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Nasza Przeszłość

Vol. 63 (1985): Our Past

Articles

A new look at the beginnings of the Franciscans in Poland

  • Antoni Zwiercan
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.1985.63.5-51  [Google Scholar]
Published: 1985-06-30

Abstract

Two sources: "Cronica" by Father Jordan and Jano OFM and Father Joannis de Piano Carpini "Historia Mongolorum" allow us to establish that the Franciscans settled in Polish lands on the initiative of the Order of St. Francis, and not the Piast princes, as Polish historiography has so far suggested, faithful in this respect to the legend transmitted by Jan Długosz. Indeed, the Franciscans, coming from Italy, came to Poland via Germany. John of Pian del CaTpini, provincial of Saxony from 1232 to 12S9, sent friars minor to Bohemia and Moravia, Poland, Hungary, Denmark and Norway. The arrival of the Franciscans to Poland is closely related to the person of John of Pian del Carpini, who personally went to Wrocław and established friendly contacts with Prince Henry the Bearded and the Silesian clergy, deciding to settle the brothers in this city. city and Krakow. The Wrocław monastery was founded in 1232-1234, the Krakow monastery in 1237. Unlike other religious orders, the date of founding of the monastery is the year of the reactivation of the Friars Minor and their assumption of pastoral care. The church and monastery in Wrocław were founded by Prince Henryk the Pious. However, in general, the Franciscans lived and built churches and monasteries thanks to donations made by the bourgeoisie and patrons, whether secular or ecclesiastical. The fact that the brothers lived on public generosity led to a new formula of collective founder. With the consent of the superior general of the order, Elijah of Cortona, John of Pian del Carpini created a chapter, which took place in Prague in 1238. For Poland, this meant the arrival of the Friars Minor. Their main centers were Wrocław, Kraków and Inowrocław. After the meeting of the provincial chapter held in Wrocław in 1239, six monasteries were established in Silesia over the next ten years, and twenty by the end of the 13th century. Soon the Order of St. Franciszka has established itself in other regions of the country. Its development was possible thanks to the extraordinary influx of domestic candidates. Bishop Tomasz II of Wrocław declared that the Franciscan monasteries in Silesia were the work of Poles and Czechs settling there. Later German colonization resulted in the Germanization of eight Silesian and eight Prussian monasteries, which separated from the Czech-Polish province. In 1282, there were thirty-eight religious houses, including sixteen in Poland. The minor brothers retained their own character in the order, did not play a large role in the intellectual movement of the Western world, and devoted themselves entirely to pastoral work. Their main contribution was to deepen the Christianization of the masses and organize evangelization missions in Russia and Lithuania.

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