the mission of evangelization throughout the world and in every environment, in communion with the Holy Church, relying on the sure and maternal intercession of the Immaculata, in this school of holiness that is the Militia of the Immaculata.”
Cristina ABBAD LUENGO
