Wyszyński died on May 28, 1981, at the age of 79.
After morning prayers at his tomb at St. John’s Cathedral in Warsaw, flowers were placed in his memorial chapel by the head of Poland’s Office for War Veterans and Victims of Oppression, Jan Józef Kasprzyk.
An evening Mass for Wyszyński and his upcoming beatification is set to be celebrated in the same cathedral by Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki, head of the Polish Bishops’ Conference.
'Primate of the Millennium'
Wyszyński was ordained a priest in 1924 at the age of 23. He then studied in Poland and abroad for several years before taking residence in the city of Włocławek, north-central Poland, where he taught at a seminary and served the local community.
During World War II, Wyszyński was forced to leave the city because he was wanted by the Gestapo, the Nazi German secret police. He found refuge at the Institute for the Blind in Laski near Warsaw and became a hospital chaplain during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising against the Germans. He also provided religious services for Poland’s underground Home Army.
Wyszyński was made a bishop in 1946 and received a cardinal’s red hat in 1953. From 1948 until his death he was at the helm of the Catholic Church in Poland as its Primate.
'Non possumus'
During the height of communist repression against the Church, he addressed the authorities with a letter headlined Non possumus (We cannot go any further), in which he refused to make any further concessions to the ruling communists.
This act of defiance led to Wyszyński’s arrest in September 1953. He remained in internment until the autumn of 1956.
One of Wyszyński’s major achievements was the nationwide celebration of Poland’s Millennium of Christianity in 1966. His biggest moment of triumph came in 1978 with the election of fellow Polish cardinal Karol Wojtyła as Pope John Paul II.
In a message to his countrymen, the newly-elected pope said, referring to Wyszyński: “There would be no Polish Pope on this Chair of St. Peter ... if it was not for your faith undiminished by prison and suffering, and your heroic hope.”
During Poland’s Solidarity revolution of 1980-1981, Wyszyński appealed to both sides, the communist authorities and the striking workers, for a sense of responsibility.
Path to sainthood
Wyszyński’s funeral on May 31, 1981 was attended by more than half a million people, a Vatican delegation as well as bishops from most European countries and the United States.
Three days before his death, he had a telephone conversation with Pope John Paul II, who was at the time undergoing hospital treatment after an assassination attempt on his life.
Wyszyński’s beatification, delayed from last year due to the pandemic, is due to be held in Warsaw on September 12.
In the Catholic Church, beatification is one step short of being declared a saint.
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'Spiritual father of the nation': interview
Click on the audio player above to hear an interview about Wyszyński with Father Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, International Communications Director for the Catholic Church in Poland.
In the interview, Rytel-Andrianik, who was formerly spokesman for the Polish Bishops' Conference, tells reporter Danuta Isler that Wyszyński “was the spiritual father of the nation” and “defended people and human life from its beginning till the end.”