 |
 |
| Aktualnie jesteś: |
|
|
|
REMEMBER THE PENTECOST |
e-mail: savefawley@hotmail.com
Sunday, 24.May 2009
?ród?o: www.dziennikpolski.co.uk
autor: Jan Maria Borkowski
translated from Polish by El?bieta Kowalska
Remember the Pentecost!
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Source: www.dziennikpolski.co.uk
Author: Jan Maria Borkowski
Remember the Pentecost!
The sale of the Fawley Court property in Henley-on-Thames by the Marian Fathers has recently been a recurrent topic of conversations among the Polish Community living in Great Britain.
The Poles are now astonished to discover how this place is now destined to be erased from Polish National Heritage in Great Britain even though it was rebuilt, recreated and generously supported by the Polish Community for many years. There are rumours of transferring the church of St. Anne to secular use and moving the grave of its founder, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill, to another place. Father Jarzebowski who dedicated a good part of his life to establishing Fawley Court as a Polish educational and national centre is also now destined to have his remains moved elsewhere.
As this sacred place gradually becomes more profane, the Poles are left with nothing but prayer to help prevent the sale of Fawley Court and thereby keep it in their hands.
There might still be a chance to prevent the sale of Fawley Court despite the advanced stage of the sale.
It is imperative for the Poles to form a united front and publicly protest against the Marian Fathers decision to sell the property especially without consulting any representatives of the Polish Community in emigration. Let us therefore gather together in Fawley Court on Pentecost Day on the 31 of May. We will gather together in accordance with our tradition, in our thousands, on the magnificent lawns designed by Capability Brown.
We still have a right to attend mass at the church on such an important occasion even though the Marian Fathers have not invited us and we are not welcome anymore. Let us gather in this place once again and pray for some consensus to be reached by the Marian Fathers and our Polish Community.
Fawley Court is extremely important to the Poles not only because of its glorious past but also because of its future. It is regrettable that the Marian Fathers, who once dedicated their efforts towards serving the Polish community, no longer feel obliged to fulfil their mission towards the Polish community. They do not seem to notice that a new wave of Polish emigrants has resulted in a resurge of Catholicism in Great Britain – a phenomenon often described as a religious renaissance. The Marian Fathers seem to be uninterested in taking pastoral care of vulnerable young families, new to the community, who require spiritual support as well as an opportunity to integrate with their compatriots and therby share their spiritual values with the English society.
How could this be the right time to close down the Retreat Center and move the Divine Mercy Shrine to Ealing when there are so many people that require it to remain where it is? I do not attempt to provide solution for this disgraceful situation but dare say that we Poles require courage similar to that of Father Jarzebowski if we are to resolve this problem.
Some fifty years ago, Father Jarzebowski bravely took on the changing task of turning the rumbling old palace in Fawley Court, whose history dates back to the 11th century and whose manor house was designed by the world famous Christopher Wren, into a Polish cultural and religious centre.
There were merely 150 thousand Polish people in Great Britain in those days. Despite such small numbers, their generous support and financial contributions enabled the opening of a Polish School for their children as well as the establishment of a magnificent library and museum containing a unique collection of historic memorabilia.
The school was in operation until 1986 when it was closed down during the course of academic year. The museum was also shut down and its treasures were removed from Fawley Court and transferred to Lichen (Poland). This was shamefully done without consulting the very Poles that donated most of the collected items. The library suffered similar fate.
All these wrongdoings contrast sharply with the good deeds of Father Jarzebowski. He was a great man whose experience in education had been gained in a pre-War Marian school in Bielany, Warsaw, and for whom national heritage, patriotic education and the catholic faith had amalgamated into one missionary guideline.
There are currently 2 million of Poles living in Great Britain. Most of these Poles are young, vibrant and proud of their culture and their origin with hope for their future in this country. The Marian Fathers have however chosen not to take up this missionary challenge or perhaps they simply do not possess the necessary ‘know-how’ to build upon the foundation left to them by their predecessors.
Moreover, the Marian Fathers have absolutely no right to make decisions regarding our common property and heritage as they please and betray those who trusted them when contributing to Fawley Court thought the decades.
We hope that the idea of Divine Mercy becomes a basis for a spiritual renaissance in Europe. The idea is based on the revelations of St. Faustyna and later explained in a written treaty by her confessor, Father Sopocko.
