The feast of St. Francis and the “Season of Creation” prayer initiative inspired a series of meetings with rich religious and ecological themes.
The meetings were co-organized by the Ecological Movement of St. Francis of Assisi (REFA). They were conducted at three different friaries: the Radomsko friary in the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow), the Poznań friary in the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk) and the Warsaw friary of the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland. (Warsaw). All three meetings showed a special openness toward members of the arts, scientists, environmental activists, the media, and committed Christians.
From September 29 to October 5, 2022, friary in Radomsko offered a series of Franciscan celebrations. October 2, there was “St. Francis Sunday,” which featured the blessing of the animals and all the fruits of the earth. There was the solemn celebration of the Triduum, culminating with the feast of St. Francis, the Patron Saint of ecologists. Finally, there was an event marking the anniversary of the signing of the encyclical Fratelli tutti, with a special exhibition presenting the twelve main themes of the encyclical Laudato si’.
The liturgical events were accompanied by a Franciscan festival where participants got to meet the organizers and buy ecological products and publications on integral ecology. There were workshops on herbal medicine and beekeeping. Everything was coordinated by Friar Stanisław JAROMI and the REFA collaborators.
On October 4-10, 2022, the friary in Poznań hosted a St. Francis Week, as part of its “Tree of Francis” program. On October 8, it hosted a conference entitled “Franciscan Spirituality as Inspiration for Attitudes in the 21st Century.” The participants included Friars Jerzy NOREL, Stanisław JAROMI, Artur PRZECHOWSKI and numerous lay persons. The entire event was moderated by Friar Robert LEŻOHUPSKI. During Mass on Sunday, October 9, Friar Stanisław JAROMI gave a homily on the message of Laudato si’. All during the week, various concerts were offered in the evenings, including a performance of Joseph HAYDN’s “The Creation.”
As part of the “Season of Creation” prayer initiative, REFA organized some ecological workshops and a prayer for ecological conversion. Earlier, on September 28, 2022, there was a press conference on Christian ecology and St. Francis, the Patron Saint of Ecologists at the headquarters of the Polish Bishops’ Conference in Warsaw. It had been organized in collaboration with Catholic News Agency. The participants included representatives of some important ecological initiatives of the Church in Poland and of numerous members of the media.
Editorial Staff, REFA
