Conventual Franciscan Elected Secretary General of Conference of Major Superiors of Men’s Religious Institutes in Poland

On May 12, 2026, during their meeting held in Wadowice, Poland, the Major Superiors of Men’s Religious Institutes in Poland elected the Secretary General of their Conference. After a hiatus of several years, the office was once again entrusted to Friar Kazimierz MALINOWSKI of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow). The Major Superiors also elected the Treasurer of the Conference and the representative who will sit on the Joint Commission of Bishops and Major Superiors of Consecrated Life in Poland.

The duties of the Secretary General include, among other things: directing the General Secretariat and overseeing its records and documents; preparing documentation for the meetings of the Consulta; organizing the Conference’s plenary assemblies; continuously supervising the operation of the activities and institutions established by the plenary assembly; ensuring the lawful operation of institutions run by religious institutes; maintaining regular contact with the Secretariat of the Polish Episcopal Conference and other offices of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, maintaining regular contact with the Secretariat of the Conference of Major Superiors of Women’s Religious Congregations in Poland; working with public authorities in implementing decisions adopted by the Conference’s governing authorities; maintaining ongoing cooperation with other interreligious organizations and communities; preparing directories, surveys, and statistical reports presenting the activities of religious institutes in the Republic of Poland; overseeing the Conference’s website zyciezakonne.pl and its archives, as well as the publication of the Conference’s newsletter.
Friar Kazimierz MALINOWSKI was born on June 13, 1955, in Sanok, Poland. In 2000, the Provincial Chapter elected him Minister Provincial of the Province of Cracow. He served in that office for two terms, until 2008. At the same time, during that period, he was elected president of the Central and Eastern European Conference of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (2000–2004) and president of the Conference of Major Superiors of Men’s Religious Institutes in Poland (2005–2008). In 2008, the Major Superiors of Men’s Institutes in Poland elected him Secretary General of the Conference and he moved to the friary in Warsaw. He held that post until 2023.
He has held other offices as well. He was a member of the International Commission for the Revision of the Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (2009–2018); Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (2012–present); Secretary of the Joint Commission of Bishops and Major Superiors of Consecrated Life (2015–2025); and Provincial Definitor (2016–2020). After the sudden passing of the Superior of the friary, parish, and St. Maximilian Center in Harmęże, near Auchwitz (Oświęcim), in 2021, he replaced him in these positions for several years. He served as Pastor until 2024 and Guardian and Director until 2025.

Friar Jan Maria SZEWEK