Wokół patronatu św. Wojciecha i ruchu pielgrzymkowego w Gnieźnie

Abstract

Despite numerous historical publications on St Adalbert, new research problems continue to emerge. The commonly accepted belief in the Roman origins of the Sancti Adalberti Pragensis Episcopi et Martyris Vita Prior or the “First Life of St Adalbert, Bishop of Prague and Martyr” (999) has recently been questioned with suggestions that the text must have been written north of the Alps in Aachen. The young emperor Otto III, who was a friend of St Adalbert, introduced him into European ‘heaven’ after his canonization in 999 by founding several churches dedicated to the saint in major centres within the empire (among others in Aachen and Rome). The cult reached its climax on a European scale in the year 1000. After the emperor’s premature death, there was no one to promote devotion to St Adalbert and his role as a patron saint was reduced to Central and Eastern European countries, where he had to compete with strong dynastic cults. Boleslaus the Brave ‘s rule introduced the saint into Polish ‘heaven’ and his hagiographic monopoly lasted until the canonization of St Stanislaus of Szczepanów (13th century). Since then Adalbert has been a co-patron saint of Poland. The changes after 1989 opened up new ways to internationalize the cult of St Adalbert. The pontificate of Pope John Paul II provided a good opportunity for this, but the idea to raise the martyr to the rank of co-patron saint of Europe has never been carried out. This is still an open issue. The millennium of St Adalbert’s death provided a stimulus to the recognition of his patronage on a European scale. Clearly, the process is worth studying on the basis of pilgrimage tourism to the martyr’s tomb in Gniezno.