Mount Saint Marys College - Eagle Yearbook (Orchard Lake, MI)

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of Po1and's distress requested public prayers for the Polish nation. In 1893, during the festivities of Pope Leo XIII's episcopal jubilee, 800 Poles made a pilgrimage to Rome. On this occasion, the Holy Father exclaimed: It is a great joy to us to see you, sons of those generous men, who in the past did such great things for the defense of religion and so often merited the praise of our predecessors, they have so much the more right to glory in their ancestors, the more intrepidly they have preserved their faith and virtues, and especially respect and obedience for this Apostolic See, the centre of Christian unity. On March 29, 1894, Pope Leo XIII issued a special letter to the Poles, in which he praised the constant attachment of Poland to the Papacy. After the first world war, Pope Pius XI concluded a concordat with Poland. The document was signed at Rome on February 10, 1925. Ne- gotiations were facilitated by the fact that the Pontiff, Pius XI, had previously been Papal Nuncio at Warsaw. The Polish concordat con- tained two points of importance: first, that the names of Archbishops and Bishops to be appointed by the.Ho1y See were to be submitted to the Polish President for approval, second, that Polish dioceses were to be entirely within the Polish frontiers.The Polish Seym ratified the concordat on March 27, 1925. Shortly after the outbreak of the second world war, when the Polish people once more became the victims of unjust aggression, Pope Pius XII expressed sorrow at the massacre of so many innocent victims and invited all Christian nations to pray for Poland: There is no need to assure you that our heart draws near in compassionate love to all your sons, and in particular to all who are in tribulation, to the oppressed, to the persecuted .... The blood of so many human beings-many of them non-combatants-calls for heart-rending tears for so beloved a land as Poland. The Pope's interest in Poland showed itself also in another incident which is important. This is the beatification proc- ess of three Poles: Maria Teresa Ledochowska, foundress of the So- dality of Saint Peter Claverg the Salesian Priest, Father August Czar- toryskig and Mother Frances Siedliska, foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth. On November 12, 1940, the Sacred Congre- gation of Rites examined the writings of the Servant of God, Maria Teresa Ledochowska. On December 3 of the same year, the Sacred Con- gregation discussed the introduction of the process of beatification of Mother Maria Frances Siedliska. On March 11, 1941, it considered the introduction of the process of beatification of Father August Czartory- ski, whose writings had been previously approved by the Congregation of Rites, on November 12, 1940. The causes of the three Poles, out of 800 under consideration by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, relate to persons who have died in our own generation. Normally, the intro- duction of such processes is delayed for at least fifty or a hundred years after death. Viewed in the perspective of ten centuries, the central theme of the relationship between the Papacy and Poland seems to be that suggested by the beautiful legend of Sandomierz, as told by Zofia Kossak- Szczucka, Poland's greatest contemporary woman novelist. In the six- teenth century, King Sigismund the Old built a cathedral for the glory of God. When the edifice was completed, he sent a delegation to Pope Clement VII for a suitable relic. The Pope received the delegation graciously, but made one unusual request before acceding to the king's petition. Clement asked that a handful of Polish soil be brought to him from Sandomierz, where fifteen Polish monks had been rnartyred by the Tartars in the thirteenth century. The soil was brought and placed in the Pope's hands. Clement took the handful of Polish earth, prayed over it, and then closed his fingers firmly, lovingly over it. Slowly,,drop by drop, to everyone's amazement, blood began to drip from the Pope's clenched hand. In the silence that filled the papal chamber, Clement said: The blood you see is the blood of martyrs. The Polish king has no need to send far for holy relics. Let him dedicate his cathedral to the Holy Martyrs of Sandomierz and enshrine in it some of this soil with the martyrs' bones. Thomas Szczerba THE PUPES Hllll Sl. IIlHRlJ'S When the formal foundations of St. Mary's were laid in 1879, the 119