It is extremely significant that the original of this particular treaty was entrusted to Father Jarzebowski shortly after the War in Vilnius (then Poland) and later smuggled by him throughout Vladivostock (Russia) to Western Europe. For this reason we feel that the Divine Mercy Shrine should remain in Fawley Court permanently as an anchor of Polish and catholic spirituality. As the Polish Community in Britain is now much larger it is more able to support the continuation of Father Jarzebowski’s mission. I therefore appeal to you, my fellow country men and women, to attend the Holy Mass in the St. Anne’s Church in Fawley Court on the occasion of Pentecost Day on the 31st of May. Together we will pray at the grave of Father Jarzebowski , Prince Radziwill, and all those whose ashes have been buried here and whose great contribution to this place cannot be forgotten but should instead be remembered in order to give us hope for the future.
The sale of the Fawley Court property in Henley-on-Thames by the Marian Fathers has recently been a recurrent topic of conversations among the Polish Community living in Great Britain.
The Poles are now astonished to discover how this place is now destined to be erased from Polish National Heritage in Great Britain even though it was rebuilt, recreated and generously supported by the Polish Community for many years. There are rumours of transferring the church of St. Anne to secular use and moving the grave of its founder, Prince Stanislaw Radziwill, to another place. Father Jarzebowski who dedicated a good part of his life to establishing Fawley Court as a Polish educational and national centre is also now destined to have his remains moved elsewhere.
As this sacred place gradually becomes more profane, the Poles are left with nothing but prayer to help prevent the sale of Fawley Court and thereby keep it in their hands.
There might still be a chance to prevent the sale of Fawley Court despite the advanced stage of the sale.
It is imperative for the Poles to form a united front and publicly protest against the Marian Fathers decision to sell the property especially without consulting any representatives of the Polish Community in emigration. Let us therefore gather together in Fawley Court on Pentecost Day on the 31 of May. We will gather together in accordance with our tradition, in our thousands, on the magnificent lawns designed by Capability Brown.
We still have a right to attend mass at the church on such an important occasion even though the Marian Fathers have not invited us and we are not welcome anymore. Let us gather in this place once again and pray for some consensus to be reached by the Marian Fathers and our Polish Community.
Fawley Court is extremely important to the Poles not only because of its glorious past but also because of its future. It is regrettable that the Marian Fathers, who once dedicated their efforts towards serving the Polish community, no longer feel obliged to fulfil their mission towards the Polish community. They do not seem to notice that a new wave of Polish emigrants has resulted in a resurge of Catholicism in Great Britain – a phenomenon often described as a religious renaissance. The Marian Fathers seem to be uninterested in taking pastoral care of vulnerable young families, new to the community, who require spiritual support as well as an opportunity to integrate with their compatriots and therby share their spiritual values with the English society.
How could this be the right time to close down the Retreat Center and move the Divine Mercy Shrine to Ealing when there are so many people that require it to remain where it is? I do not attempt to provide solution for this disgraceful situation but dare say that we Poles require courage similar to that of Father Jarzebowski if we are to resolve this problem.
Some fifty years ago, Father Jarzebowski bravely took on the changing task of turning the rumbling old palace in Fawley Court, whose history dates back to the 11th century and whose manor house was designed by the world famous Christopher Wren, into a Polish cultural and religious centre.
There were merely 150 thousand Polish people in Great Britain in those days. Despite such small numbers, their generous support and financial contributions enabled the opening of a Polish School for their children as well as the establishment of a magnificent library and museum containing a unique collection of historic memorabilia.
The school was in operation until 1986 when it was closed down during the course of academic year. The museum was also shut down and its treasures were removed from Fawley Court and transferred to Lichen (Poland). This was shamefully done without consulting the very Poles that donated most of the collected items. The library suffered similar fate.
All these wrongdoings contrast sharply with the good deeds of Father Jarzebowski. He was a great man whose experience in education had been gained in a pre-War Marian school in Bielany, Warsaw, and for whom national heritage, patriotic education and the catholic faith had amalgamated into one missionary guideline.
There are currently 2 million of Poles living in Great Britain. Most of these Poles are young, vibrant and proud of their culture and their origin with hope for their future in this country. The Marian Fathers have however chosen not to take up this missionary challenge or perhaps they simply do not possess the necessary ‘know-how’ to build upon the foundation left to them by their predecessors.
Moreover, the Marian Fathers have absolutely no right to make decisions regarding our common property and heritage as they please and betray those who trusted them when contributing to Fawley Court thought the decades.
