The XXXV Chapter of the Polish Province of the Society of the Divine Saviour met from 6 to 9 February 2024. Delegates to the 20th General Chapter were elected and some ordinances were voted on.
The Chapter was attended by over 60 brothers from all over the world. Besides the brethren working in Poland, members of the Polish Salvatorian Province came from countries such as the USA, Canada, Albania, Belarus, Ukraine, Zambia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Australia.
During the Chapter, five groups worked on issues related to finances, the apostolate (two groups), formation and preparation for the 20th General Chapter. They were guided by the motto: Rooted in the Divine Saviour - cooperation of apostolates.
An important element of this Chapter was the election of delegates to the XX General Chapter and the voting on the postulates of the Polish Province for the General Chapter. The election of the delegates and sub-delegates was by consensus, and in the first ballot the representatives of the Polish Province emerged.
During the Chapter, Fr Ignatius Pawlus SDS, Chapter elder, Fr Maciej Szeszko SDS, director of the ToTu Youth House and representative of the apostolates, Fr Jerzy Kołodziej SDS, superior of the Australian Region, and Fr Józef Figiel SDS, provincial, delivered the Word to those present. They encouraged the brethren to be zealous in their apostolic work, which stems above all from closeness to the Person of Jesus Christ, who has called us all as Salvatorians. The portrait of our venerable founder, Blessed Francis Mary of the Cross, whose exhortations and admonitions were often quoted during the discussions, occupied a special place in the hall.
Provincial, Fr. Józef Figiel SDS began the proceedings with a report on the activities of the Provincialate and an identification of the challenges facing the entire Province. Fr. Paweł Wróbel SDS, postulator of the beatification process of Helena Kmieć, a Salvatorian volunteer killed during her mission in Bolivia, was warmly welcomed. Fr. Paweł presented the progress in the preparation of the process and underlined the Salvatorian model of life that we find in the figure of Helena.
The brothers discussed the financial matters of the congregation and new ways of expressing solidarity with the needs of the congregation and evangelisation. Fr. Leszek Kopiec SDS presented financial matters. He also presented the investments and the material state of the province, as well as future plans.
The next day of the Chapter focused on the topic of the cooperation of the apostolates - the directors of the apostolates were invited to the Chapter, who presented their activity reports and had the opportunity to answer the Chapter's questions on the development of the apostolates of the Polish Province. In the afternoon, delegates were elected to the 20th General Chapter of the Salvatorians, which will be held this year in Krakow, the seat of the Provincial Chapter of the Polish Province.
The participants spent the last two days working in working groups and presenting the results of their work, as well as voting on new agreements and the election of sub-delegates to the XX General Chapter.
The work concluded solemnly with a Holy Mass presided over by Father Provincial Józef Figiel SDS. He emphasised to the brothers the need for total consecration to God. The vocation of every Salvatorian is apostolic life - and it is in the apostolate that the great desires with which we entered the novitiate and seminary are realised. He also warned against the lack of unity that comes from unbelief and lack of prayer. Rooted in the Saviour - only in this way will we remain faithful to our Founder and our Salvatorian vocation.
The fraternal meeting has come to an end - the fruit of the deliberations is above all a new perception of the various challenges ahead of us and a consensus on the key issues addressed by the Chapter, particularly with regard to the continuation of the work on financial regulations and the development of formation. The Chapter is always an opportunity to share the experiences of brothers working around the world. The situation, seen from the perspective of work in Poland, can be very different in work, for example, in Australia or Zambia. The discussions and joint work on the Chapter documents allowed for mutual understanding and consensual decisions on the future, especially in view of the following year's work.
The Chapter participants thanked all the brothers who gave their valuable time to work for our Congregation. "We thank our benefactors who have prayed for us and ask for more!"
