On October 12-14, 2020, the first part of the Ordinary Chapter of the Provincial Custody of the Holy Cross in the Ukraine was held in Bilshivtsi, near Halych, the Ukraine.
The first day of the Chapter was dedicated to the spiritual dimension. The friars celebrated Mass at the Shrine of Blessed James of Strepar in Halych, presided over by Friar Marian GOŁĄB, the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Blessed James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow). After the Mass, the local Pastor, Father Jacek WALIGÓRA, offered a spiritual meditation. Next, there was an hour of Eucharistic Adoration and the friars prayed the Rosary, offering intentions for the work of the Chapter.
On the second day, Friar Tomáš LESŇÁK, the Assistant General for the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO) presided over Mass and delivered the homily.
During the Chapter, the Minister General, Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, telephoned to greet the friars, wish them perseverance and growth, and encourage the development of the Franciscan charism in the Ukraine.
After the friars heard various reports and evaluated the last four years, they elected Friar Stanisław KAWA as their first Custos. He had been serving as the Delegate of the Minister Provincial in the Ukraine. Friar Stanisław was born in 1975 in Mostyska, the Ukraine. He professed his solemn vows in 1998 and was ordained a priest in 2000. For eight years he served in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in canon law from the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. He is currently a judge at the diocesan court of Lviv, the Ukraine, and a lecturer at the major seminary in Briukhovychi, Lviv. Since 2017 he has served as the Delegate of the Minister Provincial in the Ukraine.
On the third day of the Chapter, after having approved the document evaluating the last four-year term, the friars elected the members of the Custodial Definitory. They are Friars Stanisław PĘKALA, Vicar Custos and Custodial Secretary; Paweł ODÓJ, Custodial Econom and Exactor; and Stanisław NUCKOWSKI and Mykola ORACH, Custodial Definitors.
At the conclusion of the first part of the Chapter, the new Custos, Friar Stanisław, presided over Mass.
The second part of the Chapter will begin on November 24, 2020, again in Bilshivtsi.
Friar Stanisław PĘKALA