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118 Mieczyslaw Ledochowski resisted not only Germanization but also Protestantization fostered by the Prussian government and by Bis- marck's Kulmrkampf. Archbishop Ledochowski was subsequently made Cardinal and Prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith which greatly expanded its activities under his direction. ' After the resurrection of Poland in 1919, the centuries-old Cordlfll relations between Poland and the Papacy were once again formallylre- established. Poland's Constitution of March, 1921, declared in Afflfle 14 that the Roman Catholic Church occupied in the State the chief position among other faiths with equal rights. In fulfillment of this constitutional article, a Concordat was negotiated between the Holy See and the Polish Republic. It was signed in Rome by Cardinal Gasparri representing Pope Pius Xl and Vladislav Skraynski and Stanislav Grabski representing the President of the Polish Republic, and ratified in Warsaw on May 30, 1925. This Concordat guaranteed complete free- dom for the Church in the Polish State as well as in its relation with the Holy See. Today alien influences seek to destroy this thousand year old. rela- tionship between Poland and the Papacy. But they shall not prevail, for Poland's loyalty to the Popes is as solid as the rock on which the Papacy rests. Stanley Malinowski lHf PUPES Hllll PULHHIJ Twenty-five Popes occupied the chair of Peter during the calamitous years of the tenth century which have been described by one church historian as the darkest age of the church. One of these Popes, john XIII, Who became Pope in 965 and ruled for seven years, won the last- ing gratitude of the Poles through the centuries by extending the pro- tection of the Holy See over the infant Christian kingdom, shielding it from Germanic expansion. This was the first of many papal interventions on behalf of Poland in subsequent crises in the country's history. In the thirteenth century, when Vladislav the Short tried to reunite Poland, his efforts proved useless and instead he was three times driven from the country. In this crisis, he sought aid from the Vicar of Christ, Boniface VIII, and re- gained his throne through the assistance of the Pope. In 1331, King Vladislav began Poland's long struggle against the Teutonic Knights. In the conflicts which followed, Poland was morally assisted by several Popes, John XXII, Urban V, Boniface IX, and Gregory XII, until her victory at Grunwald in 1415. Another Pope, Urban V, was responsible for the formal establishment of Poland's first institution of higher learning, the University of Kra- kow, founded in 1364 at the behest of Casimir the Great. Among its outstanding alumni were Kopernik and St. john Kanty. In the sixteenth century, when Poland was threatened by Calvinism, Hussitism, and Lutheranism, Pope Pius IV made Bishop Stanislav Hosius a Cardinal and sent the Jesuits to Poland to defend the Catholic faith. Papal interest in the Polish Episcopate, which produced such out- standing reforming Bishops as Martin Kromer, Stanislav Karnkowski, john Solikowski, Bernard Maciejowski and George Radziwill enabled the country to avoid the pitfalls of Protestantism. In the seventeenth century, Pope Clement X called on the Poles to forget domestic quatrels and unite themselves against the Turks. This message was a vital factor in the Polish victory over the Turks at Chocirn. When the Sultan of Turkey tried to extend his rule over southeastern Europe, Pope Innocent XI begged King john Sobieski to come to Europe's assistance and help besieged Vienna. Sobieski heeded the Pope's call and helped save European Christendom by liberating the city. When Poland's neighbors began meddling in Polish affairs in the eighteenth century, Pope Clement XIII called on the entire nation to stand firm in defense of the Catholic faith, contributing to the organi- zation of the Confederation of Bar. When Russia began violently to meddle in Polish affairs, the Pope intervened by insisting on the in- violability of Poland's Catholicism and tried to persuade King Louis XV of France to come to Poland's assistance. In the nineteenth century, Popes Gregory XVI and Pius IX in times l l i i l 1 I i l

