Księdza Ignacego Chwiruta wspomnienia o arcybiskupie Józefie Bilczewskim

Abstract

Rev. Chwirut’s recollections on the archbishop of Lwów, Józef Bilczewski (1860-1923), are of a very unique character. The memoirs were written by the secretary and personal chaplain to the archbishop. Rev. Chwirut held the said position over a ten-year period up until the last moments of the archbishop’s life. As a result, the author had the opportunity to grasp the characteristic traits of his superior. He pointed out a number of these in his writing. First and foremost he mentioned how the shepherd of the Church in Lwów cared for his congregation, putting moral and religious needs at the forefront of his attention. In the search for a better model of leadership for his society, he took on a purely apolitical role, which of course did not mean that he was not patriotic. He treated his subordinates, especially the chaplains, with equality, yet still acted as a father to them. In everyday life his diligence was manifest, taking the maxim pray and work to heart. With this was the feeling of obligation with which he controlled his life and predilections. Archbishop Bilczewski took special care over looking after the poor, the sick and children - he always spared time, attention and financial help. He asked that after his death he should be buried in the Janowski cemetery in Lwów, where the poorest members of society could be found. People have come to his grave since 1923 to seek help or to give thanks to the Holy Shepherd of the Lwów archdiocese. His relationship with the Greek Catholic Church, and its principal Archbishop Andrzej Szeptycki, cost him a lot of energy, patience and pain. Even though the relationship was trying and personally demanding, he never stopped looking for a model for which the two Churches could be in cooperation, based on the ideas of Catholicism, the brotherly neighbourhood of Poles and Ukrainians living on the same land, and the possibility of dialogue even in the most demanding cases. It is worth mentioning how the archbishop was also respected by Galician Jews, as he often used to refer to common religious roots. The published document contains many interesting facts that not only show the humanity of the archbishop of Lwów, but his preternatural qualities. It shows his sources of inspiration that he had in his life and his pastoral obligations that were faith, evangelisation, concern for fellow humans and deep love for the Catholic Church.