Poland remains a beacon of Catholicism, but it also faces significant challenges that make the Church’s role even more crucial, if possible. The most obvious is the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is raging along their border, and the threat of a possible invasion of its territory. Meanwhile, in escalating rearmament, the Catholic Church in Poland faces two major fronts, which Father Krzysztof Patejuk spoke about to the CARF Foundation.

The role of the priest is fundamental in these times of crisis. On the one hand, he highlights the welcome they have been able to provide to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. “The challenge for the Church is the pastoral and social care of these people, and until now, ecclesiastical institutions have been up to the task,” he affirms. On the other hand, he highlights the challenge of a traditionally Catholic country that is currently experiencing a fairly rapid process of secularization, especially among young people.

He represents this youth who grew up in a Catholic environment and is therefore fully aware of the spiritual needs of his generation. In this sense, Father Patejuk confesses that the transmission of the faith occurred in his home quite naturally.

“Since I was a child, I attended Sunday Mass with my parents and my brother. We prayed together at home and participated in liturgical celebrations appropriate to each season.  My parents always supported me in my service as an altar server and on summer retreats.  But above all, they created an environment of love, support, and freedom that allowed me to pursue my own path of faith,” says this priest from Poland.

Since he was a child, he always wanted to be a journalist, as he was passionate about literature and the media. He even began a journalism degree, but God had other plans for him, and after a year at university and undergoing a profound process of discernment, he realized his true path lay in the seminary.

A wonderful intellectual experience

Father Krzysztof describes his call to become a priest in words that reveal with great clarity the profound inner struggle he experienced:  “God spoke to me very strongly. After passing the summer exams at the university, I felt in my heart, like a burning fire , a call to enter the seminary and become a priest.

I resisted for a long time because I was fulfilling my dreams and had a girlfriend. But finally, God spoke to me through a passage from the prophet Jeremiah, which perfectly described my inner struggle that summer: “You seduced me, Lord, and I was seduced; you forced me and you defeated me…” There was a burning fire in my heart, shut up in my bones; I tried to contain it, but I could not. I surrendered to his will and entered the seminary, a decision I do not regret.

Once he was ordained a priest, his bishop sent Father Krzysztof Patejuk to study Canon Law at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, ​​a period from which he confesses to having left him with a “wonderful intellectual experience.”

In Pamplona, ​​he claims that not only did they teach him law, but his professors also made him love it, which today is an immense help in his work as a judge in the ecclesiastical court of the Polish archdiocese of Warmia.

“It was a time of great spiritual and pastoral enrichment, due to my contact with colleagues from all over the world and my service at the parish of St. Michael the Archangel. That time allowed me to deepen my faith and love for the Church,” he adds with conviction.

Today, the training received is fundamental to his home diocese. And it’s not just the academic aspect that stands out, but also the human one. Thus, Father Patejuk explains that “the love for law that my professors instilled in me makes it easier for me to handle difficult cases of marital annulment with humanity and justice.  I also learned that this task is not merely administrative, but profoundly pastoral.”

In love with Pamplona and Spain

Don Krzysztof emphasizes that the Spanish he learned in Pamplona now allows him to accompany international students in his work as a university chaplain. His love of Spanish culture, he adds enthusiastically, “drives me to return every year to discover new places in this beautiful country.”

Ten years have passed since the ordination of this Polish priest, and based on his own
pastoral experience, he believes that “the most important thing for facing the challenges of the priesthood is fidelity to the celebration of the Eucharist, personal prayer, and living close to the people, accompanying them on their journey.”
Moreover, he humbly adds, it greatly helps him to remember that “I am not above people, but, like them, I am a disciple of the Lord, their brother, and I too can count on them on my own journey of faith.”

Finally, the Polish priest, Krzysztof Patejuk, has a special memory and words of deep gratitude for the benefactors of the CARF Foundation: “Thanks to your support, I was able to experience an unforgettable time of study in Pamplona, ​​of encounter with the Church and of spiritual growth, especially through the formation offered by Opus Dei. I know that this experience has been key to my priesthood, and without you, I would not be the same priest I am today”.