Prayers of SVD
May the darkness of sin
and the night of unbelief vanish before the light of the Word
and the Spirit of grace
and may the Heart of Jesus live
in the hearts of all people.
(Saint Arnold Janssen)
Zrobione w WebWave CMS
On June 25, 2019 I arrived at Kisol to visit Father Stefan Wrosz who is a Polish missionary. He stays at the retreat house belonging to the Society of Divine Word. He moved there after more than 50 years of mission service in the parishes of East Manggarai. Even though he is 81 years old, Father Stef still likes to go for a walk around the Minor Seminary in Kisol. Therefore, every morning and evening we went around and spoke Indonesian.
Father Stefan comes from the northern part of Poland (Kaszuby) and I come from the southern part (Beskidy). But both of us have family and many friends there. We also communicate with them via internet. We enjoyed together and took pictures. Now in Flores there are only two SVD missionaries from Poland. Father Wladyslaw Gorgon and Father Tadeusz Gruca SVD went to Poland.
Father Stefan said that after 50 years Flores has changed. Now there are good roads, new buildings such as churches and many schools for students. Every year around 120 candidates come to the Minor Seminary in Kisol.
In the Manggarai area parishioners love missionaries from Europe. We met people who still remember the old Polish missionaries. One example: Father Gorgon went to Poland to celebrate the golden jubilee. But his friends gave us a chicken so we could also enjoy together. The Indonesian people are always grateful for getting education with the financial help from Europe.
I am glad that I could meet with Father Stefan who has a valuable experience in Indonesia. From him I learned patience and wisdom to become a loyal and good missionary too. I believe it is possible thanks to the divine grace.