In 1932 count Bogdan Szembek residing in Wysock Wielki near Ostrów Wielkopolski encouraged by primate, cardinal August Hlond dealt out of his properties in nearby Sadowie 10 hectares of territory for building a monastery for Passionists. Useless in agricultural terms a gravel hill sloped at the end of the village among vast forest and fields. Today a successively enlargened monastery with a church and three crosses from which the whole building and territory took the name of “Golgota” is situated in a beautiful park. More and more pilgrims and tourists come here to, on the bosom of unpolluted nature, not only rest physically but also mentally but on prior to breathe in the Passion of Christ in shadow of the crosses. As on Golgota thoughts spontaneously elevate to God and heart and soul pray. It is often claimed by individual pilgrims as well as religious community “Light-Life” who spend Sunday evening hours on joyful spiritual feast with songs and prayers. One who tastes this holy relax once wants to return here like a pilgrim from distant Łódź who writes :” I wish to worship the cross in Golgota’s silence again. This charming silence speaks with itself that God is everywhere. And it is so difficult to isolate from rush and concentrate to be able to talk to God in today’s hectic pace of life .“Miss after being with God on prayer speaks with a louder and louder voice in a contemporary man’s soul. On the 6th of November 1932 cardinal Hlond consecrated a church of the Passionists in Sadowie. The superior Italian f. Bartłomiej Rapetti greeting the primate said among other things:” Our goal is to make a monastery in Sadowie a house of novice and retreat. Sadowie is a beautiful and prophet name. Let the Highest God by your blessing Eminency give such power so that this monastery was an orchard of the highest virtues ,center of evangelic light, oasis of rest for many souls and the mountain of sanctification and graces”.
Short history of monastery.

