Lent is a time of repentance and conversion. The retreats preached in many parishes are intended to encourage and help the faithful in conversion and renewal. Each year we entrust this mission to the retreat preachers from the Polish Province of the Oblate Missionaries.

This year we host Fr. Dawid Stefaniszyn OMI whom I had the opportunity to ask a few questions.

1. What impression did Canada and the parishes where you preached Lenten retreats make on you?

The retreat tour in Canada is a nice change from my annual Lenten ministry in Poland. It allows me to gain new experiences and a broader perspective on the diversity of the Church and the work of the Oblates in a context different from ours in Poland. The parishes I visit are close-knit communities deeply involved in parish life, which undoubtedly stems from the fact that, in addition to their pastoral role, they also serve as a link to Polish culture.

2. Has anything changed since your first visit to Canada with the Gitary Niepokalanej band? Is this a different or similar experience of our Polish community’s reality?

When I was in Canada for the first time, I got to know it from the perspective of a seminarian. Our stay was short and intense. It also had something of a tourist trip about it—that is, the desire to see such a distant corner of the globe. Today, I have more time to experience the Polish community in Canada, and I see it more deeply because I am here as a priest, a missionary, with whom many share their life stories and current challenges.

3. Tell us why you became the Oblate? What do you like about our Congregation?

I first met the Oblates while they were preaching a Lenten retreat in my home parish in Świdnik. What I value most in the Oblate charism is community life within the congregation and missionary ministry outside it. These are elements that create a healthy, complementary balance.

4. Tell us what your ministry in Poland is like?

The work of a mission preacher (i.e. retreat leader) in Poland is seasonal, meaning our commitments vary depending on the time of year. Of course, Advent and Lent are times of intensive retreats, followed by assisting with a lot of confessions. Winter is the season when we help with pastoral visit at parishioners homes. After Easter, in turn, the time of parish missions begins, which, with a break for summer replacements of some parish priests, lasts until late fall. In the meantime, there is also a time for preaching in different parishes about the Oblate work in the missions ad gentes and distributing our mission calendars. This is a vast variety, quite different from the repetitive nature of certain cycles of work in the parish. It also allows us to meet many new people and experience the reality of numerous parishes, which enriches our perspective on the Church.

5. What will you remember most about Canada when you return to Poland?

When I leave, I will certainly take with me a sense of gratitude toward the many Oblate brothers I had the opportunity to meet during this time. It is wonderful that, through the Congregation, I have such a large and diverse family. I will also remember the many conversations with parishioners who shared with me their experiences of emigration. These are values I would not have gained had I not been invited to Canada this year.

Fr. Dawid Stefaniszyn, OMI, was born in Lublin in 1994. He was ordained a priest in Obra on May 29, 2021. For two years, he served as an associate pastor at St. Eugene de Mazenod Parish in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, and since 2023, residing in the same community, he serves as a missionary and retreat preacher.

(TJ/DJ)