He said: “I give thanks to God for this historic event, which over the centuries has formed the faith, the spirituality, and the culture of your country, in the community of peoples whom Christ has invited to participate in the mystery of His death and resurrection.”
He continued: “Give thanks to the Lord – according to the words of Saint John Paul II – for the gift of having been – over 1000 years ago – baptised in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to be baptised in the water which, through grace, perfect in us the image of the living God; the water which is a wave of eternity: a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
“I ask God that the present generation and future generations of Poles remain faithful to the grace of baptism, giving witness to the love of Christ and the Church.”
The crowd of over 20,000 pilgrims included groups from Białystok, Olsztyn, Katowice, Mielec, Kraków, Zakopane and several other Polish towns, as well as a delegation of the Polish Catholic Mission in Dusseldorf, Germany.
At the end of last week, Pope Francis addressed a letter to Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican’s Secretary of State, who is his legate for the celebrations marking the 1,050th anniversary of the Baptism of Poland, to be held in Gniezno and Poznań, Western Poland, starting Thursday.
In it, the Pope stresses that the anniversary is a good opportunity to convey to all Poles “words of gratitude, congratulations and encouragement”.
The Pontiff assures of his spiritual participation in the joy of the Polish nation, saying that the anniversary of the Baptism is celebrated not only by Christians, but by all Poles who look with confidence into the future.
In his letter, Pope Francis also wrote that the Church in Poland has always maintained a very special bond with the nation, rejoicing with those who rejoice and weeping with those who weep, […] standing together with the people in their suffering.
He invoked the names of Polish martyrs and saints, including St Adalbert, St Stanislaus, St Maksymilian Kolbe, St Faustyna Kowalska and St John Paul II. (mk/rg)