1. Building and builders.

Monastic chronicle is a source of the history of the foundation in Sadowie mostly -written until1939 in Italian by the successive superiors of Italian origin, p. Bartłomiej Rapetti and f. Pius Falco- including reports of the first tenants, particularly b. Franciszek Użarowski. The precious way to find out the beginnings of the foundation are accounts, eye-witnesses and local as well as neighborhood co-workers’ reports, recorded in print or on tape. Count Bogdan Szembek’s description left for children is of great importance, obtained from his deceased daughter- Irena Bobbe. But first let us present some information on the Congregation of the Passion of Christ or Passionists itself. It was founded in the 18th century in Italy by St. Paul of the Cross(1694-1775) to propagate the cult of the Passion of Christ, to which every Passionist is obliged by the additional vow. Order whose monasteries and missionary institutions are spread on all continents dedicates itself to missionary work among pagans and ministering by arranging missions and retreats in parishes. Pope Pius XI sent Passionists to Poland from Rome in 1923. Bishop of Płock Antoni Julian Nowowiejski gave them a sixteen-year-old monastery in Przasnysz founded by St. Stanisław Kostka’s brother-Paweł Kostka from neighboring Rostkowo, for the Bernadines, who lived and worked there until annulment in theXIXth century. The Passionists, so far unknown monks with white heart and cross on black habit, barefoot in sandals, practicing night vigils with prayers and other penances, turned out attractive. With the exception of two Poles-f. Juliusz Dzidowski and b. Kazimierz Staszewski- rest of the tenants of the monastery were of Italian, American, French and Spanish origin.Young f. Juliusz ardent orator-missionary, threw himself up into retreat and missionary work. Others, after reaching mastery in Polish turned out excellent confessors and spiritual directors. Soon, they opened gymnasium with boarding house for the candidates for missionary-Passionists. The house of novice was opened. There was no shortage of vocations. Spacious monastery became too small. One should have thought about a new one. The superior of the monastery in Przasnysz; f. Bartłomiej Rapetti, sending Christmas wishes in 1931 to the primate August Hlond , mentioned also opening of the new institution. He did not forget to stress that because of lack of funds Order searches for a donor willing to offer a ready building or at least area to start a building. It turned out that the aforementioned count Szembek had notified the primate about giving away part of his estate in Sadowie for such a goal. Aware of it f. Bartłomiej went to Wysock from where in the company of Szembek to Sadowie to see the territory. Let us allow to speak Szembek:” I took f. Bartłomiej to Sadowie to a gravel mountain and said that I wished to have a church built here. So he looked around. Kalisz, Chełmce, Grabów, Ostrzeszów i Odolanów can be seen from the mountain, 185 metres above sea level. Having looked around he knelt and cried. We came to the conclusion that I would give him 10 hectares, in half of the gravel mountain, newly forested, and in half of the field. F. Bartłomiej took down in the chronicle that count had set a condition that Passionists would stay forever and never give the foundation away. As a guarantee that in the closest neighbourhood of the monastery no premises would be erected , the donor gave his daughter- Zofia the area adjacent to the monastic one. In April 1932 in Wysock f. Pius Falco had conducted a retreat from Przasnysz and then both with f. Bartłomiej they went to Poznań were they were kindly welcomed by primate who issued a decree joining Passionists to diocese. For a start of the building primate added a generous donation-a thousand zlotys. B. Franciszek writes in his memoirs:” F. Bartłomiej and I went to Przasnysz on the10th of May 1932. We had about a hundred zlotys for building a new monastery. On our way from Wysock to Sadowie we told our beads. People looked at us, a group of children and women came with us on a mountain. We had already ended rosary. On seeing us praying people asked us to pray for rain as it was extremely dry. And something noteworthy happened; all of a sudden the wind blew, it started whirling and clouding and rain came so heavy that we had to escape almost running to the barracks. F. Bartłomiej said:” Let us thank God and Our Lady because it is a sign that She wants to have a monastery here”. F. Bartłomiej with b. Franciszek settled down in Sadowie at count’s old mother’s house. In lobby of the “palace” they furnished a chapel with the Holy Sacrament and celebrated mass for local people there. In the monastic chronicle we read:” On Sundays and feasts the believers had to stand outside under the open sky. Throughout the whole time when mass was said there-from the 3rd of July to the 1st of November 1932- weather was fine”. The count came every day to a mass on foot from 4 kilometers distant Wysock. Later on when the services were said in the chapel of the monastery in the summertime he pilgrimiged to Golgota every day not only on foot but also barefoot. Since the primate’s decree was obtained on the celebration of St. Joseph’s protection hence f. Bartłomiej put the whole foundation under His protection. And his care turned out to be visible and material. Here is one of the facts taken down by Szembek :” people worked mostly for “May God reward you” even though father had to pay something. Once at breakfast on the porch of count’s mother’s house in Sadowie he says that today and it was Saturday he has to pay the workers 336 zlotys and he has nothing. For which from a distance of dozen or so steps the approaching postman calls:” I have money for father!” And he mentions exactly the sum that was needed. We exchanged looks. Trust did not fail. Another time in harvest when because of draught I hardly picked up the stubble fields, on Friday father tells me that a wagon of cement arrived and peasants cannot transport it as they are taking yarn, and it cannot be left for Sunday. And if I could transport it. I tell him; ’All right. I will, I say joking, but on one condition that on Sunday it will rain so that I will have this labor made up by easier plough. He became serious, concentrated and said :”All right.” And it did rain on Sunday”. B. Franciszek mentions a fact similar to the above about St. Joseph’s care:” F. Bartłomiej told me that much timber for a roof was needed. So he went to a saw-mill to Sieroszewice and received timber but he gave his priestly word that he will pay 400 zlotys for it on Saturday. On Thursday he went to Ostrów to borrow 400 zlotys and on his way he prayed:” Saint Joseph help me. I gave my priestly word that I will return the money on Saturday”. That day he received a telegram from Przasnysz that f. Grzegorz Piegża had died(September1932) . He said:” As a superior I had to go to a funeral and it was difficult What shall I do? So I prayed:” Saint Joseph I have to go to a funeral .and what about my priestly word? People will say that f. Bartłomiej escaped. Help me Saint Joseph you are to be a patron of this monastery”. On Friday sad and with burden on his heart he was preparing to leave after a mass. And before he left a postman came and gave father a check for 400 zlotys. F. Bartłomiej said:” I peered at it several times and thought there must be a misprint and it should have been 4 zlotys”. The count came and confirmed me that it was written 400 zlotys…When father told me about it , he was tearful and added: “God comforted me and Saint Joseph: Let us thank God!” It should be stressed that f. Bartłomiej was a man of great faith, piety, and humility. The count alike many people believed him to be holy and on welcomeand farewell he kissed him on the hand as a sign of respect He had written down in his report:” Once father visited m. Czacka’s monastery in Laski near Warsaw. Coming back he told me about her in the superlatives and concluded: It is a holy woman!” And when later I told about him to m. Czacka she said:” It is a holy man!’