Nest 88 Takes Part In Pope John Paul II Celebration

By Diane L. Mechlinski

Nest 88, New Britain, Conn., members were proud to participate in a most unique and special celebration held recently with the Polish Catholic community of New Britain.

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He’s been described as the most revered human being on earth. He’s been known to be the most tireless moral voice of a secular age, reminding humankind of the worth of individuals in the modern world. These descriptions are for none other than the late Pope John Paul II.

In 1969, before he became pontiff, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, born in Wadowice, Poland, came to New Britain, led parishioners of the Polish community in the celebration of Mass and stayed at Sacred Heart Church. On Sunday, April 1, one day prior to the second anniversary of his death, Sacred Heart Church honored his extraordinary life with the unveiling, dedication and blessing of a statue in his likeness.

Hundreds of people turned out for the statue’s unveiling, filling the stairs surrounding Sacred Heart Church to capacity, as well as surrounding the entire area in front of the parish rectory where the statue of Pope John Paul II stands. The front area before the rectory was specially chosen to place the statue for it stands parallel with the rectory in which Cardinal Wojtyla stayed while visiting New Britain.

Honored guest and Archbishop of Hartford Henry J. Mansell, along with Sacred Heart Church Paster Msgr. Daniel Plocharczyk, Rev. Peter Sobiecki, Rev. Stanley Dudek and Father Janusz Bukowski led the procession to the statue. Representatives of numerous area organizations were on hand, including the mayor of New Britain, Timothy Stewart; former New Britain mayor, Lucian Pawlak; State Representative Dominic Swieszkowski; State Representative for the 26th District Peter Tercyak; Haller Post Nr. 111 and the Pulaski Democratic Club, both of New Britain; the Polonia Paderewski Choir; the Sacred Heart Children’s Choir led by the direction of Iwona Serwinski; and Nest 88, whose members Adam Buczek, Stanislaw Stopyra and Wiesiek Kozyrski, carried flags in the procession. “This is our way of saying we will never forgot Pope John Paul II,” Mansell said at this event.

Sacred Heart parishioner, Antoni Wysocki, performed a song written especially for the event. Additional hymns, both in Polish and English, were sung during the unveiling and celebration of a most notable life. Pope John Paul II’s love for young people brought him to establishing the World Youth Days. As the young voices of the Children’s Choir resounded in the day’s chilly air, it was a reminder of the late pontiff’s constant special love of and bond with youth.
After the statue of the late pope, standing approximately 7 feet tall on a platform, was unveiled, the captured face of a jubilant, smiling and loving John Paul II, could be seen.

“It’s beautiful,” Mansell said as he looked up at the face of the late pontiff. “There can be seen a friendliness of the pope ... it is so good for all of us to be here today, the very place where he was many years ago.”

“It’s a beautiful, meaningful and touching ceremony,” said Nest 88 Vice President Ryszard Malek.

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“John Paul had once said,” Mansell continued, “of the sculptor, Bernini, who did much of the work at St. Peter’s, that it is fine to admire a monument or statue, but it is even more important to thank God, as it is what God is telling us personally through the work and to our hearts. ... We have to think of what John Paul might be saying to us today as we now look at him ... remember what he always said, ‘Be not afraid.’ This is what became his motto. He had never imagined how far that phrase would take him.”

His last book, “Memory and Identity,” most appropriately said “People must know their language and their culture and their roots. ... No one in the history of the world has visited more places and spoken more languages than Pope John Paul II. ... He carried God’s message all over the world.”

New Britain’s Polonia, particularly, is proud to see the newly unveiled statue of the beloved Pope John Paul II standing beside Sacred Heart Church in the heart of Broad Street’s Polonia area with his arms outstretched toward the street, as though beckoning everyone passing by to stop for a moment, bring their burdens to him and “be not afraid,” as he often said. During his time as pontiff, he was driven by a sense of hope and charity toward the entire human race, with a tireless missionary spirit. More than three million pilgrims came to Rome to pay homage to the mortal remains of Pope John Paul II.

Now, one by one, New Britain’s residents, as well as many others from surrounding areas, can come and share a moment of reflection beside his statue. It is a means by which he can be closer to everyone’s heart. It will no doubt remain as a constant reminder for generations to come, of the special man and leader that he was.