Lazaryści ambasadorami tożsamości narodowej Polaków na wschodzie Europy. Przeszłość – teraźniejszość – przyszłość
Lazarians as ambassadors of the national identity of Poles in Eastern Europe. The past, the present and the future

Summary/Abstract: The Catholic Church is a missionary. For centuries, Congregation of the Mission founded by Vincent de Paul has carried out missions, including Eastern Europe.The establishment and taking over parishes and temples by the Mission priests in Galicia (eastern part of Lesser Poland) commenced as early as in the 17th century. For centuries, the monks provided pastoral and material care in hospitals, schools, shelters and nursing homes in native Polish lands on the eastern frontiers of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Poles in the care of the missionaries live in the former USSR. Despite the numerous adversities, indoctrination and difficulties, they maintained their faith and Polish identity. Congregation of the Mission played a very important role here. Secularization of Western Europe is spreading towards the East, a phenomenon disturbing for many reasons. The faith declared in the Polish diasporas can serve as a model for Catholics in Western, neo-pagan Europe. As informal ambassadors of Poland, the Missionaries played an important role in preserving national identity among the Polish diasporas in the East of Europe. In the late 1990s, the Polish subsidiary of Congregation of the Mission launched its activity in Eastern Europe (Ukraine, Carpathian Ruthenia, Belarus and the Russian Federation). After almost half a century, Lazarians re-instigated their missionary activity in the East of Europe, this time legally. It continues to bring about tangible results.

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