Conclusion of the Provincial Synod of Krakow (22 June 1983)

On Tuesday, 21 June 1983, the Holy Father celebrated the Liturgy in the Royal Cathedral of Wawel, at the conclusion of the Provincial Synod of the Metropolis of Kraków, In his address, the Pope reminded his brother Bishops of the Lord's promise that the Holy Spirit would lead them into all truth, which gives birth to peace.

1. Praise be to Jesus Christ!

With this liturgical act in the Royal Cathedral of Wawel, the Provincial Synod of the Metropolis of Kraków comes to a close. We are all gathered together before the relics of Saint Stanislaus , Patron Saint of Poland. The Synod began during the Jubilee commemorating the 900th anniversary of the pastoral service of Stanislaus of Szczepanow in the Episcopal See of Kraków (1072-79) and his death by martyrdom (1079).

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Divine Providence because this work is now being completed during the period of the Jasna Góra Jubilee, commemorating the six hundredth anniversary of the presence of the Mother of God, Queen of Poland, in her Effigy, beloved by the entire Nation.

I wish to give even more thanks because, although I had definitively left the work of the Provincial Synod of the Metropolis of Kraków on 16 October 1978, today, during my second pilgrimage to my beloved homeland, I am given the opportunity to take part in its closing .

2. While offering this thanks to Divine Providence and also to Divine Wisdom, I wish at the same time to express my gratitude to you, my beloved Brothers in the Episcopate , who continued this work of the Synod of the Province of Krakow after my departure, and have now brought it to a happy conclusion.

To you, Cardinal Metropolitan of Krakow , who received the See of Saint Stanislaus and the inheritance of the Synod after my departure. And also to you, Brother Bishops — Julian, Jan, Stanislaw and Albin — who share the toil of episcopal pastoral care with the Cardinal, helping him in the service of the Church of Krakow.

To you, Bishop of Katowice , and to you, Bishops: Jozef, Czeslaw and Janusz, who, as Auxiliary Bishops, serve with your Ordinary the People of God of the Church of Katowice.

To you, Bishop of Tarnow , and to you Bishops: Piotr, Jozef and Wladislaw, who, together with your Ordinary, work in the vineyard of the Lord of the Church of Tarnow.

To you, Bishop of Czestochowa , and to your brothers: Tadeusz, Franciszek and Miroslaw, who, with your collegial episcopal labor, serve the Marian Diocese of Czestochowa.

To you, Bishop Stanislaw of Kielce , successor of Bishop Jan of venerable memory, who began together with us the work of the Provincial Synod, and was called by the Father of Light in the year 1980. Also to Bishops Jan and Mieczyslaw, whom the Lord called to the service of the Church of Kielce in union with the Ordinary.

3. In thanking you, Brothers in the Episcopate, I would also like to address all those who, with you, collaborated in a special way in the work of the Provincial Synod of the Metropolis of Krakow. I would like to mention here at least the Coordination Commission and the Theological and Sociological Commissions, as well as the Synodal Consultative Groups concerning the Liturgy, the Christological and Mariological inspiration of popular devotion, formation for the priesthood, priestly life and service, religious congregations in pastoral care, the parish, catechesis, youth ministry, marriage and the family, the apostolate of the laity, special and professional pastoral care, the media, the Pontifical Theological Academy and the structures of the Metropolis.

I would also like to emphasize that, alongside the diocesan clergy and men and women religious, lay people, experts in various fields and people deeply committed to the life of the Church played a notable role in the work of the Synod.

To all of you, dear Brothers and Sisters, I would like to say today: "May God reward you", aware of the first stages of this great work that we undertook together when I was still in Krakow.

4. Christ says: "If a man love Me, he will keep My words; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him" ( John 14:23).

Well then, out of love for our Lord Jesus Christ, and in keeping with his word, you have carried out the work of this Synod. May its fruit be seen in this: that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ may love you with an even greater love, and with an even greater love may he love the Church which you serve.

May the fruit of this Synod be manifested in this: that the Most Holy Trinity may endure even more in the souls of all the sons and daughters of this great community, which constitutes the Metropolis of Krakow.

Here is Christ, who after leaving the world through his Cross and Resurrection, comes to us in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter . He, who is the Spirit of Truth, “will teach us all things and remind us of all things” (cf. ibid ., v. 26). May the decisions of the Synod and its directives constantly serve this invisible work of the Most Holy Spirit, from which peace is born. This is why Christ says: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” ( ibid ., v. 27).

5. Here we are once again gathered in the royal cathedral of Wawel , beside the relics of Saint Stanislaus and Blessed Queen Hedwig. Here, where almost the entire history of our nation is inscribed in the mystery of the Cross and Resurrection of Christ.

Here, you, my venerable Brothers in the Episcopate, and all of you, dear Brothers and Sisters, "make my joy complete, all of you being of one mind, having the same love, of one mind and one mind" ( Phil 2:2). With these words from Saint Paul's Letter to the Philippians one can describe and characterize the entire work of the Provincial Synod: "make my joy complete"!

And so I, John Paul II, receive this work from your hands and accept it as a small part of that truth and that good from which the Church of Christ lives throughout the earth.

I accept this work as one of the gifts of the Extraordinary Jubilee of the Redemption of the world. I accept it in the presence of all our distinguished and dear visitors: Cardinals, Bishops and priests who have come to Krakow from other dioceses, from all over Poland. We thank them for their presence.

And at the same time, as a pilgrim on the Anniversary of Jasna Góra in my Homeland, I place this work of the Synod of the Metropolitanate of Kraków, my favorite, into the hands and heart of our Mother and Queen .

May this work serve Truth and Love.

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