The Presence

Every day in the retreat we celebrate Divine Mercy Hour – Eucharistic adoration at 3pm, at the hour of Christ’s death on the Cross. We follow the request of Jesus He gave us through St. Sister Faustina Kowalska of the Most Holy Eucharist to meditate on His passion at the hour He called Himself – a Divine Mercy Hour to the whole world. He promised us to grant us anything we ask in faith and trust in His Mercy if only our petitions comply with His Father’s Holy Will.


So, every day I lead the Divine Mercy Hour adoration, offering short reflections on key points of the message of Divine Mercy as conveyed to us by Jesus Himself through Sister Faustina in her ‘Diary’.

As I kneel in front of Divine Mercy Incarnate in the Sacred Host, I tend to allow my mind and heart to walk down the memory lane which inevitably brings me to Ireland, to Archdiocese of Armagh, and in particular – to Drogheda, to St. Peter’s parish, to Our Lady of Lourdes at Hardman’s Gardens, to great people of Ireland whom I owe so much...and from whom I learned so much...

One would ask – how so? Yes, I know, the leap from the kneeler in Bura Motherhouse in Taita Hills in Kenya to St. Peter’s church in Drogheda has a dubious logical connection to unaware reader, but to me it is a journey in time and space to the roots and reasons of so many undertakings I took in my missionary service, especially in Kiabakari and Musoma Cathedral.

I went to Tanzania to live and serve as missionary without any preparations of any sort. I was, I would put it in these picturesque terms, grabbed straight from Kraków’s streets and dispatched to Africa, as if I belonged to some kind of rapid deployment special force unit!

This deployment included a short language preparation, three months to be exact, in Archdiocese of Armagh in Ireland (our cardinal Karol Wojtyła was created cardinal together with cardinal Thomas O’Fiaich of Archdiocese of Armagh, thus making some sort of blood brothers and friends which enabled us to use hospitality of the Archdiocese in receiving us, future missionaries, in chosen parishes there and help us to improve our language skills), as it was presumed, that every missionary from Poland needs to master to some agreeable level English language to be able to learn kiswahili in Maryknoll Language School of that time, in Musoma (in 2001, when Maryknoll Society handed over the administration of the school to Diocese of Musoma it has been renamed to Makoko Language School), as kiswahili was taught there via English medium.

So we, a fellow priest from Kraków who was getting ready to go to Tanzania and myself, flew to Dublin via Heathrow in London. We were met by Frs. Tom Daly and Eugene Sweeney who took us to Hardman’s Gardens rectory and separated us by sending my confrere to Ardee and myself staying at Our Lady of Lourdes with Tom and Eugene (I know now the trick they used to decide ‘who is going where’!).

The time will come I will tell the story of great people of Drogheda, Archdiocese of Armagh and Ireland at large. But today let me focus on the Eucharist. My missionary preparation was done in Drogheda and my tutors, masters, friends and guides were none other but Tom and Eugene and their lovely, kind and hospitable families, our boss Mons. Frank Donnelly and other priests at St. Peter’s, Maura Burns and her wonderful family, sisters and people of Drogheda...They don’t even have a slightest idea how vivid are my memories of those three months back then in autumn of 1990. Twenty years ago! But I see and feel them as if all this happened just yesterday...

They don’t know – Tom nor Eugene nor anyone else how much Ireland has influenced me in many ways. I want to share with you just one. The Most Holy Eucharist. I was pleasantly surprised to find a tiny Eucharistic chapel in the rectory at Hardman’s Gardens. I was extremely impressed! We didn’t have chapels like these back then in Poland! I am not sure if we have them even now, maybe in some parishes...for sure in religious convents – yes, but in diocesan clergy rectories? Not sure really...

Then the day of the blessing of the adoration chapel at St. Peter’s church came. And the inauguration of the perpetual adoration in there. I still have VHS video shot on that day! I moved it by now onto DVD disc to keep it in good shape and watched it lately. Twenty years ago it happened. Such a huge celebration, such an important event! I was extremely proud to be part of it and to witness the revival of Eucharistic faith in the people of Drogheda. I was so sad to learn recently that the 24/7 adoration of the Eucharist at St. Peter's adoration chapel was forced to come to an end (for more info read here) due to the security reasons.

I promised myself then that in Tanzania I will have the chapel in my rectory and will do what I can to ensure that I’ll have an adoration chapel in my parish and the people would come for perpetual adoration, just like in Drogheda.

Drogheda taught me a lot as far as love of Eucharist is concerned!

I fulfilled my resolution. In Kiabakari, I add, on my own, an adjacent adoration chapel to the drawing of the future church I was sent from an architect in Rome. On July 3, 1997, the church with its adoration chapel was dedicated by Archbishop of Mwanza. I wrote on the adoration chapel a couple of weeks ago here. The fulfillment of the dream of having a chapel in the rectory in Kiabakari waited till 2002 when I was able to rebuilt one of the bedrooms as a chapel.

Then, when I was transferred to Musoma Cathedral, I pledged to myself that I will ensure that during my stay there, I will built a chapel in the rectory and also an adoration chapel in the cathedral. The St. John Maria Vianney Chapel has been blessed officially on April 22, 2004 by Archbishop of Mwanza (I turned a small room by the main door, used before as a small parlor or reception, into a cozy chapel, and one of the Maryknoll missionaries offered me generously relics of St. John Maria Vianney!).

The realization of the dream of having adoration chapel in the cathedral was possible in 2005, when – as a fruit of the Year of the Eucharist – cardinal Polycarp Pengo of Dar es Salaam blessed the adoration chapel and inaugurated Eucharistic adoration in there.

The tiny chapel at Hardman’s Gardens rectory brought to life two chapels in Tanzania – St. Sr. Faustina chapel in Kiabakari rectory, and St. John Maria Vianney chapel in Musoma cathedral rectory. How wonderful this amazing story is! Who knows how many more children will she bring to life still?

The adoration chapel at St. Peter’s church in Drogheda brought to life two adoration chapels in Africa so far. In diocesan shrine of Divine Mercy in Kiabakari, and in Musoma cathedral! Talk about spiritual bond between these chapels...

Thank you Tom, Eugene, Maura and Gerry, your great families... thank you Mons. Frank, fellow priests,  great people of Drogheda, Archdiocese of Armagh and Ireland... I owe you so much! You did a fantastic job preparing me for missionary life, without even being aware of this! Such an intense experience of love, kindness, hospitality, friendship and loving care it was, in such a short time...you touched and shaped my heart forever... you made me last till now in a missionary zeal and showed me back then what is the most important source of power for a missionary – the Most Holy Eucharist.

Thank you! Go raibh maith agaibh!