Celebrating 1,050 Years of Christianity in Poland (966 AD - 2016)
In the year 966 AD, when Mieszko I, the Duke of Poland, was baptized and accepted Christianity on behalf of Poland, Poland's history began to be officially documented.
On Wednesday, June 22, 2016, the national celebration of 1,050 years of Christianity took place on the grounds of the Orchard Lake Schools in Orchard Lake, Michigan. The celebration was sponsored by the Orchard Lake Schools, Polish American Priests Association, the National Polish Apostolate Committee, and the Catholic League for Religious Assistance to Poland and Polonia.
The momentous historical occasion honoring this legacy of faith and liberty began with a musical performance by Dr. Jaroslaw Golembiowski and was followed by a procession and bi-lingual Mass. The Mass of Thanksgiving, with Adam Cardinal Majda, Emeritus of Detroit, Poland's ranking prelate, in attendance, was offered by Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, Bishop David Walkowiak of Grand Rapids, Auxiliary Bishop Andrzej Wypych of Chicago, Auxiliary Bishop Witold Mroziewski of Brooklyn, and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Francis Reiss of Detroit, along with a host of priests from around the country. Plans included the naming, by official decree, of the Orchard Lake Schools as the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. John Paul II and the lighting of the 1,050th anniversary candle that was brought to the celebration from Poland.
Following the Mass, a Grand Banquet took place in the St. Mary's Athletic Complex and guests were treated to an exhibition featuring the Research Opus of Dr. Z.W. Wolkowski, of Sorbonne University.