Poland: European Heartland of the Catholic Faith
From Good Shepherd Tours, welcome back! We once again prepare to take a virtual pilgrimage through a new set of travel blogs across Europe, North America and the Middle East. We begin our journey with a three-part series on Poland.
Poland, ”Rome’s most faithful daughter” as described by the American historian Neal Pease, offers a pilgrimage to a land of living faith as few other European countries can in the 21st century. While the Polish people converted to Christianity at a relatively late age in European history (Good Friday, 966 AD), it was a faith they took to heart and have never let go of. Now a nation of 38 million people with a multi-generational global diaspora community numbering in the millions, Poland and its Catholic identity is often considered to be one and the same. Often divided and under rule by its powerful neighbors or laboring under repressive political regimes, Poland’s Catholic cultural identity and faith has often been seen as the second most unifying cultural force after its language.
With more than 85% of the Polish people confirmed Catholics and one of the highest percentages of regular church attendance, a pilgrimage to Poland is far more than simple visits to its many impressive churches, basilicas and monasteries. It includes visits to roadside shrines and country chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary or any number of saints, the beautiful celebration of feast day traditions as door-markings on Epiphany, Fat Tuesday doughnuts and Easter Sunday eggs, candle-lit vigils and cemetery visitations on the feast of All Saints and All Souls.
Beginning a tour in the western regions of the country allows us to also visit some of the most historic places of Catholic pilgrimage. The city of Poznan, also known by its German name Posen, is considered to be the birthplace of Catholic Poland and one of the two most likely locations of the baptism of the first Christian King. The cathedral of Poznan is a stately structure located within a complex of church buildings built on a small river island known as Ostrow Tumski. The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul includes the resting place of the first two Christian kings of Poland as well as six others, and a side-chapel dedicated made famous by the Papal Visit of Pope Saint John Paul II in 1983. A short distance away lies the beautiful town square, laid out as a traditional market town with its well-known mechanical clock tower on top of the ornate City Hall that features two head-butting goats engaging in a duel each day at noon. Other local sites include the Imperial
Not so far away lies the city of Gniezno, also an important historic center of the formation of the Catholic faith, and the coronation city of Polish kings throughout the centuries. Its Gothic cathedral dedicated to the Feast of the Assumption includes the relics of the 10th-century missionary Saint Adalbert, better known by his Polish name Wojciech, and its famous, enormous bronze doors known as the Gniezno Doors. The Old Town district includes a good number of historic buildings and further churches.
Not all important churches in this part of Poland are necessarily cathedrals and basilicas, however. In the West Pomeranian region of Poland, the quiet village of Chwarszczany may easily be overlooked if pilgrims are not informed of the historical significance of their local church, once an important center for the Knights Templar Crusaders on their return from the Holy Land. Built in the middle of the 13th century in Templar fashion as a fortified house of both worship and defense, recent archaeological excavations have uncovered the remains of Templar Knights and a possible passageway, fueling local legends that this church may have been the secret reliquary of the Holy Grail. Other local important Templar-connected structures in the picturesque town of Myślibórz and Rurka.
While pilgrims may not discover the Holy Grail – just yet – in western Poland, it is nonetheless a worthy first stop on the pilgrimage trail across the country!
Be Not Afraid!
Good Shepherd Travel offers trips to Poland as part of their pilgrimage tours. The Holy Land, Rome, Lourdes, Fatima, Ireland, and many other destinations are among our most popular programs. For more information on how to begin preparing for a pilgrimage in late 2021 and 2022, contact Tony AbuAita at Tony@goodshepherdtravel.com. We will return to pilgrimage – and we hope to see you with us!