From our partners at Ars Celebrandi, one of the largest Traditional Liturgical conferences in the world:
Ars Celebrandi 2017 liturgical workshop in Licheń, summary
Ars Celebrandi, the largest workshop for traditional Liturgy in Poland and Eastern Europe, took place — for the fourth time — at the Shrine of Our Lady in Licheń on 20th-27th of July. More than 40 Polish priests working in their homeland and many countries around the world (including South Korea, U.S.A., Latvia, Germany, Austria) learned to celebrate the Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, and 10 of them had their first Tridentine Masses. More than 100 laypeople have been taught to serve as altar servers or liturgical singers (Gregorian chant and renaissance polyphony).
In addition to the daily Masses (solemn, sung or recited), Gregorian lauds, vespers and complines were celebrated, with large participation of the clergy. It is all the more important that this type of liturgy has vanished in recent years almost completely in the Roman Church.The so-called, „Polish” Masses, with the singing of old folk religious songs, were also celebrated. This form of devotion blossomed after the Council of Trent in Poland with special permission of the Polish bishops and is not known outside our country.The workshops gave opportunity not only for learning, but also for spiritual growth, as retreat teachings were preached on a daily basis. This year they were dedicated to the five conditions of the sacrament of penance. Participants also took part in the evening Marian procession with candles, celebrated every Saturday in the Shrine of Our Lady in Licheń.Daily Masses celebrated in the Dominican rite were of special interest. This liturgical rite is specific to the Dominican Order; it was approved by the Holy See in the middle of the 13th century and has been maintained until today. Celebrations in Licheń were enabled by the presence of Dominicans, as only priests being members of this Order are allowed to celebrate Mass in this rite.And in general, this year’s “Ars Celebrandi” workshops were unique in terms of number and variety of religious priests and seminarians. In addition to the Dominicans, there were representatives of the Conventual Franciscans, Observant Franciscans, Capuchins, Salesians, Piarists, Cistercians, Jesuits, Benedictines, Priests of the Sacred Heart, Redemptorists, Salvatorians, Pallottines, Lasarists and the Institute if the Good Shepherd.Morover, the special guest of the workshop was Fr. Dennis Koliński from the Canons Regular of St. John Kantius from the United States, a religious congregation emerged in the former Polish parish of St. John Kantius in Chicago. The charisma of the Canons Regular of St. John Kantius is the work for strengthening the sacred and supernatural character of the liturgy — in both forms of the Roman rite. They accomplish it through parish ministry, liturgical music workshops, catechesis, workshops of celebration and ministry, and Latin language courses.Ars Celebrandi Workshops are organized by the Una Voce Polonia Association under the honorary patronage of the Ordinary, His Excellency Bishop Wiesław Mering. Next year’s edition, the fifth one, will take place on 12th-19th of July, 2018 at the Shrine of Our Lady in Licheń.
