To Polish Immigrants, Mainz (16 November 1980)
ShareOn 16 November 1980, the Holy Father addressed Polish immigrants, “his compatriots,” in Mainz, Germany, observing that, by the end of World War II, there were over two million Poles who had come to Germany for economic reasons. They carried with them love for the Mother of God, Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Dear compatriots,
beloved brothers and sisters!
1. I thank divine providence and men, because during my pilgrimage to German soil I am able to meet my fellow countrymen who, here in Germany, have happened to live and work, to create their history, that of their families, of country, and, at the same time, the history of salvation. This story of Christ's ways to man and of man's ways to God decides man and only in it can man fully find himself, re-read the value and possibilities of his heart and rediscover a rightful place in the world.
It is precisely these divine ways of salvation, of grace, of power and of love that we wish to find again and again in the course of this pilgrimage, together with the Church in Germany, with her pastors and faithful, with our brothers in faith in Christ, and also with all men of good will.
2. Finding ourselves before the thousand-year-old Cathedral of Mainz, which over the course of entire centuries was the site of the coronations of emperors and kings, one cannot fail to think of the entire historical process of the formation of the coexistence of peoples in Christian Europe; especially when, on the horizon of history, new nations were born into autonomous existence, new countries which, at times, at a great price conquered their place in Europe, in the world and in history.
We know this process, its lights and its shadows, and we know that it has not been and is not easy. We know that geographical proximity, neighborhood must and can be a blessing, but like everything human, it can also become a curse. If so, this means that it is above all a task, a task set before individual men, as well as before entire nations. This was already understood by the second historical ruler of Poland, King Boleslaw Chrobry, who through the alliance with Caesar Otto III introduced Poland as a full member in the Latin Christian society of Europe.
3. Only holy men are capable of building stable bridges between nations, because only saints base their activity on love; on man's love, because they build their life and future on God. "Love is from God: whoever loves is born of God, knows God...because God is love" (1Jn 4,7- 8). Only what is built on God, on love, is durable, as evidenced by the veneration, still taking place, of the tomb of Saint Hedwig in Trzebnica, patroness of reconciliation.
If the place of believers and saints is occupied by godless men, then selfishness and hatred become the law, as the subsequent history of the coexistence of the German and Polish nations testifies.
4. In the course of history, among the events that follow one another, among the political decisions, among hatred or friendship, in the midst of all this there are concrete men, who want to live, develop, maintain their own identity, rights, freedom, faith, dignity: to these above all I turn my thoughts during this meeting.
In the last century many Poles came to Germany for economic reasons. With a difficult and tiring work they have contributed to the economic development of the country, which has offered them work and bread.
After the First World War and after Poland regained its independence, many of them remained in this place. And in the neighboring territories, a large number of Poles who lived there before remained. They organized themselves into a Polish cultural federation with the aim of cultivating Christian and Polish tradition and culture. These organizations were almost always headed by priests who were concerned about harmonious coexistence and a Christian bond of love.
That wasn't an easy life. Perhaps you or your fathers have been subjected to many humiliations and have suffered because of piety or patriotic attitude.
5. The events of the last world war seriously influenced the coexistence of nations. They have brought so much suffering, damage and misfortune. These events meant that, after the end of the war, there were almost 2 million Poles on German territory. Some have passed the gehenna of the fields (= lager), others, tried by the enormous work, still others, brought here by the events of the war, were unable, for various reasons, to return to their homeland. They did not give in to despair. Despite the difficult trials and adventures, despite the serious material situation due to the destruction of the war, they quickly organized themselves.
It is a great merit of Polish priests. Worn out in the fields, they set about organizing religious life for their fellow countrymen. After the terrible events of the war it was necessary to rebuild the faith again; faith in God and faith in man. Once again it was necessary to rebuild trust in man; faith in one's own human dignity! And all this could be done on the foundation of Christ, because only on his teaching, on the Christian ethics of love, conversion and forgiveness could the future and the new human coexistence be built. And it is a great merit precisely of those priests ex-prisoners of the concentration camps, if many people have returned to normal life, that many have not given up, in the difficult period in every respect following the war, and have rediscovered the faith again , dignity and love.
