Other Jurisdictions have joined the Franciscan Study in Cracow. On October 2, 2023, the new academic year began with eighty-eight students coming from the five Franciscan Provinces in Poland, one Franciscan Province in Ukraine, and the Carmelites and Cistercians in Poland.
“It is a true joy to see the spiritual children of St. Francis taking part in this celebration together. It is a beautiful sign of Franciscan brotherhood in a year in which we celebrate the 800th anniversary of the approval of the Later Rule,” said Friar Marian GOŁĄB, OFM Conv., the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow). He added, “The Church needs the Franciscan and evangelical spirit of brotherhood. By being together, we are a more evident sign of this. (…) My wish for you all―students, professors and formators―is that this new academic year will result in a deepening of our evangelical and Franciscan fraternal relationships. This is an important contribution that our Franciscan Family can offer to the new emerging face of the Church.”
Friar Marek MISZCZYŃSKI, President of the Franciscan Study and Minister Provincial of the Capuchin Franciscans in Cracow, expressed his joy at the fact that “once again we are starting off as a single community, increasingly diverse, from different religious communities and different countries.” He encouraged the students to make good use of the time given to them and to be a gift to others.
Friar Krzysztof BOBAK, the Vice President of the Franciscan Study and Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor Province of St. Mary of the Angels in Cracow, stressed that today, what the Church needs most of all are holy, good and wise priests. He then asked the students to gain more knowledge and give witness to Christ with commitment, diligence and passion, following in the footsteps of St. Francis. “This will be the most beautiful kind of evangelization,” he reflected.
Friar Egidiusz WŁODARCZYK, the Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor Province of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Poland, addressed the words of St. Simon of Lipnica to the students: “Dear brothers, we pray, we work, and we never fully believe in our own strength. Let our hope be God, who guides us and strengthens us.”
Friar Benedykt ŚWIDERSKI, the Minister Provincial of the Friars Minor Province of St. Michael the Archangel in Ukraine, thanked the Franciscan Provinces in Poland for allowing his friars to study and train at the Franciscan Study. He wished that the studies the friars undertake would help them grow in faith.
After Mass, the friars being admitted into their first year of studies took their academic oath.
This year’s inaugural conference was offered by Friar Marcin DRĄG, OFM Conv. He spoke about the scholarly methods used in liturgical theology, which he demonstrated through an analysis of the antiphon Salva nos Christe Salvator.
The Franciscan Study in Cracow was founded in 2016. The Institute is affiliated with the Theological Faculty of the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow. Thus, Father Jan DZIEDZIC, the Dean of the University, was also present at the inauguration of the academic year.
Friar Jan M. SZEWEK
