The Liturgical Commission of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow) has written and published a text entitled “Ritual of the Province”.
This work is divided into seven parts and includes rites of celebrations proper to consecrated life (vesting, profession, etc.); novenas; triduums; periodic devotions; litanies; blessing rites; and hymns.
The members of the Commission are Friars Marcin DRĄG (President), Marek AUGUSTYN, Paweł SOLECKI, Marek DAUKSZEWICZ, Rafał ANTOSZCZUK and Marcin JELINEK. They have collected the rituals already in use in the churches and friaries of the Province. They adapted some of the older formulas to work in contemporary settings and have gathered together all the most important celebrations which form a part of Polish spirituality.
“I am very pleased to express my gratitude to the friars involved in the creation of this text. It will help the friars celebrate the most important moments of our Conventual Franciscan life. Its content reflects the concern to preserve the ritual tradition of the Conventual Franciscans. Conventual Franciscan devotions, the cult of our saints, celebrations closely linked to the spirituality of the Order, these are all a continuation of the centuries-old tradition of the Minorites, a tradition which extends to our time, as well,” wrote Friar Marian GOŁĄB, the Minister Provincial of Cracow.
The Minister Provincial added: “The texts of the celebrations were written in accordance with the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, the Directory on Popular Piety and Liturgy and the Regulations of the Polish Episcopate for celebrations. They will help the Provincial community express its devotion in keeping with the vision of the Church.”
Friar Jan Maria SZEWEK