Day 2: Jerzy Popieluszko

Friday, March 8

            Polish people have a saying about hospitality: when a guest comes, God comes.  They really live this!  Polish people have been the most hospitable people I’ve ever met, whether it’s the host family I’m staying with or a stranger on the street who speaks no English, everyone is generous, patient, and kind.  You will see this throughout today’s (and probably the whole week’s) blog post(s).

            Today, after an incredible, big, homemade breakfast from our host family, our group (there’s 8 of us) set out on our own to the Church where Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko served during his life and where he is now buried.  Who is Blessed Jerzy?  He’s a Polish martyr from the 1980s who was killed by the secret police.  Fr. Jerzy was just a simple priest carrying out his duties.  He reached out to all kinds of people and all kinds of people came to him.  He spoke the truth and lived the faith.  Because of this, the secret police kidnapped him, beat him terribly, cut out his tongue, put him in a plastic bag with rocks tied around his ankles, and threw him in the river.  He loved the Polish people so much that he gave his life up to give them hope and the truth!  Also, this man was a regular dinner guest at our host family’s house.  He ate at the same table we did!!  Blessed Jerzy is an incredible, simple, contemporary saint.  AND they’re making a movie about him!

            At the church, we found an English-speaking preist who invited us into a little dining room for tea, coffee, and pastries.  He brought out a GIANT plate of pastries a sister had made and told us we had to eat all of them!  Hey, we’re pilgrims, we have to accept charity, right? ;)  There was also a sister there who spoke English.  She had been in the US for 25 years and just came back this winter.  She gave us a tour of the museum of Blessed Jerzy Popieluszka.  What a blessing for our group!

Dining room where we enjoyed the lovely hospitality of the priest and sister at the church

Picture of a picture of Jerzy

The motto of the museum and those devoted to Bl. Jerzy is, "The Cross has become a gate for us."
This is the entrance to the museum.

Our group, praying at the tomb of Blessed Jerzy

            After Jerzy, we had to figure out how to take the train to Niepokalanow.  We had no idea, so we asked a man standing around if he knew English.  He said no, but proceeded to help us anyway, walking us everywhere we needed to go, talking to people in Polish for us, and writing down information and directions.  SO NICE! 

            Ok, I have to go to bed now, falling asleep, will finish in the morning.