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by S. J. Ludwig Grzebień (Author), Frederic S. Topor (Translator)
"The Rise of Catholicism in South-Eastern Europe (told through the history of its 800-year-old Parish, St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr, Dobrzechów, Poland," by Reverend Ludwig Grzebień, S.J., Translated by Frederic S. Topor.
Founded in 1185 AD by Cistercian monks, this parish was the focal point of religious worship in southeastern region of Poland, bringing relief and comfort to people besieged by wars and enemy occupation, natural disasters and, above all, the responsibilities and drudgery of serfdom. It was the spiritual center of their lives, and they enhanced it with their hands, their meager earnings and their unshakeable faith. Hundreds of votive offerings, altars, statues and paintings that were commissioned and contributed by poor, but grateful, peasant families can still be seen in the various nooks and crannies of the church's recesses. The faith that inspired them was passed on from generation to generation and it came with them to America where they quickly coalesced as a people to build "Polish" churches for their American-born children and grandchildren.
The author, Reverend Ludwig Grzebień, grew up in that parish and its supportive community. A member of the Jesuit order and a distinguished historian, he honored the 800th celebration of his parish by chronicling its history with a monograph that served as the basis for this translation. Many of the Church's treasures can be seen in the enclosed photos taken during our 1989 and 2018 visits to our "home parish," and in the photos, web-links and supplementary material provided in the associated website: www.polandspeasantheritage.com
