On June 2, 2022, the former monastery building of the Reformati Friars at the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Peter of Alcantara and St. Anthony of Padua hosted the dedication and commissioning ceremony of the Center for Dialogue of Cultures. The project to revitalize valuable monuments: the post-Reformation complexes in Węgrów and Rava-Ruska in Ukraine, which made it possible to finance this huge undertaking, was implemented from 2019 under the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020.
Guests were able to see an exhibition in the cloisters depicting the enormity of the positive changes that have taken place in the monument from 2015 to 2022, including renovation of the facade, replacement of roofs, adaptation of attics for accommodation purposes, a multipurpose room under a glass dome in the cloister, renovated fencing, parking lots, pedestrian routes, and a multimedia Museum Exhibition. A number of outstanding works of art were restored, with Michelangelo Palloni's frescoes at the forefront.
The event was hosted with her usual class by Anna Popek. It began with a moving speech by Rev. Canon Romuald Kosek, who presented the revitalization of the post-Reformation complex. The act of consecration was performed by Bishop Dr. Piotr Sawczuk - Bishop of Drohiczyn assisted by Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Bialystok Fr. Henryk Ciereszko and Senior Bishop of the Diocese of Elbląg Fr. Piotr Wysocki. We then listened to speeches by Bishop Piotr Sawchuk - Bishop of Drohiczyn, Senator of the Republic of Poland Maria Koc (on behalf of the Association of the Monastery of Hungarians - Center for Dialogue of Cultures); Minister Magdalena Gawin- Director of the Pilecki Institute, Father Wieslaw Dorosz- Director of Caritas Spes of the Archdiocese of Lviv and Olga Semeniuk - Secretary of State, Government Plenipotentiary for Small and Medium Enterprises. The ceremony also included the reading of congratulatory letters from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (the letter was read by Secretary of State at the Chancellery, Jan Dziedziczak, Government Plenipotentiary for Polonia and Poles Abroad) and Deputy Prime Minister Professor Piotr Glinski (the letter was read on his behalf by Wanda Zwinogrodzka - Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage). The opening ceremony was an opportunity to thank the people and institutions involved in the revitalization of the Węgrów monastery, who are: Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland Mateusz Morawiecki, Piotr Gliński - Minister of Culture and National Heritage; Grzegorz Puda - Minister of Funds and Regional Policy; Magdalena Gawin - Director of the Pilecki Institute; Andrzej Słodki - Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020; Mirosław Starczewski - Head of the Delegation of the Mazovian Regional Cooperation Center in Siedlce; Sebastian Wijas - President of the Board of Directors of the PKO BP Foundation; Artur Kondrat - President of the Association of Soldiers of the Home Army (Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej); Renata Jaszczur - Dębiec - author of the architectural design of the revitalization project; with her collaborator - architect Rafał Miałkowski; Witold Żyngiel - interior architect; Local Government of Węgrów County; Local Government of the City of Węgrów.
Honors for their service to the Węgrów Monastery - the Jan Dobrogost Krasiński Medals - were awarded to Bishop Piotr Sawczuk - Ordinary of Drohiczyn; Jan Dziedziczak - Secretary of State at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Government Plenipotentiary for Polonia and Poles Abroad; Katarzyna Różycka - President of the ORLEN Foundation; Andrzej Słodki - Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Poland-Belarus-Ukraine Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020.
A nice touch was the handing over of thanks by Starosta Ewa Besztak and the Board of Directors of the Węgrów District to Father Pastor Romuald Kosek and members of the Association of the Hungarian Monastery - Center for the Dialogue of Cultures (active socially since 2013), headed by the author of the concept of the Center for the Dialogue of Cultures - Senator RR Maria Koc.
The ceremonial highlight of the program was the reading of the founding act of the Center for the Dialogue of Cultures.
The first concert in the hall after the Viridor was an excellent performance by the Polish Male Choir under the direction of Prof. Piotr Jańczak. Some of the audience was lucky enough to meet the choir again at the afternoon concert.
We would like to express our sincere thanks on behalf of Fr. Pastor and the entire parish to the Węgrów Monastery Association, the parish Neocatechumenal Community, the Renewal in the Holy Spirit, the "St. Anthony" Kindergarten, the A. Mickiewicz High School in Węgrów, Primary School No. 1 named after Jan Dobrogost Krasiński. Jan Dobrogost Krasinski, Primary School No. 2 named after John Paul II, the parish branch of the Catholic Youth Association with its guardian - Father Mariusz Kroll, and parishioners who not only supported the organization of the event with their work, but also with gifts in the form of flowers, which now decorate the hall in the Wirydarz.
We also thank the Media, thanks to which information about our event reached a wide audience:
TVP Polonia, TVP Info, TV World, TVP Kultura, TVP 3, Catholic Radio Podlasie, Radio Dla Ciebie, "Głos Węgrow i Okolic", "Sieci", "WPolityce", Portal "Opoka", "Tygodnik Siedlecki", "Wieści Sokołowskie", "Niedziela Podlaska", Portal Polska 360. We also thank the Transgraph Cooperation Program