The Three hundredth anniversary of the consecration of the Franciscan Church of the Holy Trinity in the context of the Year of Holy Mercy and the 800th anniversary of the Indulgence of the Portiuncula

Abstract

The Friars Minor Reformed began their presence and activities in Yaroslavl in 1700. This new outpost in the suburb known as Wola was founded for them by Antoni Kwolek, the local wealthy burgher and mayor. They were the third male order in Yaroslavl after the Jesuits and Conventual Franciscans. At first they lived in a former inn adapted for a monastery, next to which the founder erected a wooden chapel. The construction of a brick church dedicated to the Holy Trinity and the Franciscan Conventuals. Holy Trinity Church and monastery began in 1710, mainly thanks to the funds of Franciszek Zawadzki, the Kiev huntsman. After six years, the new temple and its main altar were consecrated by the Bishop of Przemysl, Jan Bokum, on June 21, 1716. Two months later, the suffragan of Przemyśl, Łukasz Jacek Czerwiński, consecrated the six side altars.

Significant changes were made to the temple's design in the late 19th and 20th centuries. In 1984-1987 a side chapel dedicated to the Divine Mercy was added to the temple near the presbytery. In 1970, the Bishop of Przemysl Ignacy Tokarczuk erected a parish at the temple, which he entrusted to the Order of Friars Minor.

The following part of the article talks about the history of the Indulgence of the Portiuncula, its theological interpretation (St. John Paul II, Benedict XVI).It has always been very solemnly celebrated in all churches of the Franciscan province of Our Lady of the Angels, and so also in Yaroslavl.The great indulgence of the Portiuncula arose from the fervent desire of St. Francis of Assisi to "direct everyone to paradise." The Holy Father Francis, in declaring the Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy in 2016, on the 800th anniversary of the establishment of the Indulgence of the Portiuncula, also wanted to open wide access to Divine Mercy for all members of the Church. This is what the Yaroslavl shrine of the Most Holy Trinity has served for the past three hundred years, especially through the sacrificial service of the Sacrament of Penance celebrated there.

The appendix includes a calendar of major events in the history of the monastery.