During the memorable Holy Mass at Wielka Krokiew in Zakopane on 6 June 1997 the “Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” expressed by representatives of the entire Polish Mountain Region was echoed throughout Poland. Drawing on materials gathered at the John Paul II Pontificate Centre for Documentation and Research in Rome, I will recall the history of this act, its meaning, its reception in the media, and I will point out the relevant significance of this Tribute for Catholics in Poland today.
Hope of expectation
In the artistically designed invitation to visit Zakopane, which the city authorities handed over to John Paul II on the occasion of his short stay in Zywiec (May 22nd 1995), it was written that “there is no greater joy than that of the hope of waiting to meet you in the Podhale region”. The first days of January 1997 saw the official announcement of the programme for the Pope’s June visit to Poland, which included Zakopane. The “hope of waiting” had to be transformed into concrete actions.
From the testimony of Adam Bachleda-Cururuś (Up…to the Tatras #2), the mayor of Zakopane (1995-2001), we can learn that the idea of writing a Tribute was born from the desire to “express in the most dignified and wonderful way possible what we feel and what the whole Poland feels, what the nation feels. And this is where the idea of the Polish Highlanders’ Tribute came from”.
It was therefore decided that the Holy Father would be welcomed and honoured with a symbolic act that would honour of the successor of Peter and the great Compatriot, and at the same time would be a historical and moral testimony to the whole community and express the awareness that the pontificate of the Pole, the “Son of our Mountains”, obliges to preserve the Polish identity and Catholic faith, which should be passed on to future generations.
Symbolic acts with a religious and national meaning have their own long and short history in our country. From the post-war period it is worth mentioning the ‘Jasna Góra Vows of the Polish Nation’ (26 August 1956) or the ‘Act of Poland’s submission to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church for the freedom of the Church of Christ’ (3 May 1966). It is also worth mentioning the Prayer after the coronation of the statue of Our Lady of Ludźmierz (15 August 1963), which was composed and pronounced on behalf of the faithful by Bishop Karol Wojtyła. It also had a character of a social obligation.
I think that these acts constitute a certain context of the “Tribute of the Polish Highlanders”, the more so because there is a direct reference in it to the observance of the “Jasna Góra Vows”. A small group of people, headed by the Mayor of Zakopane, worked on preparing the Tribute. It must be said that the 10-sentence text is very well thought out and written.
Content and meaning of the Tribute
The addressee of the Tribute is the person of John Paul II, who was also called “Son of the Mountains” twice. It must be emphasised, however, that it is an act addressed indirectly to God. This is evidenced by the initial statement that those paying tribute are “happy and grateful to God in the Trinity” and that they are aware that the Holy Father “adds to us before God and men the greatest splendour by his holy shepherding”. The Tribute ends with the invocation: “Lord God lead the way!”. John Paul II, as the addressee of the Tribute, is the representative of God and the Church and “the greatest of the Poles”.
The Tribute expressed the conviction that with the pontificate of John Paul II, the whole nation was distinguished and called to enter “the paths of victory over evil”, to the heights of holiness. Victories over sin and vices will bear fruit in the happiness of families, in the attitude of pure trust of children and young people and in the “serene faith” of adults.
In this connection, thanks were given to the Holy Father for his teachings, his concern for the homeland, his “prayers, sacrifices and admonitions”. Reference was also made to the Pope’s contribution to recent Polish history by expressing gratitude that “he got us out of red slavery” and for teaching us how to build the good of the country on a foundation of moral principles.
In turn, they apologised to God for betrayals, and to the Holy Father for what had “disappointed and saddened” him, for “doubt, failure to be faithful and irresponsible use of freedom”.
The pledges made in tribute concern remaining faithful to the Catholic faith and “to the glorious tradition of our ancestors”, as well as to the “Jasna Góra Vows”.
The penultimate sentence, quite an extended one, refers to the Baptism of Poland in 966 and to the link of the homeland with the Holy See and with Latin civilisation. In doing so, it expresses the historical awareness that this relationship, which has lasted for a thousand years, reached its historical peak during the pontificate of John Paul II. That is why the final sentence asks for the Pope’s blessing to help us “to come out of all death to a life of true love” and to enter the third millennium of Christianity with such hope.
The Tribute is written on two A4-sized pages in calligraphic handwriting, stylized in the form of “Gothic” writing. At the bottom is the place and date “Zakopane June 6th, 1997″ and the signature of the mayor, Adam Bachleda-Curuś. The Polish and Latin versions of the ” Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” were presented to John Paul II in a leather binding with decorated inscriptions, together with the Zakopane coat of arms.
It must be said that the authors of the Tribute managed to express a great deal of content in a relatively short text. The language of the Tribute is precise and illustrative. It combines the history of people and their faith, expresses feelings, but also Christian awareness, regional attachment and Polish patriotism. The ‘Cross on Giewont Mountain’, referred to twice, is a commitment to faithfulness to the roots of faith and tradition, and at the same time it is a witness to a historical moment, the hour of grace, which took place during the Holy Mass at Wielka Krokiew.
Paying Tribute
The presentation of the ” Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” took place immediately after the beginning of the Eucharist. Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, archbishop of the Diocese of Cracow, after the greeting, asked the Holy Father to accept the ” Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” so that “they themselves would say what they think in their hearts, what they feel in their hearts”.
The Holy Father was approached by representatives of the three oldest generations of highlanders, as well as representatives of Podhale, Spisz, Orawa and Land of Nowy Sącz and Żywiec Region highlanders and representatives of regional local governments, which gave the act an “official” character. They knelt on the steps of the altar.
