POPE PAYS HOMAGE TO GREEK-CATHOLIC MARTYRS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 10, 1999 (VIS) - This morning the Pope travelled by helicopter to Siedlce, a city east of Warsaw, where at 10:15 in 'Blonia Siedleckie', a broad expanse at the heliport, he celebrated the Mass of the Blessed Martyrs of Podlasie. A large group of Greek-Catholic faithful were among the participants.

In his homily, the Pope recalled that in the area of Pratulin, within the diocese of Siedlce, "the confessors of Christ belonging to the Greek-Catholic Church, Blessed Wincenty Lewoniuk and his twelve companions, were martyred."

These martyrs "bore witness to their fidelity to Christ in His holy Church. In the world in which they lived they sought courageously to defeat, by means of truth and goodness, the evil that was spreading ever more widely, and they strove lovingly to calm the hatred that was raging. ... These simple people, fathers of families, chose at the critical moment to suffer death rather that yield to pressure in a way untrue to their conscience. ... We thank them for their witness which should become the heritage of the entire Church in Poland for the third millennium which is now so near. They made their great contribution to the building of unity."

"Now more than ever," the Pope insisted, "there is a need for a genuine witness of faith, made visible through the life of the lay disciples of Christ, men and women, young and old. There is a need for committed witness to fidelity to the Church and responsibility towards the Church."

After referring to the challenges that face the young, such as the menace posed by sects, the manipulation of the truth and "attitudes of selfishness, injustice and insensitivity to the needs of others," the Holy Father affirmed: "Faithful to your lay identity and living in the world, you can actively and effectively transform the world in the spirit of the Gospel."

John Paul II then spoke of those who have borne the "greatest sacrifices" in Poland. "Often in its history, our nation has had to defend its own faith and endure oppression and persecution for fidelity to the Church. The post-war period in particular was a time of especially intense struggle against the Church, waged by a totalitarian system. The attempt was made then to forbid the teaching of religion in schools; the public display of faith was made difficult, as was the building of churches and chapels. How many sacrifices had to be made, what courage was needed to keep our Christian identity intact. Yet no one succeeded in removing the Cross. ... It became for the nation and for the Church a wellspring of strength and a sign of unity among people."

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COMMUNIQUE ON USE OF VATICAN'S JUBILEE LOGO

VATICAN CITY, JUN 10, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a communique in which the "Central Committee of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 categorically denies that it has entrusted the company 'Terzo Millennio' with the task of assigning the Jubilee logo. Concession of the logo is exclusively reserved to the central committee, through its own internal offices. No form of entrusting this concession, or simply delegating it to private companies, has ever been taken under consideration."

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HOLY SEE EXPRESSES SATISFACTION FOR PEACE PROCESS IN KOSOVO

VATICAN CITY, JUN 10, 1999 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls, in Siedlce, Poland, with the papal entourage, made the following declaration this morning to journalists with regard to the agreement for the withdrawal of Serbian troops from Kosovo, signed last evening in Kumanovo, a Macedonian border town, by generals from NATO and from Belgrade:

"The Holy See expresses satisfaction because finally the peace process is showing positive results. Now is the moment to give recognition to the diverse international bodies who made this new phase possible. Recognition must also be given to Europe, which so desired this (peace) and which now must assume a responsibility in rebuilding and in the democratic, social and economic life of that region."

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MODENA: NINTH CENTENARY OF THE CATHEDRAL'S CORNERSTONE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 9, 1999 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to Archbishop Benito Cocchi, abbot of Modena-Nonantola, Italy, and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Emilia, for the celebration today of the ninth centenary of the laying of the cornerstone of Modena's cathedral.

In the Message, dated May 28, the Pope writes that this cathedral, "the 'Mother' church of all the churches in the archdiocese, is the heart and the very image of the Christian community." It houses the tomb of St. Geminian, the fourth century bishop of Modena, the city's patron saint, and "a man of great prayer and piety, invoked for his power over demons and venerated by the people of Modena as the 'servant of the Gospel' and the 'father of faith'."

"May the celebration of this joyous anniversary," John Paul II went on, "inspire in all believers of the ecclesial community of Modena-Nonantola, a deeper awareness of their Christian dignity and of the duties associated with it."

The Pope praises Abbot Cocchi's initiative in promoting a mission for the whole archdiocese in the year 2000. The message concludes: "I hope with all my heart that (this mission) produce abundant fruit, rekindling the evangelization work of Saint Geminian."

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POPE ENJOYS A DAY OFF AT WIGRY'S OLD CAMALDOLESE MONASTERY

VATICAN CITY, JUN 9, 1999 (VIS) - Today Pope John Paul is at the Old Camaldolese Monastery in Wigry, a town of 200 people located near the lake of the same name in the Wigierski National Park, where he arrived in mid-afternoon yesterday. He is enjoying a day free from public ceremonies, the only one scheduled during the 13-day visit to his native land, and will leave tomorrow morning for Siedlce, where he will celebrate Mass.

The Pope's day off follows three days of intense activities in which he celebrated four Masses, one beatification and two acts of devotion to the Sacred Heart, addressed the country's scientists and academicians and blessed Poland's Marian shrine at Lichen. This shrine was badly damaged in World War II. The building of a new one began in 1994 and will be completed by the year 2000, which marks the 150th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady in Lichen. At more than 120 meters (394 feet) long, 77 wide (253 feet) and 85.5 (281 feet) high, it will be the largest church in the country, the seventh largest in Europe and the eleventh biggest in the world. Its bell-tower will be 128 meters (420 feet) high.

The Camaldolese arrived in Poland in 1605 and built six monasteries, of which two remain today. Wigry was considered to be the richest and most beautiful in Poland, and perhaps even of the entire Congregation.

The Wigry Monastery, where the Holy Father is a guest, was built in 1668 on land belonging to King Jan Kazimierz and used by him as a hunting reserve. Soon afterwards, people started to come to this area and villages and farms arose around the monastery. In 1800 the Camaldolese were expelled by the Prussian authorities, never to return, and the complex fell into ruin.

The Baroque church, however, built between 1694 and 1745, became part of the local diocese. Following the restoration of the entire complex and the creation of a new village on the site of the former monastery, it became a parish church and today serves about 2,500 persons. The hermitage itself belongs to the Polish Ministry of Cultural Patrimony.

Wigry Lake, 17.5 kilometers long and 3.5 wide, is the largest of the 41 lakes in this recently-established national park, and is one of the largest and deepest in Poland. The name of the s-shaped lake comes from a Lithuanian word - "wingri" - meaning crooked. In fact, at one point, the territory comprising this lake region belonged to the Jascwinghi peoples, of Lithuanian, Prussian and Latvian origin.

In 1410 this territory had become part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania which, from 1445 to 1569 shared a common monarch with Poland. It then became part of a federative state with the Kingdom of Poland from 1569 to 1795, the year that saw the end of the Polish-Lithuanian state when it was partitioned by Prussia, Russia and Austria. In 1920 Wigry became part of the Polish state.

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