To Polish Immigrants in Switzerland (17 June 1984)

On Sunday, 17 June 1984, in the Bishopric of Sion, the Holy Father addressed his Polish compatriots, speaking of how “our compatriots found shelter and support here in moments particularly difficult for Poland; they arrived, disinherited, with a broken heart, but strong in spirit and full of faith in the victory of good and justice, in the resurrection of the Fatherland.”

My dear brothers and sisters, compatriots who live on Swiss soil!

1. In addressing to you this word of faith, love and peace, a word of the heart, I wish first of all to thank God that, within the framework of the Church's visit to Switzerland , I can meet with you and , through you, with all my compatriots for whom, through various paths of fate , Switzerland has become a second homeland .

I welcome and greet all those present with great affection. I welcome and greet each one of you with equal love . This greeting and blessing of mine , expressions of spiritual communion , I wish to send through you to all my compatriots who could not come to today's meeting. To all generations, from the oldest to the youngest . To parents, children and young people . To those who suffer .

To people of physical and intellectual work. To all. I place these greetings and blessing in the hands of your pastor , Father Prelate Frania , so that he may carry them everywhere he reaches with his ministry .

2. Let me, looking at you today and feeling all that your hearts are filled with, reach back into the past at least briefly and recall all those who preceded you on this Earth in your fate as emigrants .

Our compatriots found shelter and support here in moments particularly difficult for Poland. They arrived, disinherited, with a broken heart, but strong in spirit and full of faith in the victory of good and justice , in the resurrection of the Fatherland. For this victory they gave their best strength and skills . And although the Polish community in Switzerland was never large, it was nevertheless a great moral force and thanks to this it was an important point of reference for the Fatherland and Europe. It served to preserve and develop the national, patriotic spirit, and hastened to provide assistance to the country in many ways . It awakened political conscience in the world .

Let us recall only a few. Tadeusz Kościuszko, after his defeat at Maciejowice and captivity, found himself in Switzerland and here too he became worthy of legend. He ended his life in Solothurn and rested in Zuchwyll before his remains were brought to the Wawel Cathedral. This year marks the one hundred and ninetieth anniversary of the Kościuszko Insurrection .

During the partitions, many outstanding Poles who fought for independence stayed here .

After the outbreak of World War I , Henryk Sienkiewicz settled in Switzerland and, together with Ignacy Paderewski and Antoni Osuchowski, organized and patronized numerous initiatives of active mercy that rushed to help the suffering country . The "Committee for Aid to Victims of War in Poland" founded by them cooperated with the great almoner of Krakow and Poland, the then Bishop of Krakow Adam Stefan Sapieha and his Prince - Bishop's Committee. This is commemorated , among other things, by the "Polonia devastata" medal minted in 1915.

Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote about the activities of this organization: "The Committee is indeed and must be philanthropic in nature, not political, but nevertheless it still tells the world about Poland, about its past and present tragedy, and in this way draws universal attention to it , arouses interest , compassion and political conscience of Europe" (Letter to Stanisław Osada). Sienkiewicz did not live to see independence . He died in Switzerland , and the goals he formulated at that time remain astonishingly relevant as ever .

Józef Piłsudski , Gabriel Narutowicz and Ignacy Mościcki were also involved in independence activities here .

In the face of a new danger posed by the outbreak of the Second World War , statesmen and politicians met in Switzerland again to deliberate , under the chairmanship of the elderly Paderewski, on the possibilities of the political renewal of the Nation .

After the capitulation of France in 1940, the Second Rifle Division did not surrender and under the command of General Bronisław Prugar - Ketling crossed over to Switzerland. It was met with a hospitable reception and generous help . How can we not mention the Polish university for internees founded by Professor Edward Cros, with the help of the authorities and the generosity of the Swiss society , where hundreds of Poles were educated and received diplomas . In the memoirs from that time we read about the kindness with which Polish soldiers were surrounded by the local population . I personally met one representative of this university, the very outstanding professor Adam Vetulani, in Kraków.

How can we not mention the Swiss Red Cross and its activities , during and after the war, on behalf of our Nation. Mrs. Marcelle Comte, who was particularly distinguished in this field, lives and works to this day with the Dominican Fathers in the "Albertinum".

How can we not mention Mission Catholique pour les Victimes de la Guerre!

In the castle in Rapperswil, which since 1869 was the " outpost of free Poland" when it did not exist on the map, a magnificent Polish Museum has been maintained for years , thanks to the Swiss "Amici Poloniae" .

Words of special recognition are due to Father Józef Bocheński , OP, who, despite his duties as a professor at the University of Freiburg and a lecturer at universities in other countries, carried out pastoral work among the Polish diaspora in Switzerland and initiated the construction of the Centre in Freiburg .

This is a very brief historical outline. I am mentioning only some, but we think and pray for all. We express our gratitude to all . At the same time , we try to draw inspiration from them in fulfilling the tasks that Providence imposes on the contemporary generation .

3. The events of recent years have caused the number of Poles in Switzerland to triple . New times, new conditions, but the issues and tasks are similar.

You are facing the important problem of entering a new environment , of integration, while at the same time preserving and deepening your own identity : what you bring within yourself, what your faith has formed in you, the rich shape of history, the history of salvation on our land, your native culture and native history, which have written and continue to write their page also on Swiss soil ; while preserving all those values ​​that have recently revealed themselves with such force in the life of our Nation .

You live in conditions of far-reaching secularization , which is a fact. I will not go into details , perhaps this is not the time. Man is simply at risk in his deepest substance . We must therefore return constantly and persistently to the very core of our humanity and our vocation , just as it is rooted in Christ and just as He reveals it to us. Therefore, it is to Him above all that we turn our eyes with trust and faith. To the Son of God , who by the will of the Father, with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit , gave life to the world through his death . For in the Risen Christ we have the right to our resurrection and life . He gave us the power to become sons of God [1] . Through this power , man as a son of God gives dignity to his whole life . A truly human life , a life worthy of man , is built on faith, hope and love . The deepest meaning of man and his work lies in reference to Christ . It is not only about work on the world , on the material that man transforms to serve his needs , but also , and perhaps above all, about this constant reference to Christ . It is about work on man himself , which begins in the mother's womb , under her heart, and then continues through family life , through upbringing. About this work that gives human and Christianthe shape of the human soul, his conscience, heart, awareness and responsibility for himself and others. This is the subject of that struggle , that spiritual battle, which we , the followers of Christ, must undertake in this world .

Christ brought us into the orbit of that Love which gives life , which sends God to earth and leads us to Him. This love is effected in man and his history by the Holy Spirit .

I wish you and pray unceasingly that the Holy Spirit may lead you into the depths of the mystery of Redemption, that He may pour Love into your hearts , that your humanity may mature in it .

Strengthen within yourselves the bonds that unite you both with the Church and with the Nation. May your efforts directed towards good, fidelity to faith, towards justice , freedom , solidarity and peace bear fruit for your community , for the country in which you live. May they bear fruit for the community of our Nation on Polish soil, whose aspirations and experiences are so close to our hearts . What is more , may they serve the good of all people.

May the special, motherly care of Our Lady of Jasna Góra, Queen of Poland, remain over us.

 [ 1 ] Cfr. Io . 1, 12.

© Copyright 1984 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione - Libreria Editrice Vaticana