Preparation to the Solemn Profession of Six Polish Friars
Pilgrims in Italy in the Footsteps of St. Francis
21 July 2026From 8 to 21 July 2026, six friars from four Polish Provinces of the Order of Friars Minor, together with their formator, took part in a pilgrimage to Italy. This journey constituted the second part of the intensive preparation before making Solemn Profession.
The itinerary led through the most important places connected with the history of Christianity and the origins of the Franciscan Order. The friars began their journey in Rome, where they visited the four major basilicas. A particularly significant moment of their stay in the Eternal City was the visit to the General Curia and the fraternal meeting with the Minister General, Br. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, and the General Definitor, Br. Konrad Cholewa, OFM.
The following days were dedicated to walking in the direct footsteps of St. Francis. The friars visited places of great importance for the spirituality and history of the Order: the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the Hermitage of Carceri, San Damiano, and Assisi itself. The pilgrimage route also led them to places of immense historical significance, namely Greccio and Fonte Colombo. They concluded their journey with a stay at the hermitage on La Verna.
For the participants, it was a special time of deepening their relationship with God and rediscovering their own vocation. Walking the paths once travelled centuries ago by the Poor Man of Assisi allowed the friars to draw from the very sources of the Franciscan charism, so that they might prepare themselves even more fully and wholeheartedly for the final offering of their lives to God in Solemn Profession.
Br. Gabriel Foltyn OFM