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DF- Jai- fi B silica of St. Mary P'Iajor's 120 papal seat was occupied by the 256th successor of St. Peter, Pope Leo XIII. In that year, Father Leopold Bonaventure Maria Moczygemba O.M.C. submitted a petition to the Pope, in which he presented the need of the Poles in America for priests understanding their language and traditions, suggesting that the need could best be supplied by a native Polish American clergy trained in a seminary of its own. To erect this seminary, Father Moczygemba asked Pope Leo for permission and his blessing. On the 14th of january, 1879, from the Vatican came the papal answer written on the petition itself, Annuimus in omnia and signed by Pope Leo himself. On August 1, 1894, Father joseph Dabrowski, founder of the semi- nary, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. On this occasion Pope Leo XIII sent his paternal blessings to Father Dabrowski. During the latter part of the month, Bishop Foley, Ordi- nary of Detroit, returned from Rome and conveyed the special blessing of the Holy Father to Father Dabrowski and the seminary. Another mark of papal interest in St. Mary's occurred after the sem- inary was moved from Detroit to Orchard Lake. On May 4, 1910, as announced by the Detroit News Tribune of April 24, 1910, the new seminary location was blessed by Monsignor Diomede Falconio, legate of Pope Pius X to the United States. Further papal interest in St. Mary's was manifested in the summer of 1924. Pietro Cardinal Fumasoni Biondi, present Prefect of the Congre- gation for the Propagation of the Faith, visited the seminary in the company of Bishop Michael Gallagher, Ordinary of Detroit. Monsignor Michael Grupa, who was the rector at the time, received the papal Iegate's blessing for the institution. In 1932, after a year's sojourn in Rome, Father Anthony Maksimik, present spiritual director of the seminary, left the Eternal City with the blessing ,of Pope Pius X1 for the students of the seminary and college. A unique distinction came to St. Mary's in 1958, when the Holy See bestowed the Knighthood of St. Gregory on Professor Romuald Piatkowski in recognition for his many years of teaching at the institu- tion. Edward Cardinal Mooney, in the name of Pius XI, bestowed this honor on Professor Piatkowski. It is noteworthy that only three Poles in the entire United States received this singular honor before Professor Piatkowski. Archbishop Amleto Cicognani, present Apostolic Delegate to the United States, visited St. Mary's in 1944 in the company of Edward Cardinal Mooney. In a short talk to the students and faculty, he urged them to preserve and cherish the Polish traditions. Upon leaving, he bestowed the papal blessing on the students and faculty. Papal distinction has also been accorded to several other faculty members of St. Mary's by the Church. Three former rectors, Reverends Michael Grupa, Anthony Klowo and Ladislaus Krzyzosiak, were made Monsignori by Pope Pius XI, Reverend Alexander Syski, former spir- itual director of the seminary, was also made a Monsignor by the same Pontiff. On the 16th of March, 1946, Pius XII raised Reverend Edward J. Szumal, the present Rector, to the rank of domestic prelate. The de- cree accompanying the announcement stated To those distinguishing themselves in the work of the Holy Church is given the title of domes- tic prelate with which are included the honors, privileges and prerog- atives connected with this dignity. On two important scholarly occasions, Pope Pius XII imparted his paternal apostolic blessing upon undertakings fostered by St. Mary's. The first was 'the Polish Homiletic Convention, the first of its kind held in the United States, which met under the auspices of the seminary in Detroit, Michigan, April 22-23, 1941. The second occasion was the Polish Homiletic Convention held at Orchard Lake in August, 1949. A special telegram from the Vatican not only imparted papal blessing upon all participants but also pledged divine enlightenment on all de- liberationsf' Such, in brief review, have been the services of the Popes to St. Mary's. In grateful appreciation for those numerous benefits, St. Mary's has. through the years, striven to give evidence of her loyalty to the Holy See. On the occasion of the 80th birthday of Pope Pius XI, in a special celebration, In Annivemzrio Octogerimo, was held in the campus gym- nasium. Father Constantine Cyran, Seminary Dean, was the master of ceremonies, while the guest speaker was Bishop L. Shvoy of Budapest, 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1