Writings of the Clergy in the Diocese of Czestochowa in the Years 1925-1939

Abstract

Between the year 1925 and the outbreak of World War II, the Diocese of Częstochowa had 473 priests. Apart from their pastoral duties, some priests engaged in writing. They were educated for that purpose, and some of them had had previous authorship experiences in other Dioceses. The most prolific were priests coming from the Diocese of Włocławek. Essays and papers by the Częstochowa Diocese priests were published by university and Diocese publishing houses. Clerical publishing was strongly supported by the Diocese leaders, such as Bishop Teodor Kubina, who emphasized the importance of these activities. The publications in question concerned a variety of issues and domains. Most works concerned theology. Some of these were strictly scientific papers, others were of more popular character, yet others were targeted at a wider public. The publications were in Polish and Latin. Apart from theology, some priests wrote texts in the field of humanities: literature, documentaries and journalism. Altogether, in the years 1925-1939, at least 57 priests were active writers, which equalled 12% of the total of the clergy in the Diocese.