Today, Poland celebrates the beatification of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Róża Czacka.
Beatification ceremonies take place at the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw. The liturgy is presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. 600 priests and 80 bishops take part in the celebrations.
Because of pandemic restrictions, only 7,000 people could take part in the ceremony, including representatives of the highest state authorities, headed by President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
Stefan Wyszyński (1901 – 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He was created a cardinal on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII. He assumed the title of Primate of Poland. To many he was the unquestionable leader of the Polish nation (the uncrowned King of Poland), in opposition to the totalitarian government. He is also credited for the survival of Polish Christianity in the face of its repression and persecution during the reign of the 1945–1989 Communist regime. He himself was imprisoned for three years and is considered by many to be a Polish national hero.
The case for his beatification and canonization opened in 1989 and has many proponents in the Vatican and in his native Poland, where he is well known for his heroic and principled stand against National Socialism and Communism. Pope Francis named him as Venerable on 18 December 2017 upon confirming his heroic virtue. He was scheduled to be beatified in Warsaw on June 7, 2020 but the beatification was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled and celebrated on September 12, 2021.
Róża Czacka (1876 – 1961) was a founder of the Franciscan Sisters Servants of the Cross who serve the Blind throughout their lives.
Upon becoming blind at age of 22 she spent a decade traveling throughout Europe hoping to learn about techniques that she could use to help the blind; she adapted Polish phonetics into the Braille alphabet that ended up becoming mandated in all schools for the blind since 1934.
Czacka entered the Franciscan Third Order in 1917 before founding her own religious congregation in late 1918 based on ideas that she had formulated since at least 1915. Her work received approval from the apostolic nuncio Achille Ratti (the future Pope Pius XI) who lauded her efforts as an exceptional apostolate. In 1950 she retired her role as the Superior General for her order due to her declining health.
The process for her beatification launched in 1988 in her native Poland before it moved to Rome for further investigation. Pope Francis confirmed her heroic virtue and named her as Venerable on 9 October 2017 before later approving a miracle attributed to her in late 2020.
