30th Anniversary of the Military Ordinariate

Aleksandra Dziewińska / episkopat.pl

On January 21, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the restoration of the Ordinariate, in the Cathedral of the Military Ordinariate in Warsaw, Card. Kazimierz Nycz celebrated the Holy Mass.

Due to the pandemic, only the employees and the dean Priests of the Ordinariate were present.

We desire to thank God that the gates of barracks have opened for Christ and evangelical values. For the fact that chaplains can once again accompany soldiers in their mission of guardians of peace and freedom” – said bishop Józef Guzdek, Bishop of the Military Ordinariate. „The presence of the metropolitan of Warsaw is a reminder and underlining of the ties between the archdiocese of Warsaw and the field diocese – he added.

Card. Karzymierz Nycz, Archbishop Metropolitan of Warsaw, pointed out that the goal of military ministry is to serve God and other people in times of peace and war. „The service of a military chaplain is a special and demanding type of calling” – he emphasized.

The President of the Republic of Poland, Andrzej Duda, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expressed his gratitude to the chaplains for the spiritual support they offer to the army in the country and on peacekeeping missions. He recalled that over the centuries many chaplains „died on the battlefields or were murdered, many lost their lives before a firing squad, many were sentenced to hard labor and sent to Siberia”.

Following the political changes of 1989, John Paul II, on 21 January 1991, restored pastoral service in the army, appointing Rev. Leszek Głódź first bishop of the Ordinariate after the Second World War. He succeeded in ensuring the pastoral care of the military throughout the national territory and in the peacekeeping missions with the help from Diocesan Bishops and Religious Orders.

The Ordinariate bases its apostolic service on the Apostolic Constitution Spirituali militum curae (1987), on the Decree of the Congregation for Bishops to restore the Ordinariate and on other ecclesial and military documents.