Speech to Franciscans of Polony and Ucrany
HH John Paul II
SPEECH TO FRANCISCANS FROM POLAND AND UKRAINE
On the 550th anniversary of the arrival of the Franciscans in Poland
Rome, Tuesday February 11, 2003
In 2003, Franciscans celebrated the 550th anniversary of their arrival in Poland in 1453. The first convent they founded was that of Krakow, which was very visited by John Paul II before his transfer to Rome. On February 11, 2003, the Pope received in audience a representation of the Polish Franciscan province of the Immaculate Conception, which serves the famous sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and of the custody of Saint Michael the Archangel (Ukraine), which was celebrating its tenth anniversary, and gave them the following speech.
Dear Brothers in the Episcopate, Venerable Parents, Dear Bernardine Brothers,
I warmly welcome you all. You have arrived in Rome, visiting the tombs of Saint Francis and Saint Bernardino of Siena along your itinerary, to give thanks to God, here, before the tombs of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for the 550 years of the presence of the Friars Minor (Bernardines) on Polish soil. I gladly join in this thanksgiving, because I know how much good it has done and how deeply it has been embedded in our native spirituality and culture.
This jubilee is linked to the founding of the Krakow convent. That convent and that basilica on Bernardynska Street are very dear to me. During my youth I went there many times; I did the same later as a priest and, finally, as bishop of Krakow. My meetings with your community have also been numerous. In a particular way, the meeting and the scientific symposium that took place in the context of the Jubilee of Saint Francis, in April 1976, have been engraved in my memory. I remember that I said then, when opening the congress: Francis of our times. Maybe not just one, but many. We live in a time when the Second Vatican Council has amply revealed to us the dimension of the People of God. Therefore, in our democratic times, perhaps it is necessary that Saint Francis becomes the model for all of us: for the whole Church in Poland.
For this reason, your community, when celebrating the Jubilee, while turning its gaze to the past and thanking God for all the goods it has received in the past, must also look to the future in a particular way. You must ask God to make you more and more fully witnesses to the spirit of Saint Francis. To obtain this, I pray together with you. And, since we are living the Year of the Holy Rosary, I do so through the intercession of Mary, invoking Saint Bernardino of Siena, your protector and patron, who was very devoted to her.
I also thank God for the ten years of the Custody of Saint Michael the Archangel in Ukraine. It is not a great jubilee, but it is important; It is an invitation to a great thanksgiving for all the good that you have done to the beloved people of God in Ukraine, thanks to your persevering and generous ministry.
I am grateful once again for the welcome that the Province of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary gave me in the sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. I hope that your community grows in number and in grace, and that the intercession and example of your patron saints, Francisco and Bernardino, will sustain you on the paths of holiness.
I also wish to warmly greet the professors and students of the Mundelein Seminary in Chicago.
God bless you.
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