The Apostolic Visit of the Holy Father John Paul II in Gliwice

BISHOPS OF UPPER SILESIA INVITE YOU TO MEET THE HOLY FATHER

Awaiting the Holy Father John Paul II

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Christ,
16 years ago the Holy Father, John Paul II gave his blessing to the Silesian soil. In Katowice, at the airport of Muchowiec, he left the Gospel of Labour for us to fulfill, whereas on the Mount of St. Anne, before his departure for Cracow, he said: "Thank you for the beautiful liturgy. The liturgy of vespers. And if I may ask you here in this sanctuary, and I would ask for that in many places, to cherish this beautiful liturgy of vespers just as you cherished it today, with the Pope" (21.06.1983).

Bearing this request in mind, we wish to pray with the Holy Father at the airport of Gliwice on June 15th and contemplate His word given to us during the vespers held in honour of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.

The airport will hold all those wishing to pray with the Holy Father. One million admission cards have been printed. The admission cards will be distributed - free of charge - through parish churches.

At the airport, visitors will be welcomed by a high cross. The cross refers to the aerial mast, which is related to the events of "Gliwice provocation" and the beginning of the second world war. However, it is not the war we want to remember but the truth of our faith - only through the Cross of Jesus Christ may each of us and all the nations find peace and reconciliation. Christ's Cross alone is the sign of God's love - love that is able to conquer hatred and death born in human hearts. Only This Cross does not cast the shadow of death but is the tree of a new life. After all we sing in our churches: "In the cross there is pain, in the cross there is salvation, in the cross there is a lesson of love".

The altar and the papal throne will be situated beside the cross. The arms of the altar do not meet. They refer symbolically to the fresco depicting the creation of Man painted by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican: God the Father gives the breath of life by pointing His finger at Adam's hand reaching out. The space between Adam's hand and God's arm has been filled with God's love. Both the first Man as well as each of us are children of God's love.

During the last year of preparations for the celebration of 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Church introduces us to this celebration through the Mystery of God the Father, who "so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (J 3, 16).

It is a gift of Divine Providence, that the present year is the time for us to receive the Holy Father on our soil. Our wishes concur with those of the Holy Father, who is willing to meet in Gliwice not only the congregation of the new diocese of Gliwice but also the congregation of the archdiocese of Katowice and the diocese of Opole. 15 June will thus be a solemnity for the whole metropolis of Katowice - for Upper Silesia.

The diocese of Gliwice as well as our whole metropolis is truly "a Land of Reconciled Variety", a variety of national and cultural trends which composes one spiritual-religious organism, where - like in a mosaic - that which is Polish, German and Moravian forms a whole. Christianity lives by its roots, its tradition, its attachment to the Gospel, to the belief in Jesus Christ and to the Church.

We wish to display our attachment to our fathers' faith. The display will be made both by those who have been worshipping God on this soil for centuries as well as those who, as a result of "ethnic purge activities", found their new homeland here.

Dear faithful of our Metropolis,
we are inviting you, in the name of God, to the meeting with the "Peter of our times". Let us sing for him the songs of joy and praise, instead of songs of sorrow and misery. Let us open our hearts for Jesus! Let us not fear!

With His words, full of God's Spirit, the Holy Father will strengthen our faith. He will give us courage to overcome difficulties, which we encounter in our complicated "now" - being the moment of great changes.

For centuries we have been cared for by the Holy Virgin. It is She who defended Gliwice against the army of the Danish general Mansfeld in 1626. Ever since that day, in spite of the periods of partitions, the inhabitants of Gliwice have continuously made the pilgrimage to her Miraculous Image on Jasna Góra so as to express their gratitude for the rescue. We take pride in this act of gratitude for that is the first walking pilgrimage to Częstochowa in our country. While expressing our deepest gratitude to the Virgin Mary we are asking the Holy Father to bless the three crowns for the three Miraculous Images: for the Holy Virgin of Humility in Rudy within the diocese of Gliwice, for The Holy Virgin of Bogucice within the archdiocese of Katowice and for The Holy Virgin in Racibórz within the diocese of Opole.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, we earnestly request you to undertake "the pilgrim's effort". Let all those who are able to do it, enliven their hearts with faith and stand together with the Holy Father John Paul II on the ground of Gliwice airport, so as to give praise and adore God's Love, the symbol of which is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

You are invited to the pilgrimage route and given blessing by Your bishops:

Bp Jan Wieczorek,

Bp Damian Zimoń,

Bp Alfons Nossol.

Gliwice - Katowice - Opole, 30 April, 1999.