On October 1, 2021, sixty-three friars from the three seminaries belonging to the three Franciscan Orders (OFM, OFM Conv., and OFM Cap.), inaugurated the 2021-2022 academic year at the Franciscan Study. Nineteen of the friars are first year students

Guests at the ceremony included Friar Jerzy BRUSIŁO, OFM Conv., representing the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow; and the Major Superiors of the Franciscan Orders, namely, Friar Jacek KOMAN, OFM, Minister Provincial of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels and President of the Chapter of the Franciscan Study; Friar Marek MISZCZYŃSKI, OFM Cap., Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Joseph, Spouse of the BVM; Friar Marian GOŁĄB, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow); and Friar Piotr PAWLIK, OFM Conv., Minister Provincial of the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic.
The inauguration took place at the seminary of the Friars Minor and began with Mass presided over by Friar Jacek KOMAN, OFM. In his homily, Friar Jacek said, “Thinking of St. Francis in the context of our scholastic and formative life at the Franciscan Study as this new academic year begins, we wish to be inspired anew, with a freshness of spirit, by the uncompromising attitude of our Seraphic Father. Like St. Paul, he was deeply convinced that our original zeal, the zeal of our first vocational call from Jesus Christ and St. Francis, our zeal to proclaim the Good News, must never be extinguished.” He urged the students, formators and professors to face every formational challenge with courage, and he exhorted those at the Franciscan Study to be witnesses of Christ today and tomorrow, who continues to bring the Gospel of life and the grace of salvation to today’s people.
Friar Paweł SAMBOR, OFM, a professor at the Antonianum and Seraphicum Colleges in Rome, presented an inaugural lecture entitled, “Rethinking the Essence of the Eucharist: Reflections on the Anaphora [Eucharistic prayer] of Addai and Mari,”
The process of creating the Franciscan Study in Cracow went through several stages. It began in 2016, as a joint project of the Conventual Franciscan Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland and the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph, Spouse of the B.V.M. In 2018, the Friars Minor Province of Our Lady of the Angels also joined the project.
The introduction to the statutes of the Franciscan Study reads, “As spiritual heirs of St. Francis, let us undertake the common work of the Franciscan Study so that it serves the good of the Franciscan family and that of the whole Church of Christ.”
The Chapter of the Study is the governing body of the institute. It is comprised of the Ministers Provincial from the three aforementioned Provinces, whose major seminaries are linked by a joint agreement. The Chapter meets at least once a semester, or as needed. It oversees the academic program of the Study as well as its administrative and economic activities. The Chapter President and Vice President are elected by the Chapter members for a term of three years.
The academic program of the Study is arranged in a two-phase system. The first two years cover philosophy studies. The next three years focus on theology studies. A final sixth year is devoted to pastoral, theoretical, and practical courses.
The Franciscan Study is affiliated with the John Paul II Pontifical University in Cracow.

Friar Jan M. SZEWEK, OFM Conv. / Editorial Staff