On Wednesday, October 1, 2025, twenty-two friars were solemnly welcomed as students at the Theological Institute of the Franciscan Study in Cracow.
The new students recited the following oath: “We promise before our Lord Jesus Christ, giver of life and wisdom, fidelity to God, to the Gospel, to the Church, and to the Order. We wish to acquire philosophical and theological knowledge with pure intentions, to serve humanity in the contemporary world in the spirit of Gospel truth and on the basis of the Magisterium of the Church. We will do everything to set a good example for others and to fulfill all the commitments we have made, through our attitude as students with religious and academic discipline. So help me God.”
The Most Reverend Damian MUSKUS, OFM, Auxiliary Bishop of Cracow, Poland, presided over the opening Mass. He stressed that given the decline in priestly and religious vocations, it is even more necessary to “listen to Christ’s call for authentic renewal, for rebuilding the bond with St. Francis, who envisioned the Friars Minor not as attractive ecclesiastical officials, but as a fraternal community, living in humility and poverty, a sign of friendship and unity for a divided world.” To mark the inauguration of the new academic year, the Council of the Theological Institute invited Friar Zdzisław KIJAS, OFM Conv., to deliver the inaugural lecture. Friar Zdzisław spoke about happiness as a good state to aspire to. At the same time, he strongly emphasized that everything that is truly valuable cannot be acquired immediately nor without effort. Everything that offers lasting happiness places high spiritual and intellectual demands on people. This year, eighty-two friars from eight Provinces of the three Franciscan First Orders in Poland are studying at the Franciscan Study, along with some Carmelites and Cistercians. Thus, the Superiors attending the inauguration came from the Franciscan Provinces of Cracow, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Katowice, Wrocław, Poznań, and Gdańsk in Poland. The abbot of the Cistercians in Szczyrzyc, Poland, was present as well. The Franciscan Study in Cracow was founded in 2016. It is affiliated with the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow. Thus, the Rector of the Pontifical University of John Paul II, Father Robert TYRAŁA, and the Dean of its Faculty of Theology, Father Witold OSTAFIŃSKI, were also present at the inauguration. Speaking on behalf of the hosting Friars Minor Province of Our Lady of the Angels, its Minister Provincial, Friar Krzysztof BOBAK, OFM, wished that the student friars might experience this new year of intellectual and spiritual work as a time of growth in wisdom and grace before God and His people. Moreover, he asked that God bless their efforts, and that the Holy Spirit guide them in their search for truth and in the formation of their hearts after the example of Christ, the High Priest.
Friar Jan M. SZEWEK
