About pilgrimages in Poland

[Jaga]

I was planning to let you know about this interesting article (in two parts) for a long time already. I hope that this is not the second post about it.


part I
sunday.niedziela.pl/artykul.php?nr=200409&dz=polska&id_art=00052

The role and place of Poland in the world pilgrims' migrations are significant. Poland is among those few countries in the world where pilgrims' activities have developed from the beginnings of its statehood. In difficult moments pilgrimages constituted an essential factor to shape the national Polish identity. Religious centres have played a social role since pilgrimages supported development of interests, allowed people to get to know other environments, customs, regions and places. The Pilgrimages of the 1970s and the 1980s constituted an important factor to make local and regional links but most of all they created one of the most important elements of national integration of Poles. Walking pilgrimages to Jasna Gora have become a specific religious, social and cultural phenomenon on the international scale, in particular in the Christian world. Finally, pilgrimages have played an important role to promote sightseeing and tourism of Polish people.

......

[Jaga]

part 2:
sunday.niedziela.pl/artykul.php?nr=200409&dz=polska&id_art=00053

The main pilgrims' centre is Jasna Gora (4-5 million pilgrims per year). Other places embrace: Krakow-Lagiewniki (the cult of the Divine Mercy and Saint Faustina, over 2 million), Lichen (ca. 2 million) and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska (ca. 1 million).
Since early 1970s the role of Niepokalanow as a pilgrims' centre (the cult of Mary the Immaculate Conception and Saint Maximilian Kolbe) has increased. In the 1980s Warsaw, with the grave of Fr Jerzy Popieluszko, became a specific social-patriotic centre.
The Orthodox Church has one pilgrims' centre on international scale (Grabarka), one national centre (Jableczna) two district centres and over 10 regional centres. The followers of Judaism regard Krakow as the main centre, especially the cemetery Remuh that draws Jewish pilgrims from all over the world. Lezajsk has maintained its international fame. The religious life of the followers of Islam focused on Bohoniki and Kruszyniany.
Most Catholic pilgrimages are connected with the Marian cult. It appeared in our lands after Poland had accepted Christianity. Since its beginnings the Marian cult has played an important role in the history of our country and nation. That was best expressed by John Paul II at Jasna Gora on 5 June 1979, 'Mary forms Poland's history in her own way'.
The Marian cult and pilgrimages were intensified after the Lwow vows of Jan Kazimierz, which he had taken on 1 April 1656. He officially announced Mary Queen of Poland. The vows were a form of thanksgiving for the miraculous defence of Jasna Gora in 1655. Most historians agree that the vows of Jan Kazimierz changed the Marian cult into the national and state worship. There was a link between the religious consciousness and the national consciousness, which was not known in any European country. The link was important during the time of Poland's partitions and during the communist rule as well. Marian shrines have always played a very important role, which united Polish people living in various places and having a different social-professional status. That was made evident during numerous pilgrimages.

[piwo]

CUDOWNY!!

[zooba]

I was twice on walking pilgrimages from Poznan to Jasna Gora (300 km). The experience is unforgettable. We walked all days, with some stops at villages where the local people invited us for dinner, we slept also inhouses of total strangers. The host were extremely hospitable, even those who did not have much to share. In Poland the weather is either very hot or with heavy rains, so it is always quite difficult to keep walking all days, singing or praying rosary. It was in the eighties and we carried with us emblems of Solidarity, sang patritic songs and it felt great.

[pieter]

zooba said:

I was twice on walking pilgrimages from Poznan to Jasna Gora (300 km). The experience is unforgettable. We walked all days, with some stops at villages where the local people invited us for dinner, we slept also inhouses of total strangers. The host were extremely hospitable, even those who did not have much to share. In Poland the weather is either very hot or with heavy rains, so it is always quite difficult to keep walking all days, singing or praying rosary. It was in the eighties and we carried with us emblems of Solidarity, sang patritic songs and it felt great.

Good experiance, that you can carry with you (the memory) whole of your life!

[pieter]

Interesting stories Jaga, I read them with great interest.
I did not knew that you had besides Catholic pilgrims also
Russian-Orhodox and Jewish pilgrims.
I remember seeing one Orthodox jew in Kazimierz in Krakow
and one Orthodox jew in Warsaw next to the sinagogue
there in august this year. He was American.

In Warsaw I saw huge preparations for a pilgrimage to
Chestochova, with dousens of Trucks and hundreds
of people. Young and old, Scouts and civilians.
The trucks were very old though.
Probably the pilgrims were treated as good
as Zooba in the eightees. I hope so, because
some of them looked exhausted and poor.

Pieter

[jimpres]

I had a friend and her mother who just did the walk from Warsaw to Czestochowa, Jasna Gora. It took like 10 days for the walk. People along the way gave the walkers water and food for the journey. They sandg and prayed along the journey. She gave me a calendar of the trip with pictures along the way. They did develope some blisters from the trip. This was done during the month of August 2006.

[pieter]

jimpres said:

I had a friend and her mother who just did the walk from Warsaw to Czestochowa, Jasna Gora. It took like 10 days for the walk. People along the way gave the walkers water and food for the journey. They sandg and prayed along the journey. She gave me a calendar of the trip with pictures along the way. They did develope some blisters from the trip. This was done during the month of August 2006.

Jim,

Good that the tradition of hospitality is carried on today,
it is very pleasent for the Pilgrims that they can count
on strangers. Such a trip must be a good experiance.

Pieter

[pieter]

Dutch Catholic pilgrims go to Lourdes or Limburg in the South of my country, Poles go to
Jasna Gora, Krakow-Lagiewniki, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, Rome, Jerusalem and
Betlehem.