We hope that the idea of Divine Mercy becomes a basis for a spiritual renaissance in Europe. The idea is based on the revelations of St. Faustyna and later explained in a written treaty by her confessor, Father Sopocko.
It is extremely significant that the original of this particular treaty was entrusted to Father Jarzebowski shortly after the War in Vilnius (then Poland) and later smuggled by him throughout Vladivostock (Russia) to Western Europe. For this reason we feel that the Divine Mercy Shrine should remain in Fawley Court permanently as an anchor of Polish and catholic spirituality. As the Polish Community in Britain is now much larger it is more able to support the continuation of Father Jarzebowski’s mission. I therefore appeal to you, my fellow country men and women, to attend the Holy Mass in the St. Anne’s Church in Fawley Court on the occasion of Pentecost Day on the 31st of May. Together we will pray at the grave of Father Jarzebowski , Prince Radziwill, and all those whose ashes have been buried here and whose great contribution to this place cannot be forgotten but should instead be remembered in order to give us hope for the future.
Sprawa sprzeda?y przez ksi??y Marianów polskiego o?rodka w Fawley Court w Henley nad Tamiz? wci?? powraca w rozmowach mi?dzy mieszkaj?cymi w Wielkiej Brytanii rodakami
Miejsce, które przez lata zwi?zane by?o z polsko?ci? i do którego odbudowy i utrzymania spo?eczno?? polska tak walnie si? przyczyni?a ma zosta? wymazane z mapy naszego duchowego dziedzictwa na Brytyjskich Wyspach. Mówi si? ju? o dekonsekracji zaprojektowanego przez W?adys?awa Jarosza i ufundowanego przez ksi?cia Stanis?awa Radziwi??a ko?cio?a, o przeniesieniu grobu ksi?cia i innych, ??cznie z grobem ojca Józefa Jarz?bowskiego, dzi?ki którego energii, wierze i patriotyzmowi przed 50 laty Fawley Court sta?o si? miejscem tak drogim Polakom na obczy?nie. Czy pozosta?o nam ju? tylko modli? si? o jego interwencj? z za?wiatow i apelowa? do Boskiego Mi?osierdzia, by wspomog?o tych którzy chc? zachowa? polski i katolicki Fawley Court?
Sprawa kasacji tutejszego o?rodka cho? bardzo ju? zaawansowana nie jest jednak ostatecznie przegrana. Wci?? potrzeba publicznych manifestacji by pokaza? jak bardzo wszystkim nam na sercu le?y ta sprawa, jak oburza dysponowanie dorobkiem emigracji bez nale?ytej konsultacji z jej przedstawicielami. Przyjed?my do Fawley Court na msz? w niedziel? Zes?ania Ducha Swi?tego 31 maja, ?wi?to przez lata tak uroczy?cie tu celebrowane, z którego okazji tysi?ce Polaków zjawia?y si? na zielonych ??kach wspania?ego parku zaplanowanego przez samego Capability Browna. Dzi? si? tu ju? nas nie zaprasza, ale wst?pu do ko?cio?a zabroni? nie mo?na. Przyjed?my modli? si? o porozumienie i przekazanie o?rodka organizacjom troszcz?cym si? o losy polskiego dziedzictwa i duchowej kultury.
Fawley Court wa?ny jest dla Polaków nie tylko poprzez jego przesz?o??, z której jeste?my dumni, ale i przysz?o??, która stawia nowe wyzwania. Marianie, którzy w osobie pochowanego w Fawley Court ojca Jarz?bowskiego uosobiali maria? idei ewangelizacji i wychowania w duchu chrze?cija?skim z trosk? o przenikni?te tym duchem polskie spo?ecze?stwo na uchod?ctwie, o jego dziedzictwo i kultur?, dzi? nie czuj? si? ju? wobec nas zobligowani. Zrobili?my swoje, mamy odej??. Zdaj? si? nie dostrzega? faktu, ?e renesans katolicyzmu jaki obecnie prze?ywamy na Wyspach Brytyjskich jest zas?ug? setek tysi?cy nowoprzyby?ych tutaj m?odych Polaków. Czy to rzeczywi?cie moment by my?le? zamykaniu dzia?aj?cego w Fawley Court Sanktuarium Mi?osierdzia Bo?ego propaguj?cego idee ?w.Faustyny i przenoszeniu go na Ealing? Czy nie czas raczej na duchowa opiek? nad rzeszami m?odych Polaków i ich dzieci, na wspólne z nimi dzia?ania na rzecz integracji i duchowego odzi?lywania na angielskie spo?ecze?two?
