THE UNDEFEATED AT JASNA GÓRA
Artur Stelmasiak
‘To the Doomed Soldiers, who stood in fight for free Poland against communist captivity, killed in fights, during interrogatories, murdered as a result of court crimes, long-time imprisonment and repressions’ – these are the words engraved on the tablet commemorating the heroic spur of the Doomed Soldiers, which will be unveiled and sanctified by archbishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź at Jasna Góra. The unveiling ceremony will be preceded by the Holy Mass in the Chapel of the Miraculous Image of Our Lady, with participation of combatants of the anti-communist underground.
This has been the first meeting of the Doomed Soldiers from various backgrounds and also the first common pilgrimage to Jasna Góra. Over 60 Doomed Soldiers were invited – Piotr Woźniak, the president of the Management Board of the Polish Oil Mining and Gas Industry SA and the patron of the event, told ‘Niedziela’. The idea for commemorating the Doomed Soldiers, on the area of the monastery, which is the spiritual capital of Poland, was realized by the Polish Oil Mining and Gas Industry SA and the Editorial Team of the Catholic Weekly ‘Niedziela’ (‘Sunday’). It was thanks to efforts of the editors of ‘Niedziela’ that the heroes of the anti-communist underground will be commemorated on the walls of the treasury of the national remembrance, which is the monastery of Jasna Góra.
After the ceremonies of unveiling the tablet, there is going to be a discussion panel with participation of historians and the director of the film ‘The doomed’ Konrad Łęcki. Combatants will also be able to watch the film. The foundation of the Polish Oil Mining and Gas Industry SA began its program ‘We are encouraging Polish hearts’, whose purpose is to return the rightful place in history to forgotten heroes of the anti-communist underground. We want to pass over other generations their ethos of devotion to Homeland – said the president Woźniak.
Translated by Aneta Amrozik
Niedziela 9/2018 (4 III 2018)