Sercanie in Poland

Polish beginnings and missionary work in Africa

Evidence suggests the first Dehonian on Polish soil was Fr. Leon Dehon, founder of the Congregation of the Priests of the Sacred Heart, who stopped in Warsaw on his 1907 return from Finland and Russia.

The first Pole in the Congregation appeared in 1896: Fr. Franciszek Szymański, who went to Brazil after priestly ordination in 1902. The second was Br. Kazimierz Zjeżdrzałka, who joined in 1908. After his novitiate in the Netherlands and missionary training, he went to the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), then returned to Europe for another mission. Answering Fr. Dehon’s call for Cameroon volunteers, he again left for Africa.

Two Polish Dehonians accompanied Fr. Dehon during his final days. Fr. Władysław Majka assisted at his last Mass on 4 August 1925. Fr. Władysław and Fr. Ignacy Stoszka witnessed the death of Venerable Servant of God Fr. Dehon on 12 August 1925.

Pastoral ministry in the Helsinki parish – mission in Finland

In 1907 Fr. Dehon visited Finland, including Helsinki, where the Dehonians were to begin pastoral work. The unusual parish consisted mainly of Italians and Poles. Most Poles were soldiers in the Russian garrison, from partitioned Polish lands and forcibly conscripted into the tsarist army. They were the largest yet poorest group. To serve them, Fr. Dehon sent two Dutchmen to Poland to learn Polish before beginning ministry in Helsinki. Their stay also offered an excellent chance to spread the Dehonian charism on the Vistula: they lived in Krakow on Jabłonowskich Street with Fr. Mateusz Jeż, then a Krakow catechist.

Fr. Mateusz greatly aided the Polish Province’s beginnings. Through catechetical and educational work and personal commitment to vocations, four young Dehonian candidates went to Belgium after six months of language preparation.

Promoting vocations and developing missionary work

Through Fr. Mateusz Jeż, nine young men went to Belgium. Language difficulties, homesickness and hard living conditions left only one a priest: Fr. Kazimierz Wiecheć, ordained on 25 July 1920 and beginning work in Italy. Visiting Poland each holiday, he intensively recruited vocations, soon with abundant results. In the next eight years, 24 candidates went abroad; 12 persevered to priestly ordination.

In search of a home on the Vistula – the beginnings of the Polish Province

After several years in Italy, Fr. Kazimierz Wiecheć returned permanently home on 31 March 1928 to create a new province.

The search for a Congregational home considered several locations in different cities before choosing Płaszów in Krakow. A house was first rented on Koszykarska Street; construction then began on the Mother House on Saska Street. After intensive work, the church and monastery were blessed in autumn 1931, and the first minor seminary soon opened. In its first year, 50 candidates applied. Archbishop Adam Sapieha soon established the first Dehonian parish, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

These were only the first steps. A formation house—a novitiate—was founded in Felsztyn (now Skeliwka, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine). During World War II it moved to Stadniki, while seminarians went to Krakow. The clerics, including future Cardinal Stanisław Nagy, studied at home and attended Franciscan Recollect lectures. After the war, on 10 January 1947, the Polish Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart was canonically established, with Fr. Michał Wietecha as provincial superior. It then comprised 36 religious: 22 priests, 12 seminarians and 2 brothers. On 14 August 1948, the Novitiate House officially transferred to Stadniki.

The turbulent years of communism

In 1954 communist authorities closed the Stadniki novitiate, forcing everyone to move to Krakow Płaszów. Student brothers who had attended Franciscan Recollect seminary lectures began studying at the Higher Seminary in Tarnów in 1949, living on Rogoyskiego Street. Ultimately, communist actions led to recovery of the Stadniki building in February 1960 and establishment there of a Higher Missionary Seminary.

The Dehonians today and their work

Today, the Polish Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart has nearly 250 religious, runs 16 Polish parishes and serves worldwide missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Cameroon, the Philippines, Albania, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, France, Italy, the USA, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Their work is exceptionally rich and diverse: they work at universities and run parishes, missions, retreats, Dehon Publishing House, the Profeto Foundation, the TALENT Ministry for Entrepreneurs and Employers, the Family Health Centre (ministry for engaged and married couples), Domus Mater Hotel and Biały Dom hostel. Best-known Dehonians include hierarchs the late Cardinal Stanisław Nagy, Bishop Józef Wróbel, Bishop of Helsinki and currently Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lublin, and Bishop Adam Musiałek, Bishop of De Aar Diocese in South Africa.

The Dehonians today and their work

Today, the Polish Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart has nearly 250 religious, runs 16 Polish parishes and serves missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Cameroon, the Philippines, Albania, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Croatia, Slovakia, France, Italy, the USA, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova. Their rich, diverse work includes universities, parishes, missions, retreats, Dehon Publishing House, Profeto Foundation, TALENT Ministry for Entrepreneurs and Employers, Family Health Centre ministry for engaged and married couples, Domus Mater Hotel and Biały Dom hostel. Best-known Dehonians include the late Cardinal Stanisław Nagy, Bishop Józef Wróbel, Bishop of Helsinki and currently Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lublin, and Bishop Adam Musiałek, Bishop of De Aar Diocese in South Africa.