Great Pilgrimage

Rafał Łatka

Polish Family Album: The Grand Pilgrimage

The Origin. The Nation and the Church

Although the communist regime governed a mostly catholic population, it fought against the Church since the Red Army entered Poland, up until the end of the Polish People’s Republic. 1949-1956 were the most oppressive years. A show trial conducted against bishop Czesław Kaczmarek concluded in sentencing him to 12 years in prison for alleged espionage. Primate Stefan Wyszyński was imprisoned for 3 years. The following years were marked by a rivalry of two conflicting visions of Poland: the catholic Great Novena vision which emphasized personal rights, and the socialist vision of Władysław Gomułka, which perceived the society and history through the lens of class struggle. The Church came victorious after a massive turnout at the celebration of the thousand years of Polish Christianity in 1966. It did not stop the communist regime from taking repressive actions, which continued throughout the 70s and the 80s, but took on more subtle means.

The Polish pope

The appointing of Karol Wojtyła as the next pope on October 16th 1978 had a significant impact on the history of Poland and the entire world. Just a few days after the conclave, the Holy Father and the Polish bishops expressed their interest in organizing a papal visit to Poland. The communist regime did not want to allow the pilgrimage, but they also could not refuse entry to a Polish citizen. In fall 1978, the negotiations began and it was established that the Holy Father would come to Poland on June 2nd 1979 and stay for 9 days. The episcopal conference and the Polish People’s Republic representatives set up a schedule, according to which John Paul II would visit: Warsaw (June 2-3), Gniezno (June 3-4), Częstochowa (June 4-6), Cracow (June 6), Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Wadowice, Oświęcim and Auschwitz-Birkenau former German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (June 7), Nowy Targ (June 8) and again Cracow (June 8-10).

The Grand Pilgrimage

The message of the pilgrimage revolved around three main elements: the homily given at the then-Victory Square in Warsaw, the surrendering to the Holy Mother of God of Częstochowa at the Jasna Góra Monastery and meeting the devoted in Błonia Park in Cracow. Each celebration involving the pope drew giant crowds. At least 4.5 million Poles have seen the Holy Father in person. The increased activity of the repressive regime could not stop them. The papal message was successfully spread not only at the public gatherings, but also through radio and television broadcasts. It motivated Poles to take action and deepened their community ties based on the teachings of the Church. Polish people attending the masses saw how many of them gathered and could feel the strength of the movement. In summer of 1980 strikes in major towns broke out again moments later “Solidarity” emerged. In the words of historian George Weigel – the grand pilgrimage had “ignited a spiritual revolution”.