Provincial Delegation in Peru 
Mother Province: Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow) 

The Conventual Franciscan Mission in Peru was officially launched on August 30, 1989, on the feast of St. Rose of Lima. The friars started pastoral ministry at the Señor de Mayo Church in Pariacoto, a town in the Andes Mountains. The first three friars from Poland ministered in Pariacoto until the dramatic night of August 9, 1991. While Friar Jarosław WYSOCZAŃSKI happened to be absent, the “Shining Path” terrorist group executed Friars Michał TOMASZEK and Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI. A period of terror and death had begun and after this crime, pastoral ministry was reduced for obvious reasons. In the difficult years that followed, it was limited to making occasional, almost secret visits. After the death of the friars from Poland, a priest from the Diocese of Chimbote moved to Pariacoto. In the spring of 1994, Friar Stanisław OLBRYCHT was sent from Bolivia to ensure there would be a continuity of Conventual Franciscan presence at the mission. Over the years, three more Conventual Franciscan missions were established in Peru. In 1990, a mission was established at the Nuestra Señora de la Piedad Church in the San Luis neighborhood of Lima. In 1995, a mission was established at the San Francisco Church in Chimbote (the episcopal seat of the Diocese, of which Pariacoto is also a part). In 2019, a mission was established at the Santa Lucia Church in Moche (Trujillo).

Currently, the Jurisdiction has fifteen solemnly professed friars and four friaries.

Pariacoto: Señor de Mayo Friary and Parish – Chapel of the Blessed Martyrs Michał TOMASZEK and Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI
This community carries out pastoral ministry in a vast mountainous territory covering around 1,000 square kilometers [386 square miles], with more than ninety localities and forty churches scattered throughout the region between Casma and Huaráz. The friary in Pariacoto is the most important presence of our Order in Peru. The reasons are obvious: it is our first presence in Peru; it is a place where our preferential option for the poor has been realized from the start; and it is also the place where the tombs of the Blessed Martyrs are located.

Chimbote: San Francisco de Asís Friary and Parish
The friars in Chimbote carry out pastoral ministry of one of the most active parishes in the city. It has a main church and a branch church. It also includes a large rural area, with the main hub in Cambio Puente and several outlying chapels in rural areas. It is also home to the Delegation’s postulancy program. The Peace and All Good Retreat Center does charitable work for poor children. Recently, a church was built dedicated to our martyrs.

Lima: Nuestra Señora de la Piedad Friary and Parish
This community carries out pastoral ministry in this lively parish located in the San Luis neighborhood of Lima. There are many parish groups and communities. The parish also runs the “Nuestra Señora de la Piedad” polyclinic and provides pastoral service at the Santa Matilde Chapel. The friary also serves as a base of support for brothers and sisters from other communities staying in Peru’s capital city.

Moche-Trujillo: San Maximiliano Kolbe Friary and Santa Cecilia Parish
This is the most recent friary to be established in the Delegation. The friars have been here since 2019, but the friary wasn’t canonically erected until 2020. It lies on the outskirts of the city. The parish has always had its own rural identity based on the celebration of the feasts of locally venerated saints. Confraternities were formed for these occasions which attract large crowds. In addition to providing traditional sacramental services, the Conventual Franciscan community runs a primary and a secondary school, with more than 1,000 students.

Franciscan Missionary Center
General Secretariat for Mission Animation