From The Morning Call: Polish church in Bethlehem holds service in memory of plane crash victims
From the ashes of tragedy, the Polish people might well rekindle the sense of solidarity they lost in the years since uniting to throw off the yoke of Soviet control, the Rev. Bogdan Jurczyszyn believes.
Jurczyszyn celebrated a special Mass Sunday at Our Lord’s Ascension, a Polish National Catholic Church in Bethlehem, to honor Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 94 others — largely high-ranking officials — who died April 10 in a plane crash in Russia.
”The government was divided, there were a lot of parties and they make trouble, you know,” Jurczyszyn said before the Mass. ”But this event changed most in the government and they are ready to talk and unite the parties and move forward if the decision is good for the country.”
The service began with the blessing of the Polish flag, which was carried by Hank Kudzik, the son of Polish immigrants and a World War II submariner who lives in Allen Township. Jurczyszyn led about 20 people in Polish prayers and hymns but gave the homily in English.
In searching for meaning to the tragedy, Jurczyszyn said before the service that he was heartened by Russia’s response to Poland’s loss. The two nations have had a tense relationship for years but Russian leaders have reached out to their grieving neighbor.
Kaczynski and the Polish delegation were on their way to a service commemorating the 1940 Soviet massacre of about 22,000 Polish officers and civilians in Katyn, Russia, during World War II. Jurczyszyn hopes Russia will open its archives to the Polish people so they can learn more about what happened to their countrymen at Katyn.
”Looking at Russia right now, we see very positive movements,” said Jurczyszyn, whose wife, Anna, is Russian.
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Losing half of a government in an instant would test any country, much less a young democracy like Poland’s. But Jurczyszyn said so far Poles have passed that test, keeping the peace and responding with a renewed purpose.
Contributing to Jurczyszyn’s optimism is the fact that he once had the new acting president of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, for a high school history teacher and has faith in him as leader.
”He never used the book, only his head, you know,” the priest said. ”Every class with him was so interesting.”
Attending the Mass, Karen Amate of Northampton said she came to honor the Polish people and show support for Jurczyszyn.
”I haven’t been to a Polish Mass in a long time,” said Amate, whose father was a Polish immigrant. ”When I hear it, it brings back memories of growing up and it does remind me of our heritage.”
That was true too for Bethlehem resident Nicolette Stavrovsky, who grew up in the church and learned some Polish from performing songs in traditional costumes as a child in a church group called The Children of Mary.
”As you get older, you appreciate the traditions more,” she said.
Daniel Broczkowski of Bethlehem, whose grandfather was a founding member of the parish in 1927, said his family’s ”love for Poland and our sympathy for the Polish people are deep rooted.”
The sudden loss of so many government leaders is almost unimaginable, he said. ”It’s hard to fathom that in America and have the country go on. It would certainly be a blow aÂ… to the spirit of the country and make people look to each other and say, ‘How do we go on from here?”’
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