Day four of Superior’s General visit in Poland was dedicated to Daughters of Charity from the Province of Chelmno-Poznan in Chelmno, a small town some 30 miles North-East from Bydgoszcz. Fr. Greg spent most of the day in the Provincial House. As we noticed later, it wasn’t easy for him to leave the place where he was welcomed with such overwhelming cordiality and hospitality.
We can provide the report from the visit in Chelmno thanks to collaboration of Sisters from the Provincial House and generosity of Sr. Hanna Cybula DC, the Visitatrice. Fr. General accompanied by the Visitor and the Provincial Secretary arrived to Chelmno at about 9:30 a.m. Sister Visitatrice, Provincial Council, large number of Sisters, Fr. Pawel Sliwinski CM, Director of the Province and Fr. Tadeusz Wojtonis CM welcomed the honorable Guest.
Right after arrival Superior General celebrated the Eucharist in the church. In the homily, he referred to Missal readings saying, among others, that the feast – a common meal is very significant. It’s time of sharing. Aa a Vincentian Family, in encounter with Jesus, we should highlight three points. They are:
- Expressed in prayer intimate unity with Jesus
- Communion with Jesus expressed in communion among ourselves
- Service to the poor, who should not be the object of our service, but its subject, too. the poor should feel invited to the table together with us. In conclusion Superior General said, “May this Eucharist unite us in the love of God and the poor”.
After the Mass, at about 11 a.m. a meeting of Superior General with all Sisters from the house begun. They sang a song for the Holy Founders. Then, Sr. Visitatrice briefly talked about the Province. Next Superior General shared his experience from General Assembly of Daughters of Charity in Paris, held in May this year, and some reflections on the Jubilee Year of 350th Anniversary which Vincentian Family celebrates.
Lunch with the community at noon. It was not only the time for meal but for joy in the community as well, which could be recognized when two Sisters, the tallest and the shortest in the house, danced while singing a popular religious song many children sing, “such a small, such a big can be a saint”.
Another event of the day was a tour of the Provincial House and the compound. Our honored Guest visited the upper church (the choir). In the Provincial archives Sr.Visitatrice showed him the oldest and most precious books kept there, some of the handwritten. Then he was in the Provincial Secretariat. Very significant was the visit Superior General paid to sick and old Sisters in the infirmary. Next he met with sisters in the Seminary. Beautiful and picturesque landscape the Guest could admire from the terrace and garden. He stopped for a moment at the crypt of Mother Magdalene Morteska, a reformatoress of Benedictine Order, died in 1631 considered as saint.
Visit of the sick and suffering persons (some 140 people) in the nursery home which is located in the Provincial House compound was another significant moment. Superior General showed honest, deep and true concern and empathy contacting adult residents, disabled and handicapped, intellectually too, children and youth boys and girls.
Visit in the day care center for children was an exceptional event. On this occasion children were singing very, very enthusiastically in Polish and also in Italian. Their performance impressed Father General very deeply. Filled with simplicity and spontaneously he taught the children singing an English song with gestures. It was a unique opportunity and great amusement to see Fr. Greg dancing among children. They understood each other very well without words.
Visit in the Provincial House finished at about 3:30 p.m. At the end Superior General addressed another warm expressions to Sisters gathered in the community hall. He delivered a special blessing for all members of the Province.
Another goal of the trip was Sopot. In the evening Superior General arrived to the parish of Pentecost in Sopot. Evening meal and meeting with confreres working in Sopot, Gdynia and Gdansk was planned here. We will give you a report from this event in another post.
International viewers can visit our English site to read stories from Superior’s General visit to Poland or follow us on Twitter. Facebook users can visit our page there. There’s a map of places visited by Superior General in Poland, too. Czytaj także pozostałe informacje na temat wizyty Przełożonego Generalnego w Polsce w naszym serwisie. Najświeższe informacje możecie znaleźć w kanale CM_Polonia na Twitterze. Użytkownicy Facebook-a mogą śledzić wizytę na stronie Zgromadzenie Księży Misjonarzy. Polecamy także mapę z zaznaczonymi miejscami odwiedzanymi przez O. Generała.
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i think father generals departure was difficult because of all the nice people in the PROVINCE
WHEN I VISIT POLAND SOMETIMES I FIND IT ALSO DIFFICULT TO LEAVE
BUT IF WE WANT TO BE UNITED TO THE POLISH WE MUST REMEMBER
THAT ALL THE POLISH IN THE WORLD ARE UNITED TO OUR LADY OF CZESTOCHOWA IN THERE HEARTS