Troska pasterska Stefana Wyszyńskiego o administrację apostolską Śląska Opolskiego w latach 1949-1967
STEFAN WYSZYŃSKI’S PASTORAL CONCERN FOR THE APOSTOLIC ADMINISTRATION OF OPOLIAN SILESIA IN 1949–1967

Summary/Abstract: The former German territories granted to Poland after World War II, with the area of the apostolic administration of Opolian Silesia, separated from the Archdiocese of Wrocław, among them, were put under the administration of the Primate of Poland by the Holy See as early as 1945: first under the auspices of August Hlond and – after his death in 1948 – under Stefan Wyszyński, who officially took office in early 1949. Concern for God’s people in the Opole region was thus part of his broader mission to the Church in the Western Territories. Between 1949 and 1967, the Primate came to Opolian administration eight times. In the autumn of 1949, he visited the newly established seminary in Opole and took part as a speaker in a special course for priests aimed at integrating the clergy. In 1951, he came to prevent the schism caused by unlawful interference by state authorities in the appointment of legitimate church rulers in the Recovered Territories. In the following years, he was welcomed in Opolian Silesia, among others, as a minister of the sacraments and consecrator of bishops. These visits were an opportunity for S. Wyszyński to strengthen the faith of Silesian Catholics and their unity with the Church, and were also intended to emphasize the permanence of Silesia’s belonging to Poland. The cardinal also made efforts to establish a permanent church administration in the Recovered Territories. His role in Opolian Silesia, as well as in the other apostolic administrations, was diminished in 1956, when the state authorities agreed to allow the bishops appointed by the Holy See to exercise ecclesiastical governance, with Franciszek Jop taking the office in Opole. The culmination of S. Wyszyński’s efforts was the submission of the Opole administration directly to the Holy See in 1967.

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