Poland's Triumph

The Shrine in Częstochowa

Recently, I traveled to Poland with a small group from my Communication class. Last Spring, six of us organized a four-day whirlwind tour of Pope John Paul II’s homeland to help kick-off the new academic year. One of my good friends here in Rome is a young Polish priest and he readily agreed to serve our guide for visiting many of Poland’s most renowned sanctuaries. Time was short; we only had four days to pack in a healthy dose of Poland’s rich culture, but with the help of our Polish friend, who safely delivered us through what would have certainly been a precarious language barrier, we were able to do much of what we set out to accomplish. Prior to the trip, I had heard a good deal second-hand about Poland’s history and culture and had been deeply impressed with her reputation as one of the world’s most devoutly Catholic nations. But for some time I wanted to experience this culture firsthand, so finally the time had arrived as we touched down in Warsaw. We started off by visiting the sanctuary in Częstochowa, which serves as the sacred repository for the revered icon of the Black Madonna. As we made our way through the Church, we were all deeply impressed by the intensity of the devotion exhibited by the Polish faithful at the shrine: young people lined up at the confessionals and Mass attendance was standing room only. The visit to the shrine confirmed right from the start of the trip that the Catholic faith in Poland is not merely an incidental or historical anecdote of Polish culture, relegated to the history books, but rather is a living, breathing part of modern Polish society. After the stop at Częstochowa, we took the long bus ride to the infamous Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz and, by the end of our tour of the grounds, we were all reduced to a somber silence: it seemed the only appropriate reaction, words weren’t enough. Undoubtedly, Auschwitz will serve for the ages as a dark reminder of humanity’s capacity for diabolical machinations against the dignity of his fellow man. As the visit progressed, we also toured Wawel Castle in Krakow. Wawel serves as a national shrine and final resting place for numerous Polish royalty and cultural and political luminaries from ages past. Along with the shrine at Częstochowa, many consider Wawel the epicenter and nexus of Polish culture and history. Wawel lacked the musty museum ambiance that characterizes other European cultural sites I’ve visited, where all too often, a nation’s cultural identity and past have been reduced to a faded memory or museum piece, an old, forgotten book gathering dust on the shelf of Europe’s collective conscience. Far different was the scene at Wawel; the castle was alive with Polish pilgrims, again young and old, streaming in and out of its cavernous chambers, paying respects to their national heroes. Looking back, what stood out most about the visit was a tangible cultural freshness unique to Poland, which sets her apart from other nations of Europe. All of these moving experiences brought to the forefront a salient question: Why is Poland so different from the rest of modern Europe?

Wawel Castle

It is widely acknowledged in Catholic circles, and it is immediately perceived by those who visit Europe, that the Continent at present finds itself in the violent throws of a particularly poisonous cultural malaise that has at its source an identity crisis rooted in its hostility toward its Christian heritage and broad embrace of moral relativism. By rejecting the essential ingredient of Christianity in the composition of its identity, most in Europe are grasping in the dark for something else that might fill the vacuum and give meaning to their existence. Dangerous ideologies promising to herald in a new august age of enlightenment, ranging from Nazism, Fascism and Communism have been the most popular substitutes over the past century and no doubt Poland has suffered the full fury of what these creeds had to offer; death on a scale unprecedented in the history of the world, disease, famine and political and economic turmoil, to name only a few. The pontificates of Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI have eagerly sought to allay these erratic spasms of secularism by imploring Europe to rediscover herself by fearlessly embracing her cultural heritage and, in particular, the faith that has over the course of two-thousand years, crafted Europe’s beautiful and diverse cultures. Both have made it clear in no uncertain terms that the survival of Europe as a cultural entity is at stake. Even traditionally Catholic nations like Spain and Italy have fallen prey to the predator of moral relativism. Yet despite the success that relativism has achieved in virtually every nation, Poland has firmly resisted and fought off relativism’s advances and consequently stands out as a pearl among the nations of Europe.

My short pilgrimage proved convincingly that the dark cloud of radical secularism has by and large passed over Poland. There are several reasons that can explain for this. Over the centuries, Poland has suffered severely at the hands of avaricious nations who have fought over how to divide, conquer and eviscerate not merely Polish territory, but Polish culture itself. Indeed, it is precisely because of Poland’s epic struggles to preserve a cultural memory against foreign powers over the past millennia that Poles today are so acutely aware of precisely what is at stake when the armies of relativism and secularism threaten at its borders. Throughout Poland’s agonizing ensnarement by Nazism and Communism, Karol Wojtyla/Pope John Paul II fought mightily to remind his countrymen of their unique identity as Poles, found in the pages and chapters of their literature, the chords and notes of their music and most significantly in the faith of their fathers. Through the immense trials of foreign occupation and oppression, an authentic Polish culture, a unique Polish identity, was embalmed for future generations so that today, it remains viable and intact. Indeed, Poland embodies everything that Europe ought to be. To be certain, this Slavic nation, like all nations, faces the same challenges and hurdles that threaten any open and free society. Nevertheless I have never been in a country whose people and culture move in tandem so harmoniously with the traditional faith professed by the nation. Absent was the disparity present in so many other nations that sees modernity and faith set against one another as irreconcilable and mortal foes. Poland, as a society, culture and nation, has figured out how to be thoroughly modern and authentically Catholic at the same time by recognizing, revering and cherishing its culture. I believe this was the vision for Europe and the world that inspired Pope John Paul II.