The Church in Poland

After enjoying the mountains of Zakopane, we headed to Mike’s old mission stomping grounds—Katowice. We stayed in a highrise apartment with a killer view. The view was meant to be compensation for no wifi…again we were cut off from the outside world. Good thing Mike’s Polish is so good and the lay of the land is roughly familiar.

Just a few minutes from Katowice is the budding metropolis and pilgrimage destination of Częstochowa. Every year thousands of Catholic Poles make the journey, many on foot, to celebrate mass and pay homage to the Black Madonna at Jasna Góra. 

The Black Madonna has a long history that some say dates back to St. Luke himself. She is credited with turning the tide in the Second Northern War in 1665 and afterward was named as the protector of Poland.  However, it’s the story surrounding the marks on the Madonna’s face that hold a sacred fascination for pilgrims.

According to legend, (Mike’s version anyway), the monastery housing the painting was attacked by Hussite raiders in the 1400’s. During the assault a lone horseman charged the icon slashing it with his sword. The two slashes began to bleed scaring the warriors away and making an unrepairable scar on the Madonna's face. Other versions tell of Hussite thieves who stole the artifact only to have their horses refuse to move. Frustrated, the thieves remove the Madonna from the wagon angrily thrashing the face. The perpetrator ended up writhing in agony on the ground. 

The church itself is very well preserved. The week we were there was the week of the Assumption of Mary (Aug 15) so it was particularly crowded with pilgrims in matching t-shirts. There was standing room only in the nave as the throng celebrated the mass complete with singing and guitar accompaniment. It was beautiful. We inched forward and eventually we made it to the gate separating the painting from the crowd. We could almost see the Madonna. However, the open, panoramic view from the top of the bell tower compensated for the constricted view inside the church. We couldn't see the Madonna very well, but the city looked nice.

The next day we changed gears and headed to our own church. We had a bit of a driving adventure getting there when, because of some construction confusion, we ended up driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Oops. When we finally made it the meeting had already begun. The missionaries jumped right in, offering us headsets and translating. It was amazing to have church in English again. It was a good meeting and the elder who did the translating was rewarded by E with a hand-drawn picture of Christ.

After sacrament meeting we headed to the home of Mike’s friend Miroslaw Krynicki and his wife Mariola. We were treated to an afternoon of Polish hospitality—so much delicious food—and the opportunity to catch up on what’s happened over the last 20 years. Mariola was completely smitten with E and spoiled her all afternoon. It was interesting to see how a Polish family lives. They were so kind to us.

Our Sunday in Krakow was a much different experience. We met the missionaries as we made our way to our flat and they told us where the church was. Kismet, right? Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication and when Sunday arrived we ended up in the wrong place. We didn't let that stop us and eventually we arrived at church…late again.

At church we were delighted to meet an expat family (she’s American, he’s Polish) who has lived in Poland for the last 14 years. Since there were English speakers we decided to stay for all three meetings. It was delightful to meet the saints, many of whom were recently baptized, and enjoy their spirit. The church still struggles in Poland, but as the members shared their conversion stories they radiated with faith and hope for the future. For example, Danka, who joined in June, quit her job so she could come to church and was now unemployed and struggling to find a place to work that isn't open on Sundays. But she wasn't negative about it at all. Instead she smiled and told me in her broken English that she knew things would work out. What an example of fortitude and strength.