The beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, called in Poland “the Primate of the Millennium” was held on 12th September 202. Four months have now passed since that solemn event.
“Card. Wyszyński was a shepherd who looked after and cared for others, we treated him like a father whom you came to for advice and the necessary knowledge. He supported us with paternal tenderness,” says Family News Service, Mons. Bogdan Bartołd, the Dean of the cathedral parish of St. John the Baptist in Warsaw, where the mortal remains of the Primate of the Millennium have been laid to rest.
Exactly four months ago, the Catholic Church gained two new Blesseds: Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and mother Elżbieta Czacka.
Mons. Bartołd: The cult of Bl. Card. Stefan Wyszyński is alive
Monsignor Bogdan Bartołd, Dean of the cathedral, recollects that Wyszyński was an authority figure for people. It is worth mentioning that the dean himself belongs to the last year of alumni of the Metropolitan Higher Seminary in Warsaw, who were admitted by the Primate of the Millennium. “Wyszyński was for us the personification of the father, in him, two attitudes were revealed: one of them was full of majesty and dignity, the other was fatherly love and care,” says Mons. Bartołd.
In the cathedral of St. John, the Baptist, there is a chapel with the relics of Wyszynski. there is The plaque above the sarcophagus depicts the scenes of his life, from the days in seminary to the chaplain’s service in the Warsaw Uprising, and finally the meeting with Karol Wojtyła during the papal ingress. There is also a votive stand where people light votive candles – a symbol of their prayer and presence. “The idea of lighting candles was an initiative of the faithful who visited the tomb of Wyszyński. The practice started before his beatification. They are a visible sign that there is someone we can always count on in this place. I have been at the cathedral now for 14 years, and there has never in all that time been a moment when there was no candle lit on the votive stand,” explains Mons. Bartołd.
More and more people visit the chapel of the Primate of the Millennium. There are also pilgrimage groups. Every Tuesday, a pro populo mass is celebrated in the cathedral, and on the 28th day of the month, a mass of thanksgiving for the gift of the beatification of Cardinal Wyszynski.
Conversions, solving family and marriage problems – these are just some of the fruits of beatification
Bartołd points out that the fruits of the beatification are already enormous. “There are people who after many years receive the sacrament of reconciliation and explain that thanks to their beatification experience, they decided to reconcile with God, they talk about family and marriage problems that began to be solved thanks to the intercession of the new Blessed. The testimonies show that his cult is very much alive and growing.
The dean assures us that masses for the gift of the canonization of Wyszynski will be celebrated in the cathedral since September. “I am convinced that Bl. Card. Wyszyński can not only be the patron of modern times, but also of all of us. The Lord God gives us a witness of faith so that, following his example, we may look to the future with hope. Wyszynski lived in the difficult times of Communism and great enslavement when believers had no right to vote and were persecuted. He showed the way and he was someone you could count on. In today’s world, where there is so much uncertainty, suffering, and pandemics, we need such intercession. With such an intercessor, we can pray and believe that he will intercede for us before God,” emphasizes mons. Bartołd.
Family News Service