6. All of you, regardless of the circumstances and time of your arrival, write your story here; here you carry on your dialogue with God, with man, with the world. You want to be citizens of full worth and contribute to the development of the country, in which you live. You want to ensure a better future for your children and grandchildren. Here each of you impresses and leaves an unrepeatable trace of your existence, of your life, of your faith, of your choices, of your decisions. Everyone must therefore protect, re-read and develop what is in him, that is, what is inside, what is inscribed in his heart, he must remember the soil, the inheritance from which he grew up, which formed him and which constitutes an integral part of the his psyche and his personality.
The Bishops of our continent express themselves in this spirit in their message addressed to the world on the occasion of the Jubilee Year of Saint Benedict, patron saint of Europe. Among other things, we read: “Freedom and justice require that individuals and peoples have sufficient space for the development of their own values. Every people, every ethnic minority has its own identity, tradition and culture. These values are of great importance for human progress and for peace…” (John Paul II, “ Nuntius ab Europae Episcopis missus ”, die 28 sept. 1980).
Even revealed truth reaches man within the framework of a given culture. There is therefore the great danger that the abandonment of the values inherited from the culture could consequently lead to the loss of faith, especially when the values of the culture of the new environment do not have that Christian character which distinguishes the native culture.
7. There is yet another danger. We must be careful not to allow ourselves to be unreasonably fascinated and not to allow ourselves to be attracted by technical civilization with a simultaneous risk for faith, for the ability to love, in a single word, for everything that decides man, the full dimension of man, and his vocation.
Precisely rooting oneself in tradition, in a culture imbued, like the Polish one, with religious values will ensure that "the selfish culture and selfish technology of work will not be able to reduce man to the role of an instrument of work" (speech in El Salvador). Of man's value ultimately, he decides what he is, not how much he has. And if man is willing to lose his dignity, his faith, his national conscience just to have more, such an attitude can only lead to self-contempt.
Instead, the man aware of his identity, coming from the Christian faith and culture of his ancestors and fathers, will retain his dignity, find the respect of others and will be a member of full value in the society in which he lives.
8. One of the most profound characteristics of Polish religiosity is the devotion and cult of Mary, Mother of God.
Here too in Germany, wherever the Poles have lived, they have carried in their hearts love for the Mother and have entrusted their fate to her. You have seen this especially in the aftermath of the Second World War. One of the first pastoral initiatives were pilgrimages to Marian shrines in Germany. Up until today you then go, every year, on pilgrimage to Neviges, to Maria Buchen, to Altötting or to other places, such as for example for the festival in Hanover.
In all these sanctuaries, as well as in your churches where you meet regularly, there are images of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Her effigy has been seen on nearly all your banners. The Black Madonna of Jasna Gora speaks to you of God's love and reminds you of the land in which your roots are. You pray before her, you entrust your families to her, especially in this period in which the image of the Lady of Czestochowa is visiting all the pastoral centers of the Poles in Germany. Mary, who at the moment of the Annunciation believed the word, became the first believer of the new covenant, the mother of our faith; and it leads us to the fullest knowledge of the one God in the Trinity of Persons.
9. As I stand before you today, I cannot forget that our previous meeting took place in September 1978. We were here then together with the Primate, who headed the Polish Bishops' delegation at the invitation of the German Bishops. The central point of the meeting with compatriots was the sanctuary of the Mother of God in Neviges. All of this took place just a few weeks after the election of John Paul I. According to a human assessment, no one could foresee that I would soon happen to succeed him in the see of St. Peter's in Rome. This circumstance gives a particular meaning to that meeting.
But again I want to go back a few years. In 1974, also then in September, I took part, in Frankfurt, in the fiftieth anniversary of the priesthood of the late Monsignor (protonotary apostolic) Edward Lubowiecki, who was a close collaborator, before the war, of the great Metropolitan of Krakow; Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, and, after his liberation from the concentration camp, he remained here, first as vicar general to Archbishop J. Gawlina, and then as a canonical visitor to the Poles in Germany. That stay has remained linked to my memory, with the figure of Cardinal J. Dupfner who died so early, who together with me wanted to celebrate Holy Mass in Dachau.
Recalling the figure of Monsignor Lubowiecki, I wish, at the same time, to express my best wishes with every blessing from God to the current rector of the Polish Catholic mission, Reverend Stefan Leciejewski, to all the priests, to the religious, and I wish the most cordial "Szczesc Boze” to all compatriots.
I will always be grateful for your prayers.
I cordially impart the Apostolic Blessing to you present here and to all those who were unable to come; to your families and loved ones. With the warmest feelings I embrace the sick and the elderly, the lonely, the abandoned and forgotten by others.
I warmly greet and bless the young people and children.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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