Nie mnie radzi?, ale potrzeba nam dzi? ?mia?o?ci i odwagi ojca Jarz?bowskiego, jego troski o polsk? spo?eczno?? w Wielkiej Brytani i nowych ?mia?ych zada? dla Fawley Court. Przed 50 laty z 50 funtami w kieszeni ojciec Jarz?bowski potrafi? rozpocz?? wielkie dzie?o przemieniania upadaj?cego starego dworu (wybudowanego przez Christophera Wrena, ale sw? histori? si?gaj?cego jeszcze czasów Normanów) w o?rodek promieniowania katolickiej wiary i polskiej kultury. Na Wyspach Brytyjskich mieszka?o wówczas zaledwie 150 tysi?cy Polaków, a jednak przy ich wsparciu i pomocy mo?liwe okaza?o si? otworzenie tu szko?y dla dzieci polskiej emigracji (zamkni?tej w roku 1986 w trakcie trwania roku akademickiego), wspania?ego muzeum (w przewa?aj?cej mierze z?o?onego z darów polskiej emigracji, a dzi? bez konsultacji z nami przeniesionego do Lichenia) i cennej biblioteki. Dla wielkiego marianina, ojca Jarz?bowskiego, którego pedagogiczne do?wiadczenia si?ga?y jeszcze przedwojennej szko?y marianów na warszawskich Bielanach, wszystko to: edukcja, historia i wiara stanowi?o spójn? ca?o??, wzajemnie wspomaga?o dzie?o ewangelizacji i krzewienia kultury. Znalaz?a si? energia i wola by wspólnie z rzeszami wygna?ców-Polaków budowa? dzie?o Ducha.
Dzi? kiedy w Wielkiej Brytanii mieszka nas 2 miliony, a wi?kszo?? to dumni ze swej wiary i kultury ludzie m?odzi, pe?nych energii i nadziei, Marianie odrzucaj? wielk? szans? i wyzwanie jakie tak bliska im przecie? spo?eczno?? daje. Nie potrafi? czy mo?e niechc? budowa? dalej na fundamentach wzniesionych wysi?kiem poprzedniego pokolenia. Nie maj? prawa rozporz?dza? wspólnym dorobkiem rzesz, które im zaufa?y i które przez dziesi?ciolecia przyczynia?y si? do stworzenia z Fawley Court centrum promieniowania kultury narodowej i jej religijnego ducha.
Czy? idee Mi?osierdzia Bo?ego wy?o?one w opartym na objawieniach ?w.Faustyny traktacie jej spowiednika ojca Sopo?ko nie powinny sta? si? ostoj? tak potrzebnego zadania duchowego odrodzenia Europy? Czy tylko przypadek sprawi?, ?e to Ojcu Jarz?bowskiemu powierzony zosta? w Wilnie, zaraz po wojnie, orygina? tego traktatu i ?e podró?uj?c przez W?adywostok uda?o mu si? go przemyci? na Zachód? Czy? Fawley Court z tradycjami edukacji i dzia?aj?cym tu Sanktuarium Bo?ego Mi?osierdzia nie powinien sta? si? centrum promienieniowania katolickiej duchowo?ci i kultury? Ma po temu warunki, a polska spo?eczno?? w Wielkiej Brytanii o tyle dzi? pot??niejsza z pewno?ci? mog?aby sta? si? oparciem dla tak ?mia?ych planów. Potrzeba nam kontynuatorów wizji ojca Jarz?bowskiego, potrzeba miejsc jak Fawley Court tak dla integracji jak i stara? o przekazanie innym dorobku i duchowych warto?ci naszej kultury. Przyjed?my wi?c 31 maja do Fawley Court na msz? w po?udnie w Zielono?wi?tkow? niedziel?, módlmy si? przy grobie ojca Jarz?bowskiego, ksi?cia Radziwi??a i innych których prochy spoczywaj? w tutejszym kolumbarium przypomninaj?c o wk?adzie jaki Polacy tu w?o?yli i nadziejach jakie wci?? z tym miejscem wi???. |
|
|
|
Komitet Obrony Dziedzictwa Narodowego Fawley Court, , e-mail: savefawley@hotmail.com |
|
Fawley Court
History before 1953
REMEMBER THE PENTECOST
