by Tablet Staff
PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Celebrating Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on Oct. 18 in honor of Polish American Heritage Month, Auxiliary Bishop Robert Chrząszcz of Krakow, Poland, highlighted the three things that are key to preserving Polish heritage.
“May these three things of which St. Paul speaks remain alive in our families: Faith that becomes action, love that is not afraid of sacrifice, and hope that can endure even a long journey across the ocean and through an entire lifetime,” Bishop Chrząszcz explained in his homily. “Then our heritage will not remain merely a memory.
“It will be alive. And it will have a future.”
Bishop Robert Brennan and Auxiliary Bishop Witold Mroziewski concelebrated the Mass, which included traditional Polish hymns, and the faithful wore traditional Polish folk attire. The theme was “Faith, Freedom, Heritage,” which, according to Father Grzegorz Stasiak, coordinator for the Polish Apostolate in the Diocese of Brooklyn, is an ode to the 250th anniversary of American independence.
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He said it was a good opportunity to celebrate Polish heritage and American identity. “For Polish Americans, this anniversary is especially meaningful,” Father Stasiak, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish, Brooklyn, told the Tablet. “We are grateful to the United States for the opportunities and freedoms this country has given us, while remaining proud of our Polish roots and Catholic faith.”
Like Bishop Chrząszcz, Father Stasiak highlighted the importance of Polish American heritage, especially reminding young people of its value. For that reason, he said the annual Mass is not only a cultural celebration, but an opportunity to come together as one family of faith and remember the “generations of Polish immigrants who built our parishes and communities here in America.”
“When Polish immigrants came to the United States, they brought not only their language and traditions but also their faith,” he said. “They built churches, established schools, and created communities where future generations could remain connected to their spiritual and cultural roots.
Today, we have a responsibility to continue that legacy.
“This celebration brings together different generations of Polish Americans and reminds our young people that their heritage is something valuable, something to be proud of, and something worth preserving.”
Near the end of Mass, two special moments occurred. Bishop Chrząszcz entrusted a relic of St. John Paul II to the Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He then presented three members of the diocese’s Polish American community with the Polish Bishops’ Conference Pro Polonia et Ecclesia Medal.
In presenting the relic, Bishop Chrząszcz highlighted the chapel’s importance to the thousands of travelers of different nationalities, languages, and religious traditions who stop there everyday to pray.
“The chapel at JFK Airport is a special place of prayer,” Bishop Chrząszcz said. “May the presence of the relics of St. John Paul II in this chapel remind everyone that, wherever life’s journey may lead us, God always remains close to his people.”
The Pro Polonia et Ecclesia Medal was awarded to Dorota Andraka, president of the Polish Supplementary School Council of America; Bogdan Chmielewski, president and CEO of the Polish & Slavic Federal Credit Union; and Mieczysław Pająk, co-founder and longtime leader of the New York Chapter of the John Paul II Foundation, for their outstanding service, dedication, and contributions to pastoral care for Polish immigrants and to supporting religious and community life among the Polish diaspora outside of Poland.
“These distinctions remind us that our Polish heritage is preserved not only through the remembrance of the past, but above all through people who generously dedicate their time, talents, and hearts to serving others,” Bishop Chrząszcz said. “We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all three.”