-and they were both right. As a result I had luck to know such saints not from a picture but from real life and what hard life it was”. In the chronicle of the State School in Sadowie a local teacher Edmund Zwierzycki wrote about f. Bartłomiej: ”It was a very fervent priest as man remarkably good, extremely liked by the community as well as by the believers with whom he had an opportunity to work somewhere even for a short time. He had been in Poland for a few years already but as he used to say he loved Poland and Poles very much and wished to be buried on Polish land whom he loved as his second mother country. Unfortunately, his dreams and wishes did not come true as because of certain reasons he was made to leave Poland in time of sanitation and went to Italy. In the early years in Sadowie there was also another Italian who worked there the aforementioned f. Pius Falco, who with short breaks performed the function of a superior and master of novice, until 1939. It is about him that b. Franciszek wrote in his memoirs:” When I entered a monastery on the 7th of March 1927 in Przasnysz f. Pius Falco was a master of novice. He had already possessed mastery in Polish. Like f. Bartłomiej he was musical and sang nicely. I owed him a lot. He was very accessible like a mother. He used to smile all the time. As far as fulfillment of monastic rules is concerned he was extremely demanding, but even when he gave penance for offences, the novices did it eagerly and without reluctance and immediately went to him like to mother. Cheerful as he was, he was very concentrated when praying. He did not care about comfort and food, he slept little and was always helpful. When it came to a priestly service or other matters he always obliged himself to do them with a smile. He was marked with delicacy, unwilling to bother anyone. Despite of the looks of a plump, he was fast as a roe deer so that any novice could not compare to him. However sickly as he was, sometimes he went down for a few days though he almost never lied. On Palm Sunday, 1939 , I guess, he had to go to hospital in Ostrów. On Good Friday there was no priest in the monastery and many people came to confess. I took a coach and went to the hospital where I told him:” Father enough of lying. There is nobody to hear confession in Sadowie and there are many people waiting. I had promised them to bring Father. But the nursing Sister did not permit. He smiled and said:” Sister, you cannot cope with him. I will get up and go”. So I brought him and he sat in a locutory by the iron furnace, I gave him warm tea and Father heard confessions. I was very fond of the song “Bogurodzica Dziewica” and could not be satisfied with it until old age. When I returned to the monastery from collection he used to sing it to me after mass with the accompany of harmonium. He also loved Poland perhaps even more than f. Bartłomiej. He even wanted to get Polish nationality to be allowed to stay here until the rest of his life . However, during World War II he was made to return to Italy. After the war when he cold not get a permit for return to Poland he was sent to the Holy Land. There he built a church in Bethany near Jerusalem where the Passionists have their monastery. He also served curing of souls of the Poles spread across the Holy Land and not only Poles because apart from Italian and Polish he also knew French and Arabic. Various monastic families mention him with gratitude including Polish Elizabethans. He corresponded with us, Polish Passionists, writing in pure Polish. He lost his speech as a result of paralysis. He was transported to the general house of the congregation in Rome. He spent dozen or so years on the bed of suffering giving an example of great patience, piety, and Christian humility. He died in the reputation of holiness. His biography had been published with much place sacrificed to his sixteen-year action in Poland.
The also mentioned great missionary f. Juliusz Dzidowski in the first years of the foundation was invited to give sermons from Przasnysz to Sadowie for bigger occasions He was also a superior here for some time. Count Szembek recollects:” F. Juliusz was the greatest preacher. He talked in Italian way with strong gestures and he took it to heart to such extent that it happened to him to faint on the ambo”. Let us add that it happened to him not once that he fell in such great pathos that he felt deeply the content of the preached God’s truths, particularly those on the Passion of Christ, that he was often carried out of the ambo forceless, which had a great impact on the listeners. His voice was so strong that he could be heard in a few-kilometers distance without loudspeakers, which seems unbelievable. The believers listened to his sermons so intensely that they cried aloud during almost every sermon. B. Franciszek also mentions him:” He came with sermons for our monastic feasts on 14 and 15th of September to Sadowie for the celebration of Triumph of the Cross and Sorrowful Mother. I told him:” Father do not overuse your throat because people from Poznań will not cry. And on both days the crowd lied down on the square sobbing loudly, which was almost contagious to me”. Jan Banach, a local bricklayer, supervised the building works most of time with a large group of helpers from Sadowie and neighborhood . It is impossible to enumerate all and each of them by name here alike the donors from Ostrów and other places. Their names are written down in the monastic chronicle and most of all in Jesus’ heart. In count Szembek’s description we read:” The building shoot up. Gifts and money flowed. F. Bartłomiej did not hesitate to write even to Pope ( Pius XI) with request for church vestment. He received a gold chasuble, cope, and dalmatic (of lower class as he said). But he also received a string rebuke from the authorities that he had dared to write directly omitting the general father”. The building started in the beginning of June, came to end in autumn. Primate Hlond came to Sadowie on 6 November 1932 and consecrated the chapel. Count Raczyński, a voivode of Poznań, accompanied him with a group of clergymen. Large crowds of believers had planned to come to a ceremony but they did not succeed because it was raining all night. Monastic chronicle gives a detailed description of the ceremony but also Ostrów press “ Orędownik Ostrowski” and “Dziennik Ostrowski”. The Vatican gave a right to the general of the order to found the monastery in Sadowie with a decree on 4 November 1932. “People were happy about this first monastery in the far neighborhood “ writes count Szembek. “ The monks were very eager and disinterestive, which evoked remarkable donations. Fathers went also on missions which enjoyed recognition. I had joy to find out that first year after consecrating a monastery they gave away 10 000 or even more communions in the monastery they called “Golgota”. On the highest point of the hill we erected three crosses. To make the highest cross of I gave my beloved oak from the garden. To the frame on the top of the monastery I put the figure of St. Joseph. Fathers built at a right angle a store building. They planted a big orchard.

