On January 13-15, 2020, the Minister General, Friar Carlos Alberto TROVARELLI, visited Poland. This was his first visit to Central and Eastern Europe since his election to office as the supreme Superior of the Order in May of last year.
While in Poland, he visited the major seminaries in Cracow and Łódź Łagiewniki, where he met with clergy, formators and professors.
He also met with the Major Superiors of the three Polish Provinces: Friar Marian GOŁĄB, the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow); Friar Wieław PYZIO, the Provincial Minister of the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw); and Friar Tomasz RYŁKO Provincial Vicar of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk). The meeting was also attended by Friar Piotr SZCZEPAŃSKI Secretary for Formation of the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO) and Friar Wojciech KULIG, the newly elected Minister Provincial of the Province of Gdańsk. The talks mainly focused on the subject of initial formation in Poland and the missions conducted by the Polish Provinces.
In addition, Friar Carlos visited the shared novitiate of the Provinces of Warsaw and Gdańsk located in Smardzewice. He also visited the Friary and Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate, Mediatrix of All Graces and St. Maximilian Maria Kolbe in Niepokalanów as well as the International Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Jasna Góra. Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK, the Assistant General for FEMO, accompanied the Minister General during his trip.
Friar Jan SZEWEK
