Fr. Franciszek Blachnicki – in the service of the religious pedagogy

Abstract

Fr. Franciszek Blachnicki – 1921–1987, a priest from the Katowice diocese; from the very beginning of his priesthood, his pastoral and apostolic activities as well as a great wealth of theological and pastoral philosophy made him an important figure not only for the Church but also for Poland’s recent history. This is not exaggeration to put him at par with other great personages of the times: Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, Saint John Paul II. Blachnicki was one of the most prominent figures of the second half of the 20 th century’s Church and Poland. Not only did he become the creator and animator of his Light-Life Movement which played an important role in the formation of Polish youth in communist enslavement years. He was also the author of prophetic visions regarding pastoral service in communist times as well as in the age of progressive secularization and life liberalization of today’s society. Like many other great teachers and masters, not only did he hard work hard but he completely devoted himself to God and endured suffering. Persecuted and oppressed by the Church enemies in the communist system, he also suffered because of misunderstanding and numerous barriers within the Church. The richness of pedagogy in the Movement created by Fr. Blachnicki seems to have been under-utilised and understood in the pastoral life. We need to trust that this will not become a memory of the past. In retrospect, we can much better see his prophetic pastoral and educational visions. We may also feel sorry that he left prematurely.