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Nasza Przeszłość

Vol. 91 (1999): Our Past

Articles

Fr. Wincenty Smoczyński - a guide of pilgrims to Rome in 1888-1900

  • Rafał Szczurowski
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.1999.91.301-330  [Google Scholar]
Published: 1999-06-30

Abstract

There was a marked upswing in the number of Polish pilgrims travelling to Rome in the second half of the 19th century. The trend reached its peak during the pontificate of Leo XIII. Father Wincenty Smoczyński was one of the first regular organizers and guides of pilgrimages to the Eternal City. Born on 7 November 1842 at Biórkowo in the Congress Kingdom, he enroled at the Catholic seminary at Kielce. In 1861 he moved to the Spiritual Academy in Warsaw. When his involvement in the underground independence movement attracted the attention of the police he left Poland for Rome where he completed his studies and was ordained. In 1869 he came to Galicia. Three years later after crossing the border to the Russian-ruled Kingdom of Poland he was arrested and dispatched to the Warsaw Citadel. He was charged with assisting Polish bishops in their illegal correspondence with the Vatican, tried, and sentenced to three years of deportation to Siberia. In 1879 he returned to Cracow and served as auxiliary priest at St Peter and Paul’s before being appointed parish priest of Tenczynek. In 1888 he led his first group of pilgrims to Rome. More pilgrimages followed in 1891, 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1900. The dates corresponded with Leo XIII’s jubilees and Italian celebrations of major religious anniversaries. The journeys were organized with the aim of consolidating the pilgrims’ faith andgiving them a better understanding of Christian culture. Moreover, the presence of the Polish groups in Rome offered a manifest sign of support for the beleaguered Holy See and reminded the world of the suffering of the Polish nation. Father Smoczyński put a lot of effort into the preparations and smooth progress of each pilgrimage. Building upon past experience, he developed his own methods of coping with all the problems that beset a group of travellers in those days. To maximize the spiritual and intellectual benefits of the pilgrims who travelled with him to Rome he wrote two travelbooks. The first is a record of his first Roman pilgrimage; the other, which has the form of a guidebook proper, contains information about Rome’s antiquities. A plaque in the parish church of Tenczynek, where Father Smoczyński worked for over 20 years, commemorates his great achievement, pioneering modern pilgrimages to Rome.

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