On Saturday, June 4, 2022, the closing ceremony of the 2021-22 academic year took place at the Institute of Franciscan Studies in Cracow.
Eighty-three students, from all over Poland and abroad, received completion diplomas for the three courses offered by the Institute. The Director of the Institute, Friar Piotr BIELENIN, OFM Conv., addressed the new graduates saying, “Thank you for your presence and your testimony, because without you, our program would make no sense.”
The teaching program at the Institute of Franciscan Studies is aimed at all those who wish to maintain, or even rekindle, their spiritual connection with St. Francis, St. Clare and their followers.
Mindful of its various target groups, the Institute offered three cycles of coursework during this last academic year. Specialized professors from all branches of the Franciscan Family and from the laity taught the courses.
Twenty-three students completed the coursework for the Franciscan Formation Study, which is intended for religious and covers topics in Franciscan spirituality and formation.
Twenty-seven students completed the coursework for the first-level School of Franciscan Spirituality. The students came from Cracow, other areas of Poland and abroad. The School of Franciscan Spirituality is a program of coursework aimed at all those, religious and lay, who are passionate about St. Francis of Assisi and Franciscan spirituality. Responding to the requests of graduates from previous years, the Institute prepared a second level of the School of Franciscan Spirituality for the 2021-22 academic year and expanded the topics covered in the basic cycle. Thirty-three students from all over Poland graduated from the second level.
Quoting Friar Piotr BIELENIN: “When something ends, something begins.” Admissions for the next two semesters will begin soon.
The Institute of Franciscan Studies
