SW News:
The President of the Polish Episcopate, Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, celebrated Holy Mass for the poor and homeless in front of the image of Jasna Góra, currently placed in the chapel of the Elizabethan Sisters.

The Holy Mass, which was broadcast live, was attended by representatives of the homeless, nuns and volunteers.

The archbishop noted that homelessness is a “drastic example” of poverty and that it has increased by 70% in the last decade. Poland has at least 30,000 homeless people. He stated that the causes of poverty are demographic changes, economic recession, unemployment, an increase in rental housing prices, and the lack of a sufficient number of institutions for the care of helpless people.

Archbishop Gądecki thanked the Elizabethan, Albertine, Ursuline and Franciscan Sisters as well as the volunteers who run diners to feed the elderly and poor.

He concluded by affirming his listeners that the Lady of Jasna Góra can do everything. “Give us the grace to understand that in every minute of our lives, many human beings die of hunger and cold, although they did not deserve it. Have pity on all the homeless people of the world and forgive us for too long - out of fear - we have left them to themselves. Let the poverty in the world touch us,” the archbishop prayed at the end of the homily.

The Jasna Góra Image began to travel around Poland, visiting Poznań archdiocese's parishes from May 2019. The pilgrimage was suspended twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.