Polish Catholic Mission

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Polish church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption, Paris.

The Polish Catholic Mission, Polish: Polska Misja Katolicka, (PMK) is a permanent Catholic chaplaincy for migrant Poles. It operates in a number of countries under the direction of the Polish Episcopal Conference.[1]

England and Wales

Our Lady of Częstochowa, Devonia Road, Islington
, London
Cardinal Francis Bourne

History

The origins of pastoral care for displaced Poles in the British Isles go back to the 19th century historical insurrections that took place on the former territory of the

1905
.

One of the first chaplains was fr. Emeryk Podolski, who led church services for Poles in a chapel on Sutton Street in London's

CR . With Mother Siedliska came two sisters who started a first primary school. From then on Polish services were regularly held in a chapel first in Globe Street, then in Cambridge Heath Road in Bethnal Green in the East End of London
.

Cardinal Hlond

After

Cardinal Bourne of Westminster, helped the mission with a £1000 loan for refurbishment. It became the first Polish-owned ecclesiastical building in the British Isles. It was consecrated on 30 October 1930 by cardinal August Hlond, primate of Poland in the presence of cardinal Bourne. In 1938 rev. Władysław Staniszewski became chaplain to the mission, who until then had been Chef de Cabinet
of the Polish primate, and who had volunteered to come to England for three years. As he left for London, cardinal Hlond bid him farewell with these words:

Following this great war, that we foresee, it is most likely that the Polish colony over there will swell and if we succeed in maintaining the legation till then, it may turn out to be fortuitous.

monument to Archbishop Gawlina in his birthplace, Racibórz

As it turned out, during the

Marian Fathers
.

On the pastoral front, the temporary Polish parish hosted in

Society of Christ Fathers, dedicated to minister to the Polish diaspora abroad who run a parish in Putney.[2]

In the next period, the Polish Catholic Mission had taken possession of 30 church buildings, 12 chapels, 39 parsonages and 55 parish halls. In the 1980s, Poles in Britain expanded due to a wave of migration following the imposition of Martial law in Poland in 1981.

21st century

The next wave of immigrants to the United Kingdom occurred after

charitable status[8]

List of PCM Rectors in the UK

"Garrison" church of St. Andrew Bobola in Shepherd's Bush

Rectors

  • Antoni Lechert,
    CR
    1894 – 1902
  • Henryk Cichocki, CR 1902 – 1903
  • Grzegorz Domański, SDB 1904 – 1906
  • Piotr Bujara, SDB 1906 – 1913
  • Jan Symior, SDB 1913 – 1921
  • Józef Wroński, SDB 1921 – 1926
  • Teodor Cichos, SDB 1926 – 1938
Grade II listed Polish Church of St. John the Evangelist, Putney

Vicars Delegate

('Protonotary Apostolic' is the highest non-episcopal title and in polish is referred to as 'infułat' a reference to the short mitre that a priest with such a title was entitled to wear in certain settings.)

Scotland

A separate Polish mission operates throughout Scotland.[11]

France

Fr. Aleksander Jełowicki CR
The Sacré Coeur basilica seen from Arc de Triomphe

The oldest of all PMK European legations operates from its centre in

Francophone
visitors, in both Polish and French language.

Every year Poles join a special

Sacre-Coeur basilica in Montmartre. While Polish burials are scattered in cemeteries across France, a special place is the cemetery des Champeaux de Montmorency, 15km north of Paris in the Val-d'Oise, by the spa of Enghien-les-Bains
, much favoured by 19th-c. Poles. There are almost 300 Polish graves and a Memorial Wall, covering 20th-century events.

Monsignor Stanisław Jeż was PMK rector in France from 1985 to 2015. Since 2015 the role is filled by rev. Bogusław Brzyś.[12]

Germany

The Mission began operating in Germany in 1945 in many Polish communities. It concentrates on organizing services in Polish and collaborates with Polish schools across the country. The Mission owns a social centre, Dom Concordia and publishes a review, Nasze Słowo - "Our Word".

Sweden

Sankta Maria i Rosengård church in Malmö

In Stockholm the Mission is called "Polska Katolska Missionen”. The chaplaincy team rents a protestant church where services are held on Sundays and Fridays. The Mission does outreach to areas beyond the capital. In Malmö the mission operates in the Catholic churches of Maria and Rosengard, with services every Sunday.[13] In Göteborg a Mass is celebrated every Sunday in the "Kristus Konungens kyrka".

United States

Several religious orders run parishes across the country, especially:

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Memphis oversees the Polish Catholic Mission of Memphis, TN (Polska Misja Katolicka w Memphis, TN) for Polish immigrants living in the Memphis, Tennessee area.

See also

References

  1. ^ Note: Currently, on the official PCM website, only the title has been translated into English. A request has gone out for an English version of the site.
  2. ^
    Society of Christ Fathers in Great Britain - "Chrystusowcy w Wielkiej Brytanii"
    .
  3. ^ Kunert, A. K. ed. (2002)."Józef Feliks Gawlina Biskup Polowy Polskich Sił Zbrojnych" in Emigracyjna Rzeczpospolita 1939-1990, vol. III. Warsaw.
  4. ISBN 978-0957458208
  5. Jesuit parish in Willesden - "Parafia MB Miłosierdzia w Londynie - Willesden Green"
    .
  6. ^ Marian Fathers in Great Britain - Zgromadzenie Księży Marianów - Prowincja Opatrzności Bożej. "Marianie - Wielka Brytania".
  7. ^ a b Polish Catholic Mission in UK - Polska Misja Katolicka w Anglii i Walii. "Historia PMK".
  8. ^ Charity registration
  9. ^ Note: "Infułat", from the Latin, "infulatus", in Polish means a "mitred prelate", like a bishop. Except in this case the post-holder from a foreign country cannot be superimposed on an existing diocesan territory within the same church. He must therefore be considered as an emissary or church diplomat of episcopal rank, without the title of bishop.
  10. ^ Staniszewski's role in organizing the Polish Millennium in London (1966) http://www.tydzien.co.uk/artykuly/2016/09/04/millenium-na-emigracji-londyn-1966/
  11. ^ The Polish Catholic Mission in Scotland - Polska Misja Katolicka w Szkocji http://www.kosciol.org
  12. ^ Fr. Brzyś announced as new rector for France - Ewa Biedroń (16 September 2015). "Ks. Bogusław Brzyś nowym rektorem Polskiej Misji Katolickiej we Francji". RDN.
  13. ^ S:ta Maria i Rosengård Polska Misja Katolicka.

External links

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