2. Noviciate in Sadowie.

On the 26th of November 1932 enclosement was introduced in the monastery on the first and second floor; with solemn procession with the Holy Sacrament. The first group of novices – 9 seminarists and 3 brothers arrived at Sadowie on the 16th of September 1933- a Jubilee Year of Salvation. The master of novices was f. Bartłomiej Rapetti(1884-1964). This year next three fathers came from Przasnysz: f.Juliusz Dziadowski(1890-1967) as a superior of the monastery, f. German Verheyde(born1887) a confessor of novices and executive superior, a Frenchman, a musician and composer, and f. Romuald Rota(born 1902), an Italian ,a vice-master of novices. In 1934 there were 22 novices in Sadowie for some time. Life in the monastery in such conditions was hard.

3. Under German occupation.

F. Michał Stolarczyk(1916-1981) presented the history of the monastery in Sadowie in the period of war and included it in the monastic chronicle. Monastic archives include f. Zdzisław Solak’s report (born 1913).The aforementioned Edmund Zwierzycki writes about the situation in occupied Sadowie, its vicinity and the monastery. It is from these sources that we find out that after Hitler’s army’ s invasion on Poland in September 1939, the monks went from Sadowie to the center of Poland to their monastery in Rawa Mazowiecka, in the archdiocese of Warsaw. F. Pius found shelter in Italian embassy in Warsaw from which he was evacuated to Italy. At the end of September, when war actions were stopped f. Zdzisław came to Sadowie, and a little bit earlier three brothers: Wacław Kamieński(1876-1943?), Czesław Taszarek(born 1911), and Jerzy Marchliński(1916-1981). F. Zdzisław performed the function of a superior and minister in Sadowie, and then in Wysock and Ostów. This group stayed in Sadowie until the end of June 1941, when the monastery was occupied by the Germans, giving it to Hitler youth.(Hitlerjugend). On the night of the 1st May 1941 the occupants cut down three crosses on Golgota, and replaced it with a red flag with swastika. The monks had to leave the monastery. They managed to secure church equipment and leave it at Sadowie’s tenants. /…/ Church and monastery in Sadowie during German occupation were deprived of the features of the house of God. The church was changed into dance and gymnastic room, in the interior chapel in the place of the altar a brick fireplace with swastika was built. The figure of St. Joseph was removed from the external frame of the church. Belfry was removed but the bells stayed. Before Easter 1945 f. Tytus Kołakowski(born 1913) came to Sadowie to bring the monastery to utility. He was deprived of everything, which was an extremely sad look. Soon he was replaced by f. Leon Morawski(born1915)and Stefan Szafraniec(born1914). They were to reactivate the foundation, organize the cure of souls and monastic life with respect to economic aspect as well as religious. The monastery ought to be prepared for admission of new candidates again. Small number of Polish Passionists before the war was reduced as four fathers and four brothers were killed in the concentration camps, house of novice and seminary were dismissed. Fortunately, five seminarists who went to Rome before the war and were consecrated there, enlarged and strengthened the number of the congregation. The compulsory stay in Rome was mainly used for specialist studies. F. Michał Stolarczyk, theologian and Biblicist, professor of International Theologian Passionist Institute in Rome, after arrival at Poland took the position of a master of novice. In 1946 the house of novice counted four novices, in 1948 six, in 1950 thirteen. The number of the monks was getting bigger and bigger. Even in the years of vocational crisis Polish province of the Passionists never recorded regress, but successive growth. The range of apostolic work was also enlarging. Fathers from Sadowie went to serve not only to the neighboring parishes but also preached at missions and retreats in different dioceses of Poland in different orders.

