“Today was our first full day in Poland. We spent most of the day visiting sites in
Warsaw, including a beautiful memorial to Frederic Chopin.
It was also a day of reflection and remembrance for me as I
realized that with this visit, Lindsay and I are the first of our immediate
Szwed family to return to Poland in the last 60+ years.
Being here and experiencing the people and the sites, you
are struck by all that happened ot the Polish people (both Christian and
Jewish) pre-World War II, during the War, and after. It caused us to reflect on what Babci and
Grandpa Szwed experienced when they were here.
Driving through the countryside, I couldn’t help but think that Babci’s
farm was close by.
After leaving Warsaw, we visited the Church and Museum of
St. Maximillian Kolbe, a Fransician priest who gave his life at Auschwitz so
that another man could live. Our
pilgrimage celebrated his life with a special Mass with Father Joe Bambenek. He gave a very inspirational and personal homily. It is a blessing to have him on this trip!
We are now in Czestochowa.
We will visit our Lady of Czestochowa Church and have Mass there before
heading to Krakow, Poland’s cultural center.”
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