Stefan Wyszyński and Elżbieta Róża Czacka beatified in Poland
Two revered figures of the Polish Catholic Church were beatified on September 12—a cardinal who led the Polish church’s resistance to communism and a blind nun who devoted her life to helping others who couldn’t see.
In a time of growing secularization and societal divisions, the celebration of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Mother Elżbieta Róża Czacka was a reminder of the moral authority and the unifying power the church once held over Poland.
Wyszyński was Poland’s primate, or top church leader, from 1948 until his death in 1981. He was under house arrest in the 1950s for his refusal to bend to the communist regime and was considered by some to be the true leader of the nation. His long resistance to communism is credited as a factor that led to the election of a Polish pope, John Paul II, and ultimately to the toppling of Poland’s communist system in 1989.
