Keeping the faith outside the home country in the light of the correspondence of Cardinal Wyszyński with the Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in France

Michał Piotr Klakus

Abstract

In the course of time, the bond between Polish émigrés in France and their motherland weakened. In the 1960s and 1970s, the third and fourth generations of Polish emigrants only knew their country of origin from the stories of their parents and grandparents. How to preserve the Polish national and religious identity? In his correspondence with the Rector of the Polish Catholic Mission in Paris, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński tried to provide an answer to that ques­tion. At that time, persecution of the Church by the party and state authorities was already underway in Poland. It consisted in various measures, including obstructing the contacts of the clergy in Poland not only with the Vatican but also with Polish pastoral centres abroad. In January 1949, in order to ensure the continuity of spiritual care over the Polish diaspora, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Józef Gawlina, a Rome resident, the Protector of Polish Emigration. He held this position until his death in 1964, which is when it became a pre­rogative of the Primate. The Primate managed the foreign ministry through his delegate, Bishop Władysław Rubin. Poles abroad were well aware of the difficult religious situation in Poland and the repression the Primate suffered from the communist authorities, and so the Rector of the Polish Catholic Mis­sion in Paris helped organise aid for the Church in Poland. On the other hand, Card. S. Wyszyński was aware of the dangers that Poles in France faced in respect of denationalisation, which is why he encouraged them to cultivate their native language skills. He also emphasised the specific nature of Polish religiousness demonstrated in the Cult of Mary. He instructed Polish priests in France in the methods they could apply to keep Polish émigrés connected with their homeland.