The Tribute was read out by Mayor Adam Bachleda-Curuś. The reading of this short text lasted over four minutes, as it was interrupted six times by the applause of the gathered faithful. When the representatives of the highlanders approached the Holy Father after the Tribute had been paid, the gathered people sang ‘Rota’, Polish religious and patriotic song.
John Paul II referred to this act in the homily he delivered: “I am grateful for this eloquent tribute of Podhale, ever faithful to the Church and the Nation. You can always be counted on!”. This last sentence was followed by long applause and shouts of “Long live the Pope!”.
However, it is worth recalling the Holy Father’s next sentence: “In a spirit of gratitude I wish, together with you – dear brothers and sisters – to meditate upon the great mystery of the Sacred Heart of Jesus”. Later in the homily the Pope showed the mystery of the Heart of Jesus together with the mystery of the Cross as the central expression and moment of the plan of salvation and as signs of God’s love for people.
“The Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” expressed the desire to preserve “Christian dignity and national identity” and fidelity to spiritual and moral roots. This is possible – in the words of the homily – through deepening faith, consistent implementation of its principles in life and creative development of native culture in its vital connection with Christianity.
Media reception
In the dossier that the journalists accompanying the Pope on the ‘volo papale’ received, there was no mention of the Tribute and this may have influenced the meagre commentary on this symbolic act in the foreign press. It is worth noting, however, that the Italian edition of “L’Osservatore Romano” published a translation of the Tribute the day after the event, on June 7, 1997. In contrast, another Vatican medium, “Radiogiornale RV”, stressed that the mayor greeted the Pope by kneeling before him. The daily “La Stampa” (June 10, 1997) wrote that in Zakopane and Krakow the Pope was welcomed and greeted in such a way as if it were his last meeting with him, also noting the emotion and tears of the Pope during the highlanders’ Tribute.
The mayor of Zakopane, asked on the eve of the event by the daily “Dziennik Polski” about what “gift was prepared for the Distinguished Guest”, replied: “The greatest gift of the Polish highlanders will be a spiritual sacrifice”. The Polish edition of “L’Osservatore Romano” described the Tribute as a “solemn and moving” act. Whereas journalists commenting on it in the weekly magazine “Gości Niedzielny” found it to be “an exceptional surprise” and that it contributed to a change in the tone of papal speeches from instruction to “strengthening” of the faithful (June 15, 1997). The daily “Życie Warszawy” entitled the coverage from the Mass at Wielka Krokiew: “Podhale’s Tribute “, noting that “when the mayor of Zakopane spoke, the crowd froze and the representative guards bowed their banners. […] The moved Holy Father wiped away tears” (June 7-8, 1997).
In the daily “Gazeta Wyborcza”, the article “A nobly Atmosphere under the Tatra Mountains” described the course and content of the Tribute without comment (June 7-8, 1997). Similarly, in the daily “Rzeczpospolita”. However, a journalist of the weekly “Tygodnik Powszechny” wrote: “Although the scenery of the Tribute was visually very suggestive, some journalists immediately began discussing among themselves what it actually meant. There was a widespread conviction that the Tribute had political overtones and emphasised the “otherness” of Podhale Region against the background of the strongly divided Poland” (13 June 1997).
The socio-political context
It should be recalled that, at that time, Poland was governed by the post-Communist political parties and new elections were approaching. The concordat concluded with the Holy See in 1993, due to the resistance of the left wing politicians, was still waiting to be ratified by parliament. There was much discussion at that time about the autonomy of the secular order and the activities of the Church in the public sphere, seen as ‘interfering’ in politics. It must be added, however, that politicians of various options attended the meetings with the Pope in 1997 in large numbers.
In this context the “Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” can be assessed as a sign of healthy cooperation, but not of a dichotomy between the secular state and the Church. At the level of local communities it is easier to see that public order and religious order naturally intermingle in many situations and events. This is also, in my opinion, a tribute to the fact that the separation between state and church cannot mean a gulf or antagonism. The bridge between the religious and the public, socio-political sphere is morality.
At this point, however, it is not worth delving into the meanders of the politics of that time, because we need above all to ask: is “The Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” still relevant 25 years later, and in what sense? For there is a danger that symbolic events quite easily turn into beautiful and moving memories.
Present significance of the Tribute
In my opinion yes, The Tribute of the Polish Highlanders is still current, especially in its religious and moral layer. We still need to learn to use freedom responsibly, because it is a gift, both in individual and social life. In an age of globalisation and the spread of a consumerist way of life, fidelity to our spiritual roots and our cultural identity is particularly important.
I would like to point to another specific motif that shows the timeliness of this act. It is related to the attempts to discredit the achievements and legacy of Saint John Paul II and his authority.
The “Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” was an authentic expression of gratitude to God for the pontificate of the Polish Pope. It was an expression of the historical moment and the resulting moral obligations and human attitudes. Both this symbolic act and the entire papal pilgrimage in 1997 to Poland made more deeply aware of what a providential gift the person of the Holy Father is to the Poles. Therefore, today the “Tribute of the Polish Highlanders” is not only an encouragement, but also a moral call to know more and more the teachings of St John Paul II and to put them into practice in our everyday lives, to confirm that he still leads us on “the paths of victory over evil”, “responsible use of freedom” and pure and “serene faith”.
Andrzej Dobrzyński