Friar Joachim Giermek Leads Retreat for Fellow Franciscans

Retreat participants in Marytown, Illinois

Friar Joachim Giermek – once the minister general of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual – recently met with postulants, novices, professed friars, and a selection of their formation directors for a retreat at the National Shrine of Saint Maximilian Kolbe in Libertyville, Illinois. The national shrine is known to most people as Marytown. The themes of the retreat at Marytown according to Friar Brad Milunski focused on "a Franciscan approach to conversion, the vows, and fraternity".

Friar Joachim Giermek

The Conventual Franciscans who gathered for the retreat represented every jurisdiction found in the Conventual Franciscan Conference (CFC). The CFC's jurisdictions include the United States, Canada, England, and Ireland. Friar Brad pointed out that for many of the participants it was also the first time that they had the opportunity to meet their brothers.

Marytown, Illinois