The educational work of Honorat Jedliński OFMCap in the Polish communities in Brasil (1901-1906)

Abstract

The subject of the article is the educational work of Honorat Jedliński, a priest from the order of the Capuchin Fathers among Polish emigrants in Brasil. It lasted for 5 years (1901-1906) and it covered the central and eastern part of Rio Grande do Sul state. About 30 000 Poles lived there in that time.

The living conditions of Polish emigrants were bad. They mostly came from poor peasants families and from country proletariat. In these circles illiteracy was common, and striving to reach a certain fevel of material conditions blinded the people to the necessity of spendings on education of children and youths. Before Father Honorat arrived in Rio Grande do Sul, there were only a few elementary schools there. As a result of his hard work after his arrival in Brasil, 25 elementary schools were established, and a secondary school in Alfredo Chaves, whose purpose was to educate future teachers, and possibly aspirants to priesthood.

At the same time Father Honorat organized courses to give teachers additional training, inspected schools, and imported books from Curitiba and Poland.

Owing to Father Honorat Jedlinski's work in the field of education in the first decade of 20th century, Polish schools in Rio Grande do Sul state had the best record in whole Brasil, both with respect to the amount of schools and the level of instruction.