Polish traditions in Catholic churches of the Ruhr area

Preserved to this day: Depictions of Polish patron saints in the Ruhr area 
 

Nowadays only a few witnesses in the places of worship of the Ruhr coal district commemorate the large number of Polish Catholics that practised their religion here over 100 years ago. First there is an altar wing from 1908–1911 which was broken off from the old Röhlinghausen parish church in 1965. It was consecrated to both the mining saint Barbara and to the Holy Ghost. [ ., ., ., ., ., ., ., see online exhibition] There you can see for example the Holy Bishop Adalbert (Wojciech), who played a key role in the formation of the Polish state in the Middle Ages. Three years after his murder – Adalbert was slain by pagan “Old Prussians” in 997 during a failed mission attempt – Emperor Otto III ordered the martyr to be brought to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, now the cathedral, in Gniezno. During the ceremonies that followed, Otto III bestowed the titles “frater et cooperator imperii” and “amicus populi romani” upon the Polish duke Bolesław Chrobry, thus raising his noble rank. This official act is regarded as an important step towards the development of a Polish kingdom independent of the German “regnum”. 

In the altarpiece in Herne, Adalbert is holding a club in his left hand, a reference to his violent death. On his left is the Duchess Elisabeth of Thuringia, who is essentially venerated in Germany as a national patron saint due to her charitable work. Considering the social and political tensions between Germans and Ruhr Poles at the time the painting was completed (1908–1911), this altarpiece in Herne-Röhlinghausen can be interpreted as an appeal for the peaceful coexistence of people and ethnic groups of different nationalities! [ . ]

A Stanislaus Kostka window in the St. John Church (St.-Johannes-Kirche) in Recklinghausen-Suderwich shall be interpreted as a second depiction of a Polish national saint in the Ruhr coal district. [ ., ., ., ., ., ., see online exhibition] The historic Stanislaus (Stanisław, born around 1550 at Roskowo Palace in Masovia) experienced two mystical visions in 1564 while he was a student at the Vienna Jesuit College and suffering from a life-threatening illness: Holy Barbara sent two angels to give him Holy Communion. The Virgin Mary placed the Christ child into his arms and urged him to enter the Jesuit Order in Rome. Despite his authoritarian father forbidding this, Stanislaus followed this instruction. He died in 1567 in Rome. During his short life, Stanislaus Kostka impressed those he met with his cheerful demeanour, personal modesty and deep piety. Stanislaus Kostka is the patron saint of young students, novices in the Jesuit Order, and of the severely ill and dying. Because his intercession was said to have led to several victories in important battles he was proclaimed patron saint of the Polish-Lithuanian crown in 1674. 

In the window in Suderwich, Stanislaus is holding a pilgrim’s staff in his left hand, indicating his pilgrimage on foot from Vienna to Rome. In his right arm he is holding the Christ child, whose universal rule is expressed by a small globe. The colourful window calls to mind the appearance of Mary before the feverish Jesuit scholar in Vienna: In his mystical vision, the Mother of God handed him her son to hold. [ . ]