'Niedziela' as a burning torch for those who walk in darkness

Agnieszka Raczynska-Lorek

On 4 April 1926 the first edition of 'Niedziela' was published. Its masthead had the subtitle 'Weekly for Catholics of the Diocese of Czestochowa. Illustrated Catholic Weekly of the Diocese of Czestochowa'. On this occasion Bishop Teodor Kubina of Czestochowa wrote a special letter concerning the Catholic weekly. This year we are celebrating the 80th anniversary of 'Niedziela'. The celebration began in the home parish of the editor-in-chief of 'Niedziela' Rev. Msgr. Ireneusz Skubis, who has managed the weekly for 25 years.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Adam Smigielski, SDB, Bishop of Sosnowiec, presided over a Mass in the parish Church of Saint Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr in Chruszczobrod on the Sunday of 30 April. The Mass was co-celebrated by priests of the Archdiocese of Czestochowa and the Diocese of Sosnowiec. There were also the seminarians of the Diocesan Seminary in Czestochowa, the workers and friends of 'Niedziela' as well as the parishioners. The Choir 'Michael' from the parish Church of St Michael the Archangel in Lazy and Mrs Julia Karlova, an artist of Polish background from Kazakhstan, enriched the liturgy by wonderful songs.
Thanks to the satellite TV Polonia broadcasting the readers of 'Niedziela' in Poland and all over the world could join the thanksgiving for the weekly that survived in spite of hard circumstances and the thanksgiving for the fruitful continuation of its mission of evangelisation in present times.

Symbol of communion

During the Mass Bishop Smigielski was given a picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa. Fr Skubis said that 'it is a gift of the editorial board for the readers of 'Niedziela Sosnowiecka' and a symbol of communion between the editorial board and the diocesan edition'. The editor-in-chief initiated the tradition of offering a picture of Mary in September 2005. So far the picture has been given to the Diocese of Lodz, which first published the diocesan edition. The second edition of the national Weekly was initiated in the Diocese of Sosnowiec. It has been published every week since 30 May 1993. The Sosnowiec insert is the biggest Catholic weekly in the eastern part of the District of Silesia. It embraces Bedzin, Boleslaw, Bukowno, Czeladz, Dabrowa Gornicza, Slawkow, Soluszowa, Sosnowiec, Wolbrom and many other places. During these 13 years on the market there have been numerous changes on the staff and headquarters. Thanks to the generosity of Rev. Msgr. Jan Szkoc, for several years the headquarters of 'Niedziela Sosnowiecka' have been in the parish of St Thomas the Apostle, at 19 Orla Street, Sosnowiec.
Bishop Adam Smigielski said that 'the diocesan insert is of great benefit for the local church'. He added, 'I think that 'Niedziela' fulfils an enormous role in evangelisation: it deepens faith, raises hope, spreads love, it is a torch for those who walk in darkness. In this building, called the Diocese of Sosnowiec, 'Niedziela' takes an important place and it produces good, professional word, which creates the history of this land'.

Honorary citizen

During the jubilee celebration the Shepherd of the Sosnowiec Church reminded people of the history of 'Niedziela' and showed the phases of its development: 'The period of 80 years of 'Niedziela' should be divided into the years before World War II, the years after the war and the re-activation of the weekly after 1981. After the reactivation the first issue appeared on Sunday, 7 June 1981. Fr Ireneusz Skubis became editor-in-chief. The weekly had a long and hard way to become a paper that plays an important role in Poland: from censorship of its every word to freedom, from 8 to 32 pages, from black and white edition to coloured pages, from one national edition to 20 diocesan editions, from a weekly through radio and television studios to an electronic version, and finally from several thousand copies to an imposing circulation... I thank God that we have this weekly - Catholic, religious, social, Polish, the weekly that deepens our faith and the consciousness who we are and what our aim is. I pray to our Father that we would not experience such times in which Catholic papers would have tremendous obstacles and difficulties'.
At the end of the celebration Rev. Msgr. Ireneusz Skubis was awarded with the title of honorary citizenship of Lazy. The mayor of Lazy engineer Tadeusz Czop gave Fr Skubis the resolution of the district. And on behalf of the parishioners Mrs Marta Grzesica, councillor of Chruszczobrod, expressed gratitude to the editor-in-chief for his service and work. She added that thanks to his efforts the weekly 'Niedziela' became a gift for Poland and for the world.

"Niedziela" 20/2006

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl