Cardinal Kominek in Rome [PHOTOS]

Cardinal Boleslaw Kominek, the first post-war Archbishop of Wroclaw, may join the ranks of Founding Fathers of Europe in a couple of years. The initiative of presenting this remarkable Wroclaw prelate to the whole of Europe was launched by the Mayor of Wroclaw. On Friday evening, the exhibition ‘Forgiveness and reconciliation. Cardinal Kominek. The unknown Founding Father of Europe’ was opened in the Vatican Museums in the presence of His Excellency Mr Piotr Nowina-Konopka, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Poland to the Holy See and the Order of Knights of Malta. It will be available to visitors in Rome on the premises of the Vatican Museums from the 23rd of October till the 7th of December, and then the exhibition will be shown in Berlin, Wroclaw and Brussels. The authorities of Wroclaw hope that the European Parliament will approve their idea of assigning the title of Founding Father of Europe to Cardinal Kominek. The 50th anniversary of the famous letter of Polish bishops to German bishops in 2015 and the fact that Wroclaw will be the European Capital of Culture in 2016 are an excellent opportunity to revive the memory of the contribution of Cardinal Kominek to the building of European community.

The exhibition was prepared in co-operation with the Museum of Europe, which had already participated in the preparation of the exhibition ‘Europe is our history.’ Its first part presents works of art referring to the topic of war and reconciliation: ‘Requiem’ and ‘Double Angel’, sculptures by the German artist Alexander Polzin. Further parts of the exhibition are devoted to World War II and the experiences of Cardinal Kominek, the Stalinism period and the road to reconciliation.

Founding Father of Europe found

Cardinal Bolesław Kominek arrived in Wroclaw in October 1956. He had been nominated Bishop and had been granted the office of pastoral representative in Wroclaw already five years earlier, but he could not take up residence in Lower Silesia at that time. He was consecrated as a bishop secretly on the 10th of October 1954, and only on the 28th of June 1972 did he become Archbishop of Wroclaw – the first one after Adolf Bertram’s death in 1945.

He participated in the first and fourth session of the Second Vatican Council. He was the main author and one of the initiators of the Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops to Their German Brothers. Sent on the 18th of November 1965, it was the first opportunity for Polish and German bishops to establish closer ties after World War II. In this document, Polish bishops recall the difficult history of Polish-German relations, invite their German counterparts to participate in the celebration of the Millennium of Christianity in Poland in 1966 and ask them for reconciliation: ‘In the Christian, of course, but also very human spirit, we extend our hands to you who are sitting here on the benches of the Council, which is coming to an end, and we grant you forgiveness and ask for it’. The Letter met with a strong objection from the Communist authorities and caused repressions against the Church in Poland. German bishops replied to the Letter on the 5th of December 1965.

This letter was extremely important in the process of Poland’s return to Europe. This is evidenced by, among others, a note by Cardinal Kominek to Cardinal Wyszyński: ‘The manner of speaking cannot be nationalistic, but it must be European in the deepest sense of the word. Europe is the future – nationalisms are of yesterday. (…) The discussion [should be] deepening on the organisation of a federal solution for all peoples of Europe, including through a gradual abandonment of national sovereignty in matters of security, economy and foreign affairs,>>'<< (from: B. Kerski, T. Kycia, R. Żurek, Przebaczamy i prosimy o przebaczenie [We Forgive and Ask For Forgiveness], Olsztyn: 2006, pp. 52-53).

Between 1971-1974, Cardinal Bolesław Kominek acted as the vice-chair of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE). He was appointed Cardinal by the decision of Pope Paul VI on the 5th of March 1973. He died in Wroclaw a year later. He was buried in the archsee of Wroclaw.

In 2015, Cardinal Bolesław Kominek may join the group of the Founding Fathers of Europe, which includes Konrad Adenauer, Joseph Bech, Johan Willem Beyen, Winston Churchill, Alcide De Gasperi, Walter Hallstein, Sicco Mansholt, Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul-Henri Spaak and Altiero Spinelli.

Photos by City Council of Wroclaw