The Polish Catholic Mission in Belgium in the Light of the Correspondence Between Rev. Rector W. Kudłacik and Bishop H. Przeździecki (1928-1935)

Abstract

The Polish Catholic Mission in Belgium was established by the Polish Primate Cardinal Edmund Dalbor at the beginning of 1926. Rev. Dr Tadeusz Kotowski was appointed the first Rector of the Mission and he held the office for more than two years. In the summer of 1928, as result of a reorganization of the PCM in Belgium the office of the Rector was taken up by Rev. Władysław Ludwik Kudłacik (1892-1950). He belonged to the Podlaska Diocese and from the middle of 1925 he worked with the Polish emigrants in eastern France. The appointment was a great surprise for Rev. Kudłacik, but he humbly accepted it and enthusiastically started pastoral work. The Mission comprised the territory of three countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Between the two World Wars Rev. Kudłacik held the office of the Rector of the PCM for the longest time, namely, seven years (1928-1935). It was definitely owing to him that the PCM was organized and consolidated in Belgium and the Netherlands. However, this work proved to be very difficult and it took a lot of effort. From the very start Rev. W. Kudłacik had to struggle with a shortage of Polish priests and with the Mission’s financial problems. At the beginning of the 1930s the deepening economic crisis resulted in serious limitations of the government’s subsidies, which in 1932 nearly caused the liquidation of the PCM Rector’s office in Belgium. Rev. Władysław Kudłacik survived in this difficult and demanding office to a large degree thanks to the help and support from his pastor, Bishop Henryk Przeździecki, to whom he frequently turned for advice and directions.