Under the motto "From Inner Freedom to Outer Freedom" in Gietrzwałd held a Day of Atonement. The celebration took place on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Poland's regaining independence.

During the mass at the spring, the Speaker of the Sejm Marek Kuchciński said that he comes to the face of the Immaculate Mother of God on the important day for the Sejm and our whole homeland to thank her for her words about freedom, and also to renew and strengthen the internal and external freedom. The Marshal recalled that on July 1, under the terms of the Union of Lublin, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was established.

The initiator of the ceremony, Archbishop of Warmia Jozef Górzyński, emphasized the significant influence of the apparitions on the rebirth of Polish identity, not only in Warmia and Mazury, but in the whole country. - The apparitions of Gietrzwald were a call for us to be internally free and not to yield to one or another spiritual and moral enslavement that threatens our freedom,' he told KAI. - Gietrzwałd is a phenomenon on Poland's way to freedom. Mary called here for each of us to take care of himself first, the state of his conscience and not the occupant. We are concerned with a personal examination of conscience of every Pole in the context of freedom: how we understand it today and how much we respect it,' Archbishop Górzyński said.

The homily was delivered by the senior bishop of Lowicz diocese Jozef Zawitkowski. - Today in Gietrzwald I would like to see a piece of free Poland, where people look at each other with kindness through tears of joy, where they say good words to each other - he said. The Archbishop emphasized that the Gietrzwald Day of Atonement is lived as a reflection on the truth that there is no freedom of the nation without the freedom of conscience of each citizen. He recalled the words of Pius IX who said that the cause of slavery is sin. - God should be listened to, not people! Then the law on abortion and euthanasia will be superfluous. - It will be enough: "thou shalt not kill! No one and never! The rest is from the devil. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged. Believers don't need a law, conscience is enough. It is necessary to account for the scandals, the thievery of the ungodly, but the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal!" would suffice. - he argued.

Marian apparitions in Gietrzwald (at the spring) took place 140 years ago. In total there were 160 of them. Mary appeared to two girls: Justyna Szafryńska and Barbara Samulowska, speaking to them in Polish. Our Lady's apparitions brought comfort to the Poles persecuted in the Prussian partition, as well as a revival of Polishness, religious life and moral attitudes.

Photo MO