On January 11, 2018, a funeral took place for a young missionary of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland. This friar was affiliated “in perpetuity” to the Provincial Custody of St. Francis of Assisi in Kenya. His funeral was held at in the Franciscan church in Gdańsk, at the Provincial Curia.
The deceased was Friar Dariusz DEMBKOWSKI, age 49. He was the first missionary of the Province and the Custody to be called home by the Lord. He left us after a long and very serious illness.
His funeral was celebrated in two significant stages. At 9:00 p.m. on January 10, the friars of the Province gathered with the Minister Provincial Friar Jan MACIEJOWSKI and his Definitory, along with the friar’s mother and the family. They prayed Evening Prayer for the dead and took part in a Mass presided over by the Assistant General for African Federation of Conventual Franciscans (AFCOF), Friar Tadeusz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI. Friar Tadeusz also attended on behalf of the Minister General, Friar Marco TASCA. The Provincial Custos of Kenya, Friar Kazimierz SZULC gave the homily.
At 11.00 a.m. on the following day, friars from the Provinces of Gdańsk and Warsaw, including the Minister Provincial of Warsaw, Friar Wiesław PYZIO, gathered with other friars from Canada, Germany, Italy and the United States. They were joined by clerical students from Łagiewniki, Poland, among them, two Kenyans studying here, and numerous faithful. Together they filled the immense Gothic church of Gdańsk which dates back to 1400. The liturgy began with praises for the dead and ended with Mass and funeral rites at the Province sepulcher. The Mass was presided over by the Most Reverend Zbigniew ZIELIŃSKI, Bishop of Gdańsk, who has been a great and long-time friend of the friars. The Minister Provincial, Friar Jan MACIEJOWSKI, gave the homily. In it, he emphasized the great zeal, commitment, obedience and joy with which Friar Dariusz served God, the Church, the Order and his missions (19 years in Kenya and 5 years in Canada).
Friar Dariusz was a very jovial and kind friar. He was ready to offer help whenever it was needed. He really enjoyed living in a Franciscan community and creating a true fraternal atmosphere. He was much loved by the faithful in each of the places where he was sent under obedience. He gladly proclaimed the Word of God in simple terms, wanting to reach the hearts of all people. There was no treatment for his disease and he endured his “calvary” with great patience and without complaint, until his final breath.
We pray that the Lord will repay him with the gift of eternal life.
Friar Tadeusz ŚWIĄTKOWSKI, Assistant General for the AFCOF