Święta Jadwiga jako patronka pojednania pomiędzy narodem polskim a niemieckim

Apply

Święta Jadwiga jako patronka pojednania pomiędzy narodem polskim a niemieckim

Journal Title: Studia Salvatoriana Polonica - Year 2017, Vol 11, Issue

Abstract

The aim of this publication is to show Saint Hedwig of Silesia as a patroness of reconciliation between people of Poland and Germany after World War II. Over a dozen years after the war finished, in complex socio-political conditions in Europe, the first initiatives emerged, which in the long run led to the initiation of Polish-German dialogue. Second Vatican Council turned out to be the key. There, under the patronage of Saint Hedwig, a meeting establishing relationships between the Catholic bishops of Poland and Germany took place. This Saint, who arrived in Silesia from Germany in the 13th century as a wife of Duke Henry the Bearded, had a strong influence on the direction of transformations of Silesia at that time. In the Polish Bishops’ Message to the Bishops of Germany, sent in connection with the Millenium Jubilee of Poland’s Baptism in 1966, Saint Hedwig was designated as the patroness of the Polish-German reconciliation. Due to the multi-faceted nature of response to this document, the person of Saint Hedwig was also recalled. Some threads of her biography were even used in a biased way by the communist anti-German and anti-Church propaganda. However, the Polish-German reconciliation process initiated by the Polish bishops, as a consequence, in a relatively short time, led also to signing the agreement between Poland and the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as to normalizing by the Vatican of the Polish Church administration status in the western and northern regions of Poland.

Authors and Affiliations

Kazimiera Jaworska

Keywords

EP ID EP289628
DOI -
Views 62
Downloads 0