The 350th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Andrew Bobola, Jesuit and Polish missionary in the land of what is now Poland, Belarus and Lithuania, was celebrated in Warsaw recently. The solemn Mass in the sanctuary dedicated to the saint was presided over by the Primate of Poland Cardinal Jozef Glemp, while the homily was given by the Archbishop of Warsaw Kazimierz Nycz. The President of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Jozef Michalik, in a special letter published some months ago in preparation for the anniversary, recalled the canonization of St. Andrew by Pope Pius XI who as apostolic nuncio in Warsaw had witnessed the inexplicable events that had occurred due to the intercession of the future saint. The successor of Achille Ratti, Pius XII in 1957, the year of the third centenary of the martyrdom of St. Andrew Bobola, dedicated to him his last encyclical “Invicti Athletae Christi” (To the indomitable athlete of Christ), emphasizing Poland’s fidelity to the Catholic Church. Archbishop Michalik, in his letter to the faithful, expressed his profound conviction that “there will be a battle for the faith and role of the Church in Poland, in Europe and in the world in the years ahead”. It will be a battle – writes the President of the Polish episcopate – “to decide whether religion should become a matter of form, a private affair, and practically dead, or to ensure that it be present in public and private life in a vital and creative way. That means respecting in the approval of laws God’s commandments that protect everyone, even the weakest and the poorest, and thus making sure that God has the leading place that rightfully belongs to him in the life of individuals and peoples. If only men decide on the future of the world, because they have achieved power and wealth, we will find ourselves in imminent danger of violence and injustice”.
