Eight hundred years ago, St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata. To mark this event, on Saturday, November 16, 2024, the Franciscan Academic Society hosted a symposium on the theme: \u201cFranciscus alter Christus.\u201d<\/em> The symposium was held at the Conventual Franciscan friary in Cracow, Poland.<\/strong><\/p>\n Friar Zbigniew W\u00d3JCIK, President of the Franciscan Academic Society, explained: \u201cThis profound mystical event was rooted in St. Francis\u2019s ardent desire to conform himself to Christ, and it inspired his followers to explore its rich and layered significance. We hope that the reflections during the symposium will deepen understanding of what the stigmata meant in St. Francis\u2019s spiritual life and how this event has been received and understood by his spiritual followers.\u201d Friar Jan M. SZEWEK<\/p>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Eight hundred years ago, St. Francis of Assisi received the stigmata. To mark this event, on Saturday, November 16, 2024, the Franciscan Academic Society hosted a symposium on the theme: \u201cFranciscus alter Christus.\u201d The symposium was held at the Conventual Franciscan friary in Cracow, Poland. Friar Zbigniew W\u00d3JCIK, President of the Franciscan Academic Society, explained: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75567,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[132,115,148],"tags":[2300,1773],"class_list":["post-75572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-federations","category-femo-en","category-news","tag-franciscan-centenary","tag-poland-cracow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75572","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=75572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ofmconv.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe invited speakers gave various perspectives on the theme of the symposium. Friar Piotr GRYZIEC discussed the biblical aspect with a lecture entitled: \u201cThe<\/em> Idea of Being Christ-like According to St. Paul<\/em>.\u201d Friar Dariusz KASPRZAK, OFM Cap., addressed theological and patristic views with a lecture entitled: \u201cResembling Christ in Patristic Theology:<\/em> An<\/em> Outline of the Issue.\u201d Finally, <\/em>Friar Andrzej HEJNOWICZ explored the historical context of St. Francis\u2019 stigmata with a lecture entitled: \u201cThe Fact of the Stigmata of St. Francis<\/em>.\u201d During the second part of the symposium, Friar Marcin DR\u0104G examined the role of the stigmata in liturgy with a lecture entitled: \u201cThe Icon of St. Francis Based on the Eucology of the Mass \u2018Dilectus Deo\u2019 from the Missale Franciscanum Regulae.\u201d<\/em> Friar Tomasz CZAJKA addressed the stigmata from the spiritual perspective in his lecture entitled: \u201cThe Crucifixion of St.<\/em> Francis and His Likeness to Christ in the Letter of Canonization \u201cMira circa nos\u201d by Gregory IX.\u201d <\/em>Finally, Friar Rafa\u0142 ANTOSZCZUK discussed the stigmata in sacred art with a lecture entitled: \u201cThe Iconography of St. Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata<\/em>.\u201d
\nFriar Marek FIA\u0141KOWSKI from the Catholic University of Lublin and Friar Jerzy BRUSI\u0141O from the Pontifical John Paul II University chaired both parts of the symposium.
\nThe Academic Society aimed for this symposium to stimulate broader discussions and encourage the participants to share their thoughts on St. Francis\u2019s spirituality, ultimately aiding their personal spiritual growth.
\nAll the lectures can be watched on the YouTube channel of the Basilica of St. Francis in Cracow at: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=si7p2ijUqDw. The lectures will soon be featured on the website franciszkanie.pl. Eventually, they will be published in the magazine W nurcie franciszka\u0144skim <\/em>[In the Franciscan Current<\/em>].
\nA song was composed especially for this symposium. The lyrics were written by a Poor Clare from Skaryszew, Poland, Sister Paulina KACZMAREK, OSC. The music was composed by Friar Marcin SARNA of Cracow. At the end of the symposium, the song was given its debut performance by the Franciscan musical group Fioretti<\/em>. It is also available on the YouTube channel of the Basilica of St. Francis in Cracow.
\nIn the afternoon, the Franciscan Academic Society conducted a meeting in the friary. The members have provisionally planned next year\u2019s symposium, which will be held on Saturday, November 15, 2025. It will be dedicated to the Canticle of the Creatures<\/em>, also known as the Canticle of Brother Sun<\/em>. On that occasion, this canticle by St. Francis of Assisi, the oldest work of poetry in the Italian language, will turn eight hundred years old.<\/p>\n