Bishop Teodor Kubina and Pastoral Care of Seasonal Migrants from the Częstochowa Dioecese

Abstract

The article deals with a hardly known problem of pastoral care of the seasonal migrants in 1925-1939. The author bases on the example of the Częstochowa diocese. About 40 thousand persons left the diocese every year for work in Germany, Belgium, France and Danmark in summer months. Women constituted over a half of this number. Thus, the problem of religious care was particulary important.

Bishop Teodor Kubina (1880-1951) was a devoted organizer of this work. He initiated various forms of pastoral care of the seasonal emigrants in order to prepare them for a temporary stay abroad considering both the moral and intellectual aspects of this problem. Moreover, his activities contributed a lot to awakening the responsibility of the Polish society for this important problem.