In a rather unusual way, namely by planting 800 oak trees, our brothers from the Province of Our Lady of the Angels (Poland) serving in Amberg, Germany, have decided to celebrate the Jubilee of the "Canticle of the Creatures".
The idea of planting 800 oak trees was carried out in collaboration with the Amberg Forestry Commission, led by Martin Seits, a neighbour of the Maria-Hilf Shrine where the friars live, who took care of all the technical aspects of the event.
It was a unique opportunity to glorify and thank God for the gift of creation on the one hand and, on the other, to do something good and useful for our Mother Earth, which in the words of St. Francis "sustains and governs us: it produces various fruits, with colorful flowers and grass...".
The event took place on Friday, the 7th March, 2025 in Amberg. At the invitation of the friars of the friary, the Minister Provincial, Br. Krzysztof Bobak, OFM, Br. Lucjusz Wrotniak, OFM, Definitor and Provincial Coordinator of JPIC, and Br. Mariusz Żychowicz, OFM, Provincial Secretary, arrived in Germany.
The event was also attended by the Mayor of Amberg, Michael Cerny, Councillor Jeans Wein, members of the Kirchenstiftung Maria-Hilf Foundation and the management of the Forest Keepers. The local media were also present, who followed the initiative of our friars with great interest and gratitude.
After the explanation of the idea by the Guardian of the fraternity of Amberg, Br. Klemens Świerz, OFM, the Minister Provincial spoke, who emphasized the importance and need to protect the environment in this particular historical moment, recalling how important creation itself was for St. Francis.
Finally, the Mayor of the city spoke, who with great affection and gratitude spoke of the collaboration between the authorities and the friars emphasizing that without the presence of the Polish friars, such an important and popular place of worship as the Shrine of Maria-Hilf would only be an empty and lifeless building.
The representative of the Forest Keepers, Martin Seits, then explained the technical details and why oak cuttings and not other trees were the best in that particular environment, giving historical and biological reasons, describing how long the cuttings grow, what benefits they bring to the fauna and flora and for what purposes the oaks can be used in the church. Finally, the friars of the fraternity read the text of the Canticle of the Creatures and, immediately after, all together they began to plant an oak forest.
