November 24, Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, presided the solemn Eucharist in the Wawel Cathedral, which concluded the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Holy See.
Card. Mamberti noted that the jubilee celebrations were a providential opportunity to revive the bonds of faith, peace, and friendship connecting the Holy See and Poland.
In his homily, he referred to the figure of Msgr. Achille Ratti, the first apostolic nuncio to independent Poland. “Attitude and teaching of Msgr. Achille Ratti reminds us that only in the rediscovery of Christian roots, only in the values coming from the Person of Jesus Christ, can be seen a chance to build real peace”.
The ceremonies in the Wawel Cathedral were attended by, among others, Apostolic Nuncio to Poland Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski, Metropolitan of Cracow, and Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.
On Saturday, November 23 in the “Wieliczka” Salt Mine, a concert “Faith, hope, love” was held, in which the guest from the Vatican also took part.
The celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Holy See began on March 13 this year, together with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Polish Bishops’ Conference. On this day the solemn Eucharist in the Temple of Divine Providence was presided by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See. Then a jubilee stamp was issued as part of the cooperation between the Polish and Vatican Post. May 20 this year, a scientific session was held at the University of Warsaw with the participation of Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States in the Secretariat of the Holy See.
June 6 this year, the monument of Archbishop Achille Ratti was unveiled in the garden of the Apostolic Nunciature in Warsaw and mosaics in the chapel of the Nunciature. August 15, a solemn Eucharist took place at Jasna Góra, presided by Archbishop Jan Romeo Pawłowski, Delegate for Pontifical Representations at the Secretariat of the Holy See. The penultimate event was the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Msgr. Achille Ratti, October 28, in the Warsaw Cathedral, led by Cardinal Mario Delpini, Metropolitan of Milan.
Diplomatic relations between Poland and the Holy See were restored in 1919, after more than 120 years of interruption. March 30, 1919, the Holy See formally recognized the existence of a reborn Polish State. June 6, 1919, Msgr. Achille Ratti was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Poland.
