On Thursday, November 12, 2020, a sending-off ceremony for a new missionary to Paraguay took place in the chapel of the Provincial Curia of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow). During the Mass, Friar Artur PYZA received the missionary cross from the Minister Provincial of Cracow, Friar Marian GOŁĄB.
“Dear Brother, God has chosen you to go and bear fruit and for your fruit to endure. Go therefore and preach the Gospel to every creature, in imitation of the Apostles, of our Father St. Francis and his holy brothers who traveled the world preaching the Gospel and working for peace and all good. Let this blessing be your guide along the apostolic path, your help in every danger and your consolation in life and in death. ‘May the Lord bless you and protect you,’” said the Minister Provincial.
At the end of the Mass, the confreres sang the Blessing of St. Francis of Assisi, taken from the Book of Numbers (6:24-26). Those attending the liturgy included Friar Jacek ORZEŁ, the Provincial Delegate in Paraguay and Friar Dariusz GACZYŃSKI, the Secretary for Missionary Animation for the Province of Cracow. The Major Superior presided over the celebration, dressed for the first time in a chasuble from Ghana.
Friar Artur PYZA (45) is originally from the Masovia region of Poland and is a member of the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw). He told the Minister General that he was ready to go on any mission. The Minister General, after consulting with the Minister Provincial of Warsaw, proposed that Friar Artur be sent to Paraguay. Thus, with the consent of the Definitory of the Province of Warsaw, Friar Artur was temporarily affiliated with the Province of Cracow.
Friar Artur entered the Order in 1995, after attending high school. After formation at the Franciscan major seminary in Łódź Łagiewniki (2003), he has lived and worked in Skarżysko-Kamienna, Niepokalanów, Kalisz, Suwałki, the Hermitage of Góra Polanowska, Niepokalanów-Lasek, and finally, for the last seven years, Rakovski, Bulgaria. Up to now he has served as a catechist, a Provincial Assistant for Vocations, Guardian, Vicar Guardian and House Econom.
Selecting Friar Artur for this assignment can be considered an example of implementing Motion No. 1 of the 2019 General Chapter, which reads: “The Government of the Order shall: a) Foster twinning among Provinces to promote the consolidation of some existing missions. The collaboration includes staff and economic solidarity.” Friar Artur’s case is an example of collaboration in the form of staffing solidarity between the Provinces of Warsaw and Cracow.
Friar Jan M. SZEWEK – General Office of Communications
