At the Shrine of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland in Licheń, the ninth edition of the “Ars Celebrandi” liturgical workshops was held from 7 to 14 July. One hundred and eighty people from Poland and abroad prayed together at Holy Masses and sung breviary hours, listened to retreat sermons and learned various skills needed to celebrate the Holy Mass in the older form of the Roman Rite.
As part of the “Ars Celebrandi” workshops, priestly, altar and choral workshops (the latter separately for women and men) were held. A large part of the participants were young people. The organizers are particularly pleased that at “Ars Celebrandi” priestly and religious vocations are born. “During the nine years of the workshops’ existence, we have seen many times participants coming first as lay people, then as clerics, and finally as priests”, said Fr. Paweł Korupka, the chaplain of the “Ars Celebrandi” liturgical workshops.
The majority of the participants were lay people, but there were also about forty priests. Most people learned altar serving, at several skill levels, and Gregorian chant. A large group of participants were the youngsters; and there were also children with their parents. “One can see that young people are attracted to the Holy Mass in the older form of the Roman Rite, they want to discover what their ancestors used to live. We fulfill their expectations, and in addition, we help to carry on the treasury of tradition that the Church has and wants to protect”, said Tomasz Olszyński, the chief coordinator of the workshops.
Most priests had come across the older form of the Roman rite earlier, and during the workshops they deepened their knowledge of the rules of its celebration, learned the ministries of deacon and subdeacon, and the administration of other sacraments. A few learned to say Mass from scratch. Some of those present did not participate in any specific workshops, but treated their stay at “Ars Celebrandi” as a private retreat. This apply to priests, men and women religious, as well as lay people.
Encouraging the constant learning of the art of celebration, Pope Francis used the Latin phrase ars celebrandi in the latest document on liturgy, the apostolic letter Desiderio desideravi, and the same phrase is also the name of the workshops in Licheń. “This motivates us to assimilate the content of this document as carefully as possible. We have always emphasized that during our workshops the acquisition of practical skills should be accompanied by a deeper liturgical, catechetical and spiritual formation”, said Fr. Paweł Korupka.
Licheń is in the Włocławek diocese, and the “Ars Celebrandi” workshops are held with the consent and blessing of the ordinaries of this diocese: Bishop Wiesław Mering in the past, and Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski now. On July 9 Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski came to the “Ars Celebrandi” workshops. He visited each of the thematic workshops, chapels used to celebrate the Holy Mass and the sacristy, and got acquainted with the staff and participants. “The Ordinary is the first leiturgos of the diocese, so the presence of Bishop Krzysztof among us pleased us very much. The concern for the diligence of the celebration, liturgical vestments and proper liturgical music, showed by him during his visit, motivates us to be even more involved in our work”, said Tomasz Olszyński.
The organizer of the „Ars Celebrandi” workshop in Licheń is the Una Voce Polonia Association, affiliated to the international federation of Catholics attached to the older form of the Roman liturgy Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce. The media patronage wass provided by prestigious Polish Catholic medias, such as EWTN Polska, Pastores, Przewodnik Katolicki, Rycerz Niepokalanej, Miłujcie się, liturgia.pl, profeto.pl, misyjne.pl, as well as Rorate Caeli blog (U.S.A.).
