In 1999, during his second to last pastoral trip to Poland John Paul II visited 21 localities. The Holy Father came to Poland, which after the difficult transformation period in the early 1990s was begining to feel an economic upturn and had a relatively stable democracy. A year before the Pope’s visit Poland joined NATO… Continue reading John Paul II’s Speech to the Polish Parliament
Alongside Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was one of the leading figures of the Polish Catholic Church in the 1960s and 1970s. As the archbishop of Kraków and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Lublin, he enjoyed great popularity, especially among young people. His election as pope on October… Continue reading Homily of John Paul II delivered during Holy Mass at Victory Square, Warsaw
As a result of the Second World War, Poland found itself within the sphere of influence of the USSR. After defeating legal political opposition in 1947, the communist authorities started a fight against the Catholic Church, claiming that it was allied with class enemies and that it hampered the creation of a new socialist society.… Continue reading Non possumus! Memorial of the Polish Episcopate to the communist authorities
