The Redemptorist Formation Days, intended for the confreres of the Warsaw Province up to 5 years after ordination (in the case of presbyters) or after perpetual vows (in the case of religious brothers), were held in Krakow on April 22-24, 2025. The meeting was attended by 14 young Redemptorists from various places in Poland and abroad, accompanied by Father Sylwester Cabała CSsR – Head of the Formation Secretariat of the Warsaw Province of Redemptorists.
This year’s Redemptorist Formation Days officially began with Vespers and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday morning, the participants had the opportunity to listen to a lecture led by Father Edmund Kowalski CSsR and to discuss complex cases in the context of confession. In the afternoon, a community pilgrimage to the Jubilee Church in Wawel took place. There we visited the cathedral and concelebrated the Eucharist at the relics of St. Stanislaus, bishop and martyr.
On the last day of the meeting, before noon, a conference with workshop activities was held, entitled “Social media and digital hygiene”, led by Magdalena Bigaj – media scholar, researcher and social activist, creator and president of the Foundation “Institute for Digital Citizenship.” In the afternoon, three brothers shared with the other participants their experience and concrete proposals for pastoral work in the parish, mainly in the context of the formation of altar boys and the liturgical service of the Altar, using the scouting method, the preparation of young people for Confirmation and the formation of married couples in the Équipes Notre-Dame communities.
The Redemptorist Formation Days were completed by a meeting of pastors and catechists, which took place online for two consecutive days and in which other brothers were able to participate. During this meeting, the first conference was conducted by Dr. Roman Solecki, an addiction psychotherapist who works at the Department of Adult, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University Hospital in Krakow. The topic was addictions, their mechanisms of action and ways of recovery. In turn, Sister Bożena Leszczyńska, a pastoral assistant at the University Children’s Hospital in Krakow-Prokocim, shared her experience on how to use one’s gifts and talents by offering oneself to the abandoned and the most needy.
Finally, the confreres learned about the initiatives currently underway in the Province by the Redemptorist Youth and Vocation Ministry Centre.
Fr. Grzegorz Pruś, CSsR.
