On March 7-9 and 14- 16, 2025, two rounds of Lenten retreats for the Militia of the Immaculata (M.I.) were celebrated at the M.I. Formation Center in Niepokalanów-Lasek, Poland.
Friar Stanisław Maria PIĘTKA led the retreats with the collaboration of Friar Mirosław M. KOPCZEWSKI the M.I. Provincial Assistant for the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw). The main theme of the retreats was: “The M.I. in the Pilgrimage of Hope.”
The retreats were was attended by about 160 people from various locations. They heard reflections related to the theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year [Pilgrims of Hope]: “Mother of Hope,” “Jesus our Hope According to the Gospel,” and “Mary, Mother of Hope in the Gospel and in the Teachings of the Church.”
Although the retreats were brief, there was plenty of communal prayer along with meditation on the Stations of the Cross, “Gorzkie żale” (an ancient song that recounts the Passion of Christ), and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
There was also a pilgrimage to the shrine in Niepokalanów where the retreatants obtained a plenary indulgence, visited the church and paid homage to the Immaculate Mother, her Son and St. Maximilian Kolbe.
Friar Ryszard M. ŻUBER, the M.I. National President, visited the participants. He discussed the progress achieved so far in the cause for the Servant of God, Friar Innocenty M. WÓJCIK. Afterwards, Friar Krzysztof M. FLIS, the Editor-in-Chief of the Knight of the Immaculata monthly magazine, spoke about the role the publication plays as a means of apostolate and as a devotion to the Immaculata.
By the end of both retreats, a total of sixteen faithful had become members of the M.I. by consecrating themselves to the Immaculata.
Sister Teresa Maria GRABOŃ, SFMI
