Karol Darmoros
Greetings from the Vatican
In a letter from the Secretariat of State to Bishop Sławomir Oder of Gliwice, it was conveyed that Pope Leo XIV “sends words of greeting and prayerful communion” to the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the organizers, and all participants of the meeting.
The letter highlighted this year’s festival theme, related to the Book of Genesis and the primordial beginning of salvation history. It was recalled that its fullness was revealed in Jesus Christ, the “new Adam.” The message also referenced the encyclical Magnifica humanitas. In it, Leo XIV warns against the temptation to build a future without memory and one’s own roots. The Pope also reminds us that “even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women capable of not succumbing to resignation and persevering in goodness.”
For the duration of the Festival, Pope Leo XIV granted everyone his apostolic blessing, invoking the intercession of the holy patrons, especially St. Stanislaus Kostka and St. Carlo Acutis.
Forest community
Since Monday, the Festival of Life has gathered young people in Kokotek, a forest district of Lubliniec. A festival town has been set up on the campsite, where participants live as one large community. As Szymon Zmarlicki, the event’s spokesman, emphasizes in an interview with Vatican News, only conversations with individuals reveal how diverse their stories are.
“This year we have participants from Canada, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, all the way to Australia,” says Zmarlicki. He adds that for the organizers, this is “clear evidence” that it is worth coming to Kokotek specifically for this one week, even from the other side of the world.
Break the false mirror
The festival began with Holy Mass, presided over by Bishop Artur Ważny of Sosnowiec. In his homily, he spoke to the young people about a distorted mirror in which one sees one’s own complexes, hurts, and wounding words heard from others. “Today, the Lord God wants to invite you not only to correct your life, but to break that mirror and look at yourself as He looks at you,” he emphasized.
The bishop encouraged participants not to hide their faith behind others in Kokotek. He reminded them that God restores a person’s true identity. “You are a daughter of God, you are a son of God,” he told the young people.
Faith without masks
Among the participants are Nina and Kamil, who flew from Sweden with a group of young people from the Polish community at the Catholic parish in Malmö. Kamil emphasizes that in Sweden, a secularized country, the Catholic community is much smaller. “Although our parish makes it very easy for us to live our faith every day, there isn’t such a large community there. It’s amazing that there are so many people here and everyone talks to each other,” he says.
According to Zmarlicki, one experience recurs in the statements of young people: the opportunity to experience faith with peers. “They say directly that they feel at ease here because they don’t have to pretend anything. They can take off those masks that, willy-nilly, they wear in this secular world,” he emphasizes.
From all over the world
Adriana also came to Kokotek with her daughters from Perth, Australia. She wants to show her children the faith and energy of the young Church. Sabina, with her husband and three children, traveled 600 km from Drawsko Pomorskie and will sleep in a tent all week. As she says, she once recognized her “missionary calling” at a similar event in France, and now she wants to pass on a similar experience to her children.
The Festival of Life will last until Sunday, July 12. The program includes conferences by Sr. Gaudia Skass and Fr. Adam Szustak, an evening of adoration, and final concerts. The event will conclude with Sunday Holy Mass presided over by Archbishop Andrzej Przybylski, Metropolitan of Katowice.
