Between April 13 and 29, 2026, the Secretary General for Formation, Friar Bernardino HOSPITAL POSADA, visited the formation houses of the three Conventual Franciscan Provinces in Poland, located in Cracow, Warsaw, and Gdańsk.
During this period, the Assistant General for the Foederatio Europae Mediae et Orientalis (FEMO), Friar Tomáš LEŠŇÁK, aided Friar Bernardino in planning and organizing the schedule. During this visit, the extensive and long-standing missionary network that these Provinces maintain in Africa, Latin America, Russia and the Middle East was also highlighted.
The formation houses in Poland currently conduct an inter-Provincial postulancy and novitiate. The friary in Gniezno, belonging to the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe (Gdańsk), houses the common postulancy program for all three Provinces. This year there are five postulants (three from Cracow, one from Belarus, and one from Warsaw). The friary in Smardzewice, belonging to the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God (Warsaw), houses the common novitiate. There are currently six novices (four from Warsaw, one from Cracow, and one from the Province of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the Czech Republic).
The post-novitiate is carried out at two locations: Cracow (Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar) and Łódź (Province of Warsaw). The post-novitiate house in Cracow currently has twenty-five temporarily professed friars studying philosophy and theology (eighteen are from Cracow, seven from Gdańsk, and two from Uganda). Moreover, Friar Filip BUŚKO, a member of the Province of Cracow, is pursuing his studies at the Seraphicum College in Rome. The post novitiate house in Łódź has twenty-seven temporarily professed student-friars (fifteen from Warsaw, eight from Belarus, three from Brazil, and one from Burkina Faso).
Although it was a brief visit, it was clear that all the formation houses had dedicated and responsible formators who promoted a balanced, daily rhythm of prayer, formation, and manual labor.
Also noteworthy was the meeting held April 24, 2026, at the Provincial Curia of the Province of Gdańsk. Those attending included the three Ministers Provincial of Poland, the Minister Provincial of the Czech Republic, the Assistant General for the FEMO Federation, the heads of continuing formation for the three Provinces, and other collaborators.
During the meeting, the friars discussed several matters involving common discernment, with particular focus on strengthening interprovincial collaboration. A key positive development aligned with the Order’s current needs was highlighted: all three Provinces recognized the importance of rediscovering the contemplative dimension of their identity through hermitages. These are seen as places for a friar to renew his vocation and give it a spiritual “breath of fresh air.”
Poland continues to live out the Franciscan ideal through its historic friaries and the lasting influence of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s martyrial and missionary spirit in Niepokalanów. This is also expressed in the witness of the Blessed Martyrs, Friars Michał TOMASZEK and Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI, who were killed in Peru.
Friar Bernardino HOSPITAL POSADA, Secretary General for Formation
