My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” This is the famous opening line of the novel by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, describing the years leading up to the French Revolution of 1789 and the Reign of Terror that followed. That line came to mind during my recent pilgrimage to Poland as also being an apt description of twentieth century Poland. World War II started when the Nazis invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. Millions of Jews and non-Jews were killed in the Nazi death camps. Among the Catholics killed at the Auschwitz death camp were St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, born Edith Stein, a Jewish-born philosopher who converted to Catholicism and became a Carmelite nun, and St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan priest who volunteered to take the place of a man with a family whom the Nazis had selected for execution as a warning to the other prisoners not to try to escape. 

Another Pole born in the twentieth century would also rise to sainthood: Karol Wojtyła, who served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1963 until he was elected Pope in 1978, taking the name John Paul II.

These significant historical events and extraordinary people were very much the focus of the pilgrimage to Poland that I made from April 6^–14, accompanied by 48 people, about half of them from our Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, including Father Dominic Vahling, Deacon David Beach, and some staff members of our Diocesan Curia. The other half of the group were mostly from St. Mary Parish in Huntley, in the Diocese of Rockford, led by Father Jerome Koutnik, a friend of mine whom I have known for many years. I was pleased that both of my sisters, Ramona and Ann, also accompanied us.

Upon our arrival in Kraków we celebrated Mass at St. Anne Church, where St. John Cantius in buried. He was a professor of philosophy and theology in the fifteenth century at the Jagiellonian University, where I studied Polish in the summer of 2000. The Canons of St. John Cantius serve in our diocese at St. Katharine Drexel Parish in Springfield.

The next day we celebrated Mass at the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, where several Polish saints and kings are buried, including St. Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, who was murdered by King Boleslaus in 1079.

One of the most moving spiritual moments for me and the members of our group was celebrating Mass under the icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa, who is credited with numerous miracles. A unique feature of this Marian icon are the scars on the right cheek of Mary’s face. The story goes that thieves attacked the monastery in 1430 and tried to steal the painting, slashing it with their swords when their horses refused to move. Our Lady of Częstochowa is venerated by the Polish people as queen and protector of Poland.

The spiritual highlight of our pilgrimage was the outdoor Mass at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy with about 50,000 people in attendance, and which I concelebrated with Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Archbishop of Kraków. The Divine Mercy image was commissioned by St. Maria Faustina Kowalska based on her vision of Jesus. Pope John Paul II established the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, granting a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, while adding a devout prayer such as, “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you!”

Our pilgrimage included a relaxing visit to Zakopane, where we enjoyed seeing the snow-capped Tatra Mountains on Poland’s southern border. The salt mine in Wieliczko was remarkable to see with its chapel and altar carved completely out of salt. 

We concluded our pilgrimage with Mass at the parish church in Wadowice, where Pope St. John Paul II was baptized, followed by a tour of the Wojtyła family home where young Karol Wojtyła grew up, and which now houses a museum devoted to the life of Pope St. John Paul II. While I have been to Poland before, going there is always a meaningful and memorable experience for me since my great-grandparents came from Poland and I was appointed a bishop by Pope St. John Paul II. I had the privilege of meeting him several times and attended his canonization as a saint on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27, 2014. I am deeply grateful for his profound influence in my life and pray that he will guide us all to follow him on the path to sanctity.

May God give us this grace. Amen.