{"id":105483,"date":"2026-10-14T14:44:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/polonia-40-anniversario-della-provincia-di-san-massimiliano-m-kolbe\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T14:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T12:46:52","slug":"polonia-40-anniversario-della-provincia-di-san-massimiliano-m-kolbe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/polonia-40-anniversario-della-provincia-di-san-massimiliano-m-kolbe\/","title":{"rendered":"Poland: Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe Celebrates 40th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

On October 10, 2026, the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gda\u0144sk) celebrated forty years of history, fraternity, and Franciscan service. The jubilee celebrations took place in Gdynia, Poland, a place of particular significance in the history of the Province.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was here, in 1986, that the Province held its first Provincial Chapter. The jubilee gave the friars an opportunity to give thanks together, look back on their journey, and reflect on the future.
\nThose participating included Friar Carlos TROVARELLI, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual; guests from other Provinces; and friars from friaries in Poland, Ecuador, Germany, Sweden, the United States, Canada, Lithuania, and Hungary.
\nThe jubilee celebrations began with a prayer service led by Friar S\u0142awomir KLEIN, General Delegate for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue. During the service, the Light of Assisi<\/em> was presented as a powerful symbol of the Franciscan message of peace and fraternity.
\nNext, Friar Arkadiusz B\u0104K, Assistant to the Militia of the Immaculata in the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow), delivered a lecture entitled \u201cGiving One\u2019s Life for a Brother: The Spirituality of St. Maximilian in the Service of the Church Today.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The highlight of the anniversary celebrations was the Mass presided over by Friar Carlos TROVARELLI. In his homily, Friar Carlos thanked his confreres for their service, the witness of their lives, and their contribution to the growth of the Franciscan community.
\n\u201cI thank this Province for the generosity it has always shown toward the Order, for the spirit of fraternity that distinguishes it, and for the witness of the lives of its members,\u201d he said. He also expressed his gratitude to the faithful, benefactors, and all those who support Franciscan communities.
\nReflecting on the anniversary, he emphasized the significance of forty years in biblical symbolism: \u201cForty years constitute a jubilee, a gift of grace. In the Bible, the number forty signifies a time of maturation, of testing, and of journeying through the desert, illuminated by divine Providence; a time in which a generation comes to recognize itself as a people.\u201d
\nThe Minister General also recalled the generations of Franciscans who, over the past four decades, had built up the Province through their daily work, prayer, and apostolic ministry. He focused particular attention on St. Maximilian M. Kolbe, whose life remains a testament to boundless love and total self-giving to God.
\n\u201cFather Kolbe reminds us that our consecration is neither a legal structure nor a formal title, but a living fire: an obedient listening that leads to the total gift of oneself,\u201d he stated.
\nFriar Carlos also noted that the anniversary should not simply commemorate the past but should also serve as an opportunity to renew fidelity to the Franciscan charism and address the challenges facing the community in the contemporary world.
\n\u201cBrothers and sisters, today we are not simply celebrating a glorious past; we are opening the doors to the future,\u201d he explained.
\nReferring to the words of the Gospel, \u201cBlessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it,\u201d he identified listening to God\u2019s Word as the program that should guide the Province in the years to come. He concluded his homily by praying that the community would remain faithful to the charism it had received, entrusting this intention to the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary and St. Maximilian M. Kolbe.
\nAs is traditional, the jubilee celebrations also honored those who support the Conventual Franciscans through their work, personal commitment, prayer, and generosity.
\nThe Province awarded its highest honor, Fraternitatis gratiarum<\/em>, to Maria KOZIELECKA in recognition of her exceptional service and assistance to the Order and the Province. The award gratefully acknowledged her many years of commitment to the pastoral care of blind persons and children with special needs at the Conventual Franciscan parish church in Gdynia.
\nThe Amore pro amore<\/em> (\u201cLove for Love\u201d) honors were also presented in appreciation of the assistance and generosity shown to the Province of Gda\u0144sk. This year\u2019s recipients were Krzysztof DUDA, Piotr GOTOWA\u0141A, Wanda and Eugeniusz JANKOWSCY, Urszula and Ireneusz KONKOL, Piotr KWIATKOWSKI, Jan LIPKA, Maria ORZECHOWSKA, Rajmund \u017bELEWSKI, the Symfonia Choir, and the parish Caritas<\/em> group.
\nAnother important part of the jubilee gathering was a roundtable discussion entitled \u201cWhere Do We Come From, and Where Are We Going? Forty Years of the Province of St. Maximilian,\u201d<\/em> featuring the Ministers Provincial. The discussion was moderated by Friar Mateusz STACHOWSKI, Guardian of the Friary of the Holy Trinity in Gda\u0144sk.
\nThe roundtable provided an opportunity to revisit the Province\u2019s four decades of history, recall its beginnings, and reflect on the journey the Franciscan community has undertaken since 1986. The anniversary also provided an opportunity to look ahead, consider emerging challenges, and reflect on the responsibility to foster the Province\u2019s continued growth.
\nThe jubilee celebrations concluded with Evening Prayer, presided over by the Minister Provincial, Friar Wojciech KULIG.<\/p>\n

The next celebration will take place in Gniezno in 2027, marking the 200th<\/sup> anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Yolanda of Poland.<\/p>\n

Maja STUDZI\u0143SKA<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On October 10, 2026, the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gda\u0144sk) celebrated forty years of history, fraternity, and Franciscan service. The jubilee celebrations took place in Gdynia, Poland, a place of particular significance in the history of the Province. It was here, in 1986, that the Province held its first Provincial Chapter. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,115,148],"tags":[1568,1695],"class_list":["post-105483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-federations","category-femo-en","category-news","tag-jubilee","tag-poland-gdansk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=105483"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":105487,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/105483\/revisions\/105487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/105479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=105483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=105483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=105483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}