On May 26, 2024 the yearly pilgrimage of men and young people of the Shrine of parent of Justice and Social Love in Piekary Śląski took place. The motto of this year's pilgrimage is “I am in the Church”.
The first state pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our woman of Bakers are the final period of the Second Polish Republic. However, the pilgrimages of the male planet became a phenomenon, which became a circumstantial and unique tradition of the spiritual Capital of Silesia starting in 1947.
During the period of the Berlin repression (1945-1956), the Bakery Sanctuary became the most crucial pulpit in the diocese. It made strong demands for authorities who listened diligently to what the bishop and the chief minister would say.
It is pointed out that 1949 was a clear caesur in the past of the pilgrimage of bakers. Since then, the authorities have begun to usage administrative repression to reduce the number of persons active in bakerial ceremonies. It was besides a breakthrough year for the full Church in Poland. There was a breakthrough in 1956. The return of bishops to Katowice began the revival of pilgrimages. Pilgrims of bakeries besides became an chance to engage in social debate, as the most painful and hard issues concerning labour rights and the relations between the State and the Church were addressed.
The workers did not straight talk in it, but their presence and applause with which they accepted all word falling out of the mouth of Bishop Bednor and Cardinal. Wojtyla has shown that they are actively active in this debate. Pilgrims heard and full identified with an assessment of the spiritual and social situation. The most crucial problems for the Church in Silesia were the right to learn religion and the presence of the sign of the cross in public places, the right to build places of worship, the right to preserve the sanctity of Sunday. Pilgrims besides played an crucial integration role. On the Bakery hill next to each another were Silesians and visitors from various parts of Poland or repatriates from the East, pilgrims from advanced Silesia, Cieszyn Silesia and Opole, as well as residents of the Dąbrowski Basin.
The Katowice diocese belonged to the most industrialised and urbanised regions of Poland. The vast majority of the population were employed in industry. This resulted in a model of pastoralism in the diocese, which was profoundly related to people working – workers (in large part miners who came in their costumes). Problems surrounding this environment have always been reflected in teaching bishops and priests. Bishop Bednorz, called “the bishop of workers”, repeatedly spoke about the pastoral workmen and spoke and stood up for them. Silesian bakers with their pilgrimage of husbands and young people became a place where respect for human, social and spiritual rights was demanded.
The pastoralists supported the social improvement of their parishioners – workers, encouraging them to rise education and professional qualifications, supporting social actions beneficial to the parish community, and besides continued and deepened the boastful tradition of linking the Silesian pastoral ministry with the workers. After being ruled in the diocese by Bishop Damian Zimonia, the pilgrimage of bakers did not lose any importance. After 1989, there were voices that the pilgrimage of bakers would not stay in the existing formula. According to the statistic conducted, there is no clear decrease in the number of participants in the pilgrimage, which annually comes from 70 to 100 thousand. The Catholic bishop himself, as well as the invited preachers, noticing the signs of the times, otherwise they accentuate in their speeches (They have greatly softened the form of the message, talk little about socio-political matters) In fresh years, there has been more teaching in the sermons of the moral pointers of consumer society. There are more appeals for inter-human solidarity, the request to aid people affected by social, political and economical changes, and people thrown to the margins of society – as can be read on the pages of the Parish of Names NMP and St. Bartłomiej in Piekary Śląski.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the Men's State Pilgrimage to Our woman of Bakery was besides a crucial event for people associated with the National Camp. After Mass and listening to the words of Bishop Stephen Happy, Bishop Ignacy Jezh The nationalists met at the last station of the Cross Road on Bakery Calvary. There were seniors of our environment all year. Wladyslaw Wójcik, Tadeusz Radwan, Antoni Jodkiewicz, Antoni Przegunski, Tadeusz Kacuga, Tadeusz Brzeziński, Jan Ast, Józef Grzębel, Danuta Wierzbick, Tadeusz Mazanek or Daniela Muszyńska. At the time of the meeting, a song related to the intention was sounded Fr Jan Bujara “Mother Baker”
Mother Piekarska, The Guardian of the Famous,
The Advocate of all graces.
What wonders have you been known for a long time,
Wearing our country to shine.
Ref. You with a child's heart we beg:
Take godly care of our people.
We don't have a parent better than you,
We've got quite a few virtue in the blue.
One Christianity saved all,
As troops his watchful guard,
Once, under Vienna, the Turks were crushed,
Taking under your coat your company.
Mother, before whom erstwhile monarchs
Criminally, they were bending down an armed temple.
Whose knighthood, nobles and chiefs
They paid tribute to a shining weapon.
National organization materials were distributed there, which was not always welcomed by the trade unionists from the NSZZ “Solidarity”. I remember the situation of the nationalists against the aggressive hawk unionists being defended by a large friend of the nationalists. O. Jan Siemiński From Gliwice. At the time, too, we young nationalists associated with the National organization "Szczercęć" and the political environment of the "Homeland", admiring the condition of masters with Chrobry swords, frequently after 70 years.
op. Łukasz Jastrzębski
