Cardinal Wyszyński and Mother Rosa CzackaStefano Wyszyński and Mother Elizabeth Rose Czacka, the eyes of faith.Upcoming beatification of Cardinal Wyszyński, witness of faith and forgiveness.This year, on May 28, the Church celebrates for the first time the liturgical memory of the Primate of Poland, beatified last September.
Before Cardinal Wojtyla was elected Pope, the Polish Primate Stefan Wyszyński was his superior. They cooperated in the government of the Church in Poland in the difficult period of communism. Together they participated in the conclave that elected John Paul I and met for the conclave of October 1978.
However, they were not only linked by a professional relationship, but also by bonds of friendship and trust.
The Cardinal of Krakow would visit Primate Wyszyński during his vacation, they would take long walks and in the evenings - together with other participants of his vacation - they would sing by the fire.
When Cardinal Wojtyła became Pope, letters continued to be written, which also contained many personal details.
The last conversation
On May 13, 1981, in St. Peter's Square, the assassin's bullets pierced the body of the Polish Pope. He fought for his life in the Gemelli Polyclinic. John Paul II always attributed his miraculous recovery to Our Lady of Fatima, since the attempt on his life took place on the day of her liturgical commemoration.
At the same time, in Poland, in his residence on Miodowa Street in Warsaw, the sick and elderly Primate Wyszynski was living the last days of his life.
The information about the attack on the Holy Father was given to him by Maria Okońska, who worked in the Primate's Secretariat and was the founder of the Primate's Institute (an institute of consecrated life). According to her account, after a long moment of silence, Cardinal Wyszynski said not to pray for him now, but only for the Holy Father. "He must live. I can leave" were his words.
The Primate, now Blessed, no longer had the strength to speak to the faithful in person. His secretary, Father Bronisław Piasecki, recorded his words on tape so that they could be played in the cathedral in Warsaw. This recording has been preserved in the archives to this day: "I ask you that all those heroic prayers that you have been praying for my intentions in Jasna Góra, in Warsaw and in the diocesan churches, wherever you are, address them at this moment with me to the Mother of Christ, asking for health and strength for the Holy Father," Cardinal Wyszynski asked.
On May 25, the condition of the Primate of Poland was already very serious. John Paul II was still in the clinic (he did not leave it until August 1981). It was then that the last conversation between the two close collaborators took place, which revealed the spiritual bond that united them.
In Poland, they extended a telephone cable to the bedside of Cardinal Wyszynski who, as Maria Okońska recounted, spoke slowly: "We are united by suffering, but Mary is among us." The last word for the Pope was "Father...".
Cardinal Wyszynski's suffering also became a kind of sacrifice for the Pope's life. The Primate died just 3 days after that conversation, on May 28.
The then Pope was unable to attend his funeral; he was represented by a delegation from the Holy See headed by the Secretary of State, Cardinal Agostino Casaroli.
For the occasion, he wrote a letter to the Church in Poland, in which he called the deceased "cornerstone of the Church in Warsaw" and "cornerstone of the whole Church in Poland." He also asked that the mourning after his death last for 30 days during which to reflect on the person of the Primate: "his person, his teachings, his role in such a difficult period of our history."
Two years later, in 1983, John Paul II made his second pilgrimage to Poland. His first steps were to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, to pray at the tomb of the Primate of the Millennium. That tomb, now blessed, is still there today.
Blessed Wyszyński
The expected beatification of Primate Wyszynski was held on September 12, 2021 at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw. Although it was scheduled a year earlier, it was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside him, Mother Rosa Czacka, known as the Mother of the Blind, foundress of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross, was proclaimed Blessed.
It is difficult to list all the merits of Blessed Cardinal Wyszynski for the Church in Poland and beyond. He was Primate of Poland with special powers granted by the Pope at a time when the political system was fighting against religion. It was largely thanks to his prudence and strong faith that the Church in Poland managed to survive that difficult time.
At that time, the authorities arrested and imprisoned the Primate for three years. He elaborated and implemented a nine-year pastoral program for all of Poland to prepare for the millennium of our country's baptism, based on popular piety and veneration of the Mother of God. He himself was an ardent devotee of the Virgin Mary. - I put everything in Mary's hands," he said.
His cult is spreading more and more in Poland and abroad. Published archival documents also provide more and more information about his life and spirituality.
