Krakowski Instytut Liturgiczny

Abstract

Establishing institutes of liturgical pastorate was one of the resolutions of the Vatican Council II (Sacrosanctum Concilium 44). They were supposed to give help in implementing the liturgical reform. Such an institute was also established in Cracow in 1968 by Bishop Prof. Wacław Swierzawski. The Institute began its work with formation of priests and nuns who in this way had a chance to study liturgical issues in the Theoretical Section that had a more scientific profile, and in the Practical Section where more attention was paid to liturgical pastorate. In the next years the Institute developed: the Section of Liturgical Music was established (first the basic level, then in 1976 the intermediate one, and in 1978 the advanced one), then the Section of Liturgical Art (started in 1977), the Homiletic Department (started in 1988), the Catechumenal Center (started in 1989) and the Catechumenal Department (started in 1991). The Liturgical Institute also organized numerous interdisciplinary symposia devoted to the issue of development of liturgy, which belonged to the series Vetera et nova, as well as homiletic and catechumenal ones. Besides its didactic work the Liturgical Institute also conducted comprehensive liturgical pastorate in St Mark the Evangelist Church in Cracow that has been bound up with the Institute from the beginning. It took care of lectors (the first lector courses in the diocese were organized in the years 1970-1976), seminarians (the Inter-seminary and Inter-order Mystagogical Seminarian Circle working in the years 1973-1986), students (the Academic Pastorate) and all age groups gathering in that church. The Institute also worked on reviving the cult of Michał Giedroyć called the Blessed, who was declared the patron of the Institute. The Liturgical Institute has been Publishing a number of series of books: a handbook of liturgy Mysterium Christi, the Library of translations of liturgy classics Vetera et nova, and the homiletic Redemptoris Missio.