Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Warsaw (Agenzia Fides) – May 5-6, a jubilee celebration for the 25 anniversary of the Missionary Formation Center was held in Warsaw (Poland), according to a report sent to Agenzia Fides from Monsignor Jan Piotrowski, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Poland. The event, which took place at the center itself, was attended by the leaders of the center in addition to many missionaries and seminarians from all over Poland. The first day of the encounter was especially dedicated to the participants' spending time together especially in prayer, creating an environment of prayer. On the second day, there was a symposium on missiology at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University (UKSW) in Warsaw. After the inauguration, there was an initial talk given by Fr. Alberto Brignioli, Director of the Latin American Sectrion of the Missionary Center in Verona (Italy) on the method for preparing missionaries in Italy there. Later on, Fr. Tomasz Szyszka, SVD spoke on the experiences of missionary formation of the Church in Poland. Monsignor Jan Wnek, current Director of the Missionary Formation Center, presented the book written about the Center by Anna Sobiech. The author works at the National PMS Office in Poland as National Secretary of the Holy Childhood Association. This part was presided by Fr. Jaroslaw Rozanski, OMI, professor of the same university (UKSW). The symposium concluded with talks from Cardinal Jozef Glemp, Primate of Poland, and Archbishop Henryk Hoser, SAC, Bishop of Warsaw-Praga.
The Mass, which was widely attended by students and guests, was presided by Bishop Wiktor Skworc, President of the Bishops' Committee for the Missions and Bishop of Tranow. The Mass was concelebrated by the Bishop (Apostolic Administrator) of Atyrau (Kazakhstan) and Bishop Jan Ozga of Cameroon, along with other Bishops of Poland and former directors of the CFM. There were also many missionary priests.
Upon the decision of the Polish bishops, the doors of the Missionary Formation Center were opened in 1984 in Warsaw. The main objective of the center was to transmit the spirit of Vatican II and the doctrine from the missionary decree “Ad Gentes” within the context of the Church in Poland and as a response to the great missionary challenges of a Church that had undergone the Communist establishment in Poland. They also sought to offer a new and organized formation for Polish Fidei Donum priests, religious, and lay missionaries.
During these 25 years, 804 people have passed through the center: 371 diocesan Fidei Donum priests; 101 religious priests; 234 religious, 23 brothers, and 75 lay missionaries in search of a spiritual, linguistic, and missiological formation. Missionaries for every corner of the world have left the center to bring the Good News to all the earth. Among them are: Bishop Jan Ozga in Cameroon (Africa) and Bishop Jozef Slaby, CSSR in Argentina. Many work with great generosity in many countries throughout the world, including in Poland itself. One of them the attended CFM, Fr. Jan Czuba, was killed in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) in 1998.
“They are 25 years of history, of the history of so many people who have felt the Lord's calling. All of them have been privileged witnesses of the Gospel, whose lives remind us that it is worth every sacrifice to go out into the entire world and preach the Gospel. We hope that the coming years will also be fruitful ones for CFM and the number of missionary vocations to the Church in our country may continue to grow. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 7/5/2009)
