Poland Commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Death of the Primate of the Millennium
Card. Stefan Wyszyński. Credit - Instytut Prymasowski
Poland is commemorating the 40th anniversary of the death of the Primate of the Millennium, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. The program of the celebrations includes Holy Masses, exhibitions, and concerts dedicated to the man who guided the Polish Church during the communist period. A special portal dedicated to the Primate has been prepared by Polskie Radio. The anniversary events will be linked to Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski’s beatification, scheduled to be celebrated on September 12th.
At 6:00 p.m., a Mass will be presided over by Archbishop Wojciech Polak, the Primate of Poland, in the Gniezno Archcathedral. An hour later, in the Archcathedral of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, the President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference will celebrate the Eucharist, asking that Cardinal Wyszynski’s beatification may bear much fruit. Archbishop Stanislaw Gądecki will speak on the topic “Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and the Letter of the Polish Bishops to the German Bishops.”
The Archdiocese of Warsaw said that, with reference to the anniversary of the death of the Primate of the Millennium, the 28th day of the month has for years been a day of prayer at the grave of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski at the Archcathedral in Warsaw. First, the faithful asked for his beatification, and since November 2019 there has been pastoral preparation for the Primate’s elevation to the altars and prayer for its fruits. It is possible that in the future—if the Pope decides so—Cardinal Wyszynski’s liturgical memorial will be celebrated on this day.
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński. First years of his service as Primate of Poland, credit_instytut_prymasowski
The Primate of the Millennium died on May 28th, 1981, several days after the unsuccessful assassination attempt on John Paul II. To commemorate the anniversary, the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszynski has prepared, in cooperation with the National Center for Culture, an outdoor exhibition of previously unpublished photos of the farewell to the Polish Church’s pastor. “Jan Maria Jackowski, then a photojournalist for Tygodnik Solidarność, managed to capture the unity, solidarity, and closeness of people who were united by one thing: the feeling that they had lost someone close to them,” says Piotr Dmitrowicz, director of the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszyński.
Jan Maria Jackowski, currently a senator of the Republic of Poland, recalls that the funeral ceremonies of Primate of the Millennium gathered hundreds of thousands of Poles. “They were described as royal because the nation was bidding farewell to the Interrex, that is, someone who replaced the king during the interregnum, and that is how the communists’ rule was seen. Cardinal Wyszynski was regarded both as a religious and moral leader and a great social authority. He led his homeland and the Church in Poland through the black night of communism with its state atheism and violation of fundamental human rights,” emphasizes Jan Maria Jackowski, quoted in the communiqué of the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszynski.
The open-air exhibition “Experiencing Community. Unknown Photos from Primate Wyszynski’s Farewell” will be on display in front of the Kordegarda Gallery at Krakowskie Przedmieście, Warsaw, until June 8th.
Card_Wyszynski_credit_instytut_prymasowski
The 40th anniversary of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski’s death was also celebrated by Polskie Radio. The public broadcaster has prepared, in collaboration with the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszynski, a special portal: wyszynski.polskieradio.pl. It presents the most important events in the life of the Primate of the Millennium, the impact of his authority on the faithful, as well as his struggles and difficult relations with the communist authorities. The site also contains rich sound collections from the Archives of the Polskie Radio, Poland’s Radio Free Europe, and the recordings of the Primate’s Institute, including excerpts from the Primate’s homilies, recollections of his family and close friends; some recordings are published for the first time in over 60 years.
The portal is divided into 7 thematic tabs, entitled “The Primate’s path to the dignity”, “Stalinism and internment”, “Millennium versus the Thousand Years”, “The Primate and the Pope”, “The Primate and Solidarity”, “The End of the Road”, and “What the Primate Has to Say to Us Today”.
The year 2021 is being celebrated, by virtue of resolutions of the Sejm and the Senate, as the year of Primate Wyszyński. August 3rd will be the 120th anniversary of his birth, and on September 12th, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski will be beatified together with Mother Elżbieta Czacka.
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