The Society of Christ for Polish Migrants (Latin: Societas Christi pro Emigrantibus Polonis; Polish: Towarzystwo Chrystusowe dla Polonii Zagranicznej), abbreviated S.Chr. , also known as the Chrystusowcy is a Roman Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded by the then Primate of Poland, Venerable August Cardinal Hlond, in cooperation with Venerable Father Ignacy Posadzy, SChr, on August 8, 1932. The priests of the Society of Christ serve the religious needs of Polish communities around the world. They are often asked by diocesan ordinaries to assume responsibility for a diocesan parish which then serves as the center of the diocese's ministry to the Polish community.
History
The Society was founded on September 8, 1932, by Venerable August Cardinal Hlond, Primate of Poland, with great participation of Fr. Ignacy Posadzy, in Potulice near Nakło. After Poland regained independence in 1918, church and civil authorities made efforts to provide Poles living in other countries with every manner of assistance, especially spiritual care. Church leaders in Poland could not ignore the requests for Polish priests raised by Poles in all corners of the world. As guardian of the Polish emigrants abroad, Primate Cardinal A. Hlond consulted with the Holy See how to meet this demand. After receiving a directive from Pope Pius XI, he established the religious institute of the Society of Christ for Polish migrants Cardinal Hlond prepared the Society's Constitutions and by-laws. The Society opened its own seminary and houses in Gniezno, Poznań, Puszczykowo, and Dolsk, as well as printing and publishing houses in Potulice. The first priests of the Society left for pastoral work among the Polish diaspora in 1937 to Paris and London. In 1938, to Estonia. In 1939, the number of members of the Society increased from 40 to 184.
After the outbreak of World War II, the Main House in Poznań and the Mother House in Potulice were seized by the Germans, the Society lost all its property. During the war, priests of the Society officially worked in Bydgoszcz and within the territory of the General Government. Clandestinely, however, priests of the Society served in Pyzdry, Ostrów Wielkopolski, as well as within Germany, using false names in order to serve Polish slave laborers that were deported into Germany. With the permission of German occupying force, the Society's priests served Catholics in transit camps. During the war, 26 members of the Society died. During this same time, however, the Society continued seminary formation of its seminarians, in secret, in Kraków. As a result, 43 new priests were ordained during the war.
After the war ended, only the destroyed house in Ostrów Tumski in Poznań and the house in Puszczykowo were recovered. Since then, the Main House in Poznań has become the center of the Society and its headquarters. The priests of the Society of Christ were the first to undertake pastoral work in Western Pomerania. On May 6, 1945, Fr. Florian Berlik SChr, celebrated the first Holy Mass in post-war Szczecin. Gradually, priests of the Society began serving throughout West Pomerania, from Pyrzyce to Kamień Pomorski and Trzebiatów. To this day, despite the transfer of many parishes to the Archdiocese of Szczecin, the Society serves in 18 parishes in the Archdiocese of Szczecin, in addition to serving at parishes within the archdioceses of Gdańsk and Wrocław, and in the diocese of Koszalin.
Leaving Poland for pastoral work was very difficult following the war. Communist authorities made obtaining a passport very difficult. Despite this, priests of the Society continued to prepare and train candidates for the priesthood, anticipating that, one day, it would be possible to travel abroad. In fact, in order to ensure the Society had priests ready to serve when the time came, as early as 1945, the Society opened a dormitory for junior high school students. This later became the minor seminary which operated until 1962. The Society's major seminary began operating in 1948. Initially, it offered philosophical studies in Ziębice. Two years later, the seminary moved to Poznań and began offering theological studies.
On October 22, 1948, the founder of the Society of Christ, Venerable August Cardinal Hlond, Primate of Poland, died.
On April 22, 1950, the Holy See issued Decretum Laudis recognizing the presence of the Society of Christ in the Universal Church.
Due to changes brought about after the Polish October, 1956 was a watershed moment in the realizing of the mission of the Society. After the "thaw" of 1957, when it was easier to obtain passports, the Society undertook a foreign mission on a larger scale.