Holy Missions in Brzeźnik
The account of the Holy Missions in Brzeźnik is provided by a transcript of a document held in the parish archive in Bolesławiec. It concerns the missionary cross erected in the church in Brzeźnik in 1950. The document reads as follows:
“This took place in the Year of Our Lord 1950, when His Holiness Pope Pius XII sat upon the Chair of Peter, and the Primate of Poland was His Excellency the Reverend Archbishop Dr Stefan Wyszyński, Metropolitan of Gniezno and Warsaw, while the Administrator of the Diocese of Wrocław was the Reverend Dr Karol Milik, and the Dean of the Bolesławiec Deanery and parish priest of the Bolesławiec and Brzeźnik parishes was the Reverend Andrzej Gromadzki, with the Reverend Konstanty Daćko as his deputy in Brzeźnik. The Holy Missions were preached from 17 to 25 June 1950 in this parish by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Father Józef Gołąbek and Edmund Pohl from Poznań. As a memorial, this cross (the missionary cross) was blessed and erected today with the participation of numerous parishioners and other faithful from the surrounding area. Brzeźnik, 15 June 1950. The renewal of the Holy Mission in Brzeźnik was carried out in 1952, from 21 to 25 May. It was conducted at that time by Father Edmund Duch from Poznań.
Holy Missions in Bolesławiec
They were organised by the parish priest, Reverend Ludwik Gilewski, from 14 to 24 April 1966. Several weeks before the missions began, the parish received a letter from the Archbishop of Wrocław, Bolesław Kominek. It stated: ... my joy is greatly increased by the fact that these Missions are to be a direct preparation of the Catholic hearts of your parish for the most worthy celebration of the Great Jubilee of the Millennium of Poland’s Baptism, which our entire nation is solemnly celebrating this year. I would ardently wish that, in accordance with the principles of our Millennium, these Missions would awaken in Polish hearts a new enthusiasm for the Holy Faith, for which we give thanks to Almighty God, especially in this jubilee year; that they would strengthen our fidelity to Christ, living and still active in the Catholic Church; that they would imbue us with an understanding of the principles of the Gospel; and that they would restore the state of grace in the souls of all Poles. For the point is that we should all celebrate this great historic Jubilee spiritually renewed and united in the unity of faith and grace.
The missionaries preached teachings for particular groups: children, young people and adults. There were also general sermons. High attendance was recorded. Children were especially encouraged to apostolise among those closest to them, so that everyone at home—the whole family—would attend the Holy Missions. The service for children was deeply moving; under the missionary’s guidance, they asked God’s forgiveness for the sins of the parishioners. A service was held in the church for the bedridden, after which they were visited in their homes. In this way, the missionaries visited 29 sick people with the Viaticum and religious consolation. Confessions were heard for three days. Approximately 19,900 Holy Communions were distributed. Nine married couples who had lived in concubinage for years were blessed. There were also two conversions: one from Protestantism and the other from Orthodoxy. The old missionary cross was restored. At that time, a document was found stating that the cross had been funded on the occasion of the great parish missions of 1899. The cross was repainted and decorated with the golden inscription “Sursum corda”. The dates of the Holy Missions held during the last 20 years—1947, 1956, 1962 and 1966—were also carved into the cross. When this restored cross was blessed, a document was drawn up with the following wording:
In the millennium year 1966, during the pontificate of Pope Paul VI, when the Primate was His Eminence the Reverend Archbishop Metropolitan Stefan Cardinal Wyszyński, the Bishop of the Archdiocese of Wrocław was His Excellency Archbishop Bolesław Kominek, and the parish priest of Bolesławiec Śl. was the Reverend Mgr Ludwik Gilewski, with the Reverend Aleksander Stankiewicz, Stanisław Kielar, Józef Baca and Franciszek Mrowiec as his assistants. From 14 to 24 April, the Millennium Missions were preached by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate: Fathers Edmund Pohl from Wrocław, Tadeusz Krzemiński and Szczepan Brzezina from Katowice. We confirm this document, as an everlasting memorial, at the moment of erecting the Missionary Cross with our handwritten signatures.
In his farewell speech, the parish pastor, Reverend Ludwik Gilewski, thanked the missionaries for their efforts and for delivering 75 retreat sermons. He also mentioned that these were already the second Missions in the parish during his pastorate. This thanksgiving Te Deum, with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the granting of a plenary indulgence, brought the missions in the Bolesławiec parish to a close.