On November 28-30, 2022, the fall meeting of the Guardians of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk) took place at the Provincial Curia in Gdańsk.
The participating Guardians came from friaries in Poland, Lithuania, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Sweden. The meeting was presided over by the Minister Provincial, Friar Wojciech KULIG.
On the first day, Friar Piotr BIELENIN, Director of the Institute of Franciscan Studies in Cracow gave a lecture entitled: “St. Maximilian and His Vision of the Order.” After the lecture, the participants asked questions and shared their observations about the activities of the patron saint of the Province and how to implement the model of apostolate he left behind.
The second day began with a lecture by Professor Danuta KLUCZ from the School of Management and Banking. She explained the regulations regarding the employment of lay staff, the organization of voluntary work and economic activities in the friaries. Further discussions were then devoted to current issues concerning the friaries and formation.
Later that day, during Midday Prayer in the St. Anne chapel, the new Provincial Statutes were promulgated. This date was not chosen by chance, since November 29 is the Feast of All Saints of the Seraphic Order, and the Statutes are meant to show how to carry out the life of the Friars Minor Conventual in new times and places. The Statutes were revised in order to make sure the text was in conformity with the revised version of the Constitutions. It was prepared by an ad hoc Provincial Commission.
The last day of the meeting was dedicated to discussing organizational issues, such as, the canonical visitations in progress, the preparations for the jubilee celebrations for the approval of the Rule, the latest publications of the friars, etc.
Friar Piotr KUREK, Provincial Secretary
