Details of the Beatification of Mother Róża Czacka and Card. Stefan Wyszyński

The beatification of Card. Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Elżbieta Róża Czacka will take place in the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, on September 12^th, at noon. The celebrations will be chaired by Card. Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, who, on behalf of the Pope, will publicly announce the beatification decrees.

The press conference at the House of the Archbishops of Warsaw, where the details of the beatification ceremony were presented, was attended by Card. Kazimierz Nycz, Metropolitan of Warsaw; Bishop Rafał Markowski, chairman of the organizing committee; Fr. Sławomir Nowakowski, the main coordinator of the ceremony; and Mother Judyta Olechowska, FSK, Superior General of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross. The meeting was chaired by Fr. Przemysław Śliwiński, spokesman for the Archbishop and Archdiocese of Warsaw.

“It happened, thanks to Divine Providence, that Mother Róża Czacka, in a way, due to the pandemic delay of the beatification of Card. Wyszyński, ‘caught up’ with him: a miracle was recognized through her intercession, and they can be beatified together,” said Card. Kazimierz Nycz during the conference. He noted that the paths of these two figures of the Church crossed very often. He recalled that Mother Czacka already met the Primate in the interwar period. Then, their paths intertwined in Żułów, Kłosówka, and in Laski itself, where the primate later was, among others, the chaplain of the sisters and then continued visiting Laski until Mother Czacka’s death. Card. Nycz added that they were both inspired by their works.

As the Metropolitan of Warsaw explained, the beatification will take place in the Temple of Divine Providence, because it is a place that gives the opportunity to organize the ceremony in accordance with the Vatican’s guidelines, i.e., modest, dignified, and as the pandemic permits. Answering the questions, he did not rule out also placing large screens on Piłsudski Square. “As of today, 7-8 thousand people will be able to take part in the celebrations. There will be about 2,500 people in the upper church, 1,000 in the lower church, and 3,500 people in the square in front of the basilica,” said Cardinal Nycz. “We will make the decision about this by the end of June, and in mid-August we will decide how many participants we can invite to the Temple,” added Bishop Markowski.

Bishop Rafał Markowski emphasized that the beatification was to reach people primarily through the media. “We are thinking about transmitting the signal to cathedrals and churches throughout Poland, but we are still talking about it with the ordinary bishops,” he indicated. “We want the beatification to be both international and domestic. There will be representatives from all dioceses in the temple. As of today, this is all we can do for Poland in safe conditions for people,” said Bishop Markowski.

We do not know know yet when the dates for the patronal feast days of the new Blesseds will be chosen. As Cardinal Nycz said, Primate Wyszyński’s feast day may be on May 28^th, the anniversary of his death.

The beatification of the Primate of the Millennium was originally planned for 7 June 2020. However, in April of last year, it was postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic. In December 2020, Card. Kazimierz Nycz announced that Mother Elżbieta Czacka will be beatified together with Cardinal Wyszyński.

archidiecezja.warszawa.pl/ Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference

Translation: P. Nau / Office for Foreign Communication of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.

More information at www.beatyfikacja.info