With the Holy Mass at the Church of the Dominican friars in Wrocław, Poland, on 12th January 2013 began the jubilee celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Ceslaus (Polish: Czesław), who at the beginning of the thirteenth century, founded the local Dominican convent and is the patron saint of the city.
The solemn liturgy at the Church of St. Adalbert was celebrated by the Emeritus Archbishop of Wrocław, Henryk Cardinal Gulbinowicz. In his sermon, the Polish Provincial, Fr. Krzysztof Popławski O.P. said that the jubilee of the monk that lived in the thirteenth century "may become for us a very substantial way and a very specific spiritual task." He noted that this path is marked with four signs, useful for all those devoted to Bl. Ceslaus. These are: thanksgiving, repentance, encounter and mercy.
The Provincial said that Dominicans are grateful to their confrere elevated to the altars 300 years ago primarily for having founded the second, in terms of seniority, Dominican convent in Poland and for "his example of life and for everything that God has given us through him."
Fr. Popławski O.P. also stressed that "the gratitude has begun to cover a much wider range: not only the person of Bl. Ceslaus or all that is related to our lives, but also the life of the city itself, the place where we live".
Referring to the Bl. Ceslaus' affection for the Bible and quoting Bl. John Paul II who before the opening of the Great Jubilee of Christianity in year 2000, said that "every jubilee is an urgent call to conversion" - Polish Dominicans’ Provincial noted that "it is about such a point of conversion which especially now in the Year of Faith would be associated with our proximity to the Bible”.
Fr. Popławski O.P. expressed the hope that the jubilee celebrations held in honour of bl. Ceslaus will also contribute to gathering people who will together "enjoy their faith." "It's about the encounter between people, the encounter with Bl. Ceslaus and the encounter with God himself which enriches us and brings new horizons and opens us" - explained Provincial.
"We ask the Lord God that we could experience the year of jubilee, which begins today, in a fine way. That we would be able to experience thanksgiving along with conversion and encounters and mercy" - ended his sermon Fr. Popławski O.P.
Liturgical celebrations of the jubilee will be continued in the coming months. On 24th June, within the "Days of Wrocław" feast, the Holy Mass will be celebrated at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. While on 19th and 20th July, at the tomb of Bl.Ceslaus in the Dominican Church in Wrocław, the indulgence ceremonies in his honour will be held with the participation of Polish and foreign hierarchy .
Preparations for the jubilee of elevation to the altars one of the first Polish Dominicans began a year ago. Ever since there are held regular meetings of a group of artists, scientists and people involved in the expansion of the worship to Bl. Ceslaus. "In Wrocław there is a community of people who wish to spread the cult of the patron saint of their city and pursuit to his canonisation," - says the promoter of cult of the Bl. Ceslaus, Fr. Norbert Oczkowski O.P.
Each Wednesday at the Dominican church there is celebrated a Votive Mass of the Bl. Ceslaus, followed by a worship service at the chapel of the tomb of the Blessed with kissing his relics. At the end of last year, after every service Fr. Oczkowski O.P. gave series of introductory conferences about the jubilee. The series of five conferences will be released in both: record and book versions.
The Wrocław Family Radio prepared several interviews whose topics were related to the invocations from the Litany of the Bl. Ceslaus. For example, the invocation - "Blessed Ceslaus, the sower of christian culture" - served as a basis to discussion with the art historian on the beauty of the liturgical music, and the other one "Blessed Ceslaus, you who indulged in repentance and mortification" - was the starting point to talk with Lay Dominicans about the repentance in the modern world.
Ceslaus (Polish: Czesław) Odrowąż was born around 1180 in Kamień Śląski - to the same family from which came St. Hyacinth (Polish: Jacek). Both of them received the dominican habit from the hands of the Holy Father Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers, in Rome. On the way to Poland Ceslaus founded a convent in Prague, and in the year 1226 - another one at St. Adalbert's Church in Wrocław.
Tradition ascribes to him saving Wrocław from destruction during the Tartar siege in 1241. Bl. Ceslaus prayed for the salvation of the city, climbing the shafts and encouraging defenders to resist. One of the contemporary Polish historians described the miracle of a luminous sphere that appeared in the sky and which driven the Tartar army out, that was achieved through the prayers of Bl. Ceslaus.
He died on 15th July 1242, and its liturgical feast falls on 20th July. In 1713, Pope Clement XI approved his cult for the Dominican Order and the Archdiocese of Wrocław. In 1753, Clement XIII extended it to all the Polish dioceses.
Re-development of worship took place in the mid-twentieth century, when after the 140-year break, the Dominicans returned to the capital of Lower Silesia. In 1963, Pope Paul VI recognized Bl. Ceslaus - next to St. John the Baptist - as the main patron saint of city of Wrocław. For several years now, the Dominican Province of Poland have made efforts to commence the process of his canonisation.
Blessed Ceslaus, our saint compatriot, pray for us.