4. Important dates and facts in the post-war period.

In 1958 two new monasteries were created, in Warsaw and Łódź. The house in Warsaw on Grochów(ul. Zamienicka 21), serving as a flat for the seminarists attending Primate Seminar is being enlarged. The monastery in Łódź on Teofilowo(ul.Grabiniec10), is a large ministry. The Passionists have built here a great temple under the invocation of the Sorrowful Mother in the recent years. In1968 the Vatican put Polish province of the Passionists under the invocation of the Assumption. So far Polish monasteries constituted vice –province dependent on f. general in Rome. The first province father to whom this success can be credited was the apprentice of Sadowie, f. Jan Wszędyrówny (born 1916). His successors –fathers Stefan Szafraniec, Dominik Buszta(born 1919), Bogdan Kołakowski(born1932)and Władysław Zyśk(born in 1941)-are also the apprentices of Sadowie, because it is here that they had their noviciate. From here also come Passionist professors at KUL, f. Damian Wojtyska(born in 1933) , historian, pro-rector of the university, and Jerzy Kopeć(born in 1938), theologian-liturgist.

5.Jubilee.

Preparations to the ceremony of the jubilee of the 50 years of monastery involved not only informational but also ministering aspect. The parsons of the parishes in Ostrów let the superior of the monastery preach from the ambos in their churches, to preach on the Order, Bernard Kryszkiewicz, and jubilee. In these churches a display about the beginnings and action of the monastery within 1932-1982 was prepared by grafic artist Bolesław Trzciński from Ostrów. Jerzy Pietrzak- a professor of the University in Wrocław prepared some articles in the press. A few religious nationwide magazines included notes announcing the jubilee-Metropolitan Curia in Poznań released an announcement to the churches of the archdiocese informing and encouraging clergy and laymen to participate in the jubilee ceremonies in Sadowie.The direct preparation to the central ceremony was a week-parish mission conducted by a vice-province of the Passionists f. Bogdan Kołakowski from Przasnysz together with f. Jerzy Chrzanowski. The mission started by the inauguration of the way of the cross on the hill of “Golgota”, which was said every day during the mission with a large number of not only local parishioners but also pilgrims from Ostrów and other parishes. (Before the stations of the way of the cross were funded of strong material and in appropriate size beautiful clay bass-reliefs were hanged on birch crosses. priest Władysław Gatzek offered for Sadowie, a parson of the parish Lenartowice in diocese of Gniezno. Every day the major mass was said successively by prelate Marian Magnuszewski, a dean from Kępno, dean Mieczysław Kutzner, and dean Tadeusz Szmyt from Ostrów decanate, dean Tadeusz Neumann from Odolanów, p. Eugeniusz Lijewski, a dean from Ołobock. Among the jubilee guests and pilgrims one should mention f. Czesław Białka, a Jesuit from Poznań who celebrated the way of the cross on a wheelchair after which he preached from his “ambo” a sermon on the mystery of the cross. One ought to mention p. Alfred Mąka, a parson of the parish from Ostrów and Henryk Kujawa parson from Ociąż who alike prelate Magnuszewski eagerly contributed with the local parishioners and donors to found new Golgota. Three impressive crosses of homogenous oak timber were erected on it among which the highest counts 11 m. over the ground and the sculpt of Christ hang on it has 3m. of height. The crosses were made by the popular local carpenter Teofil Płomiński from Psary, and Jarosław Doktór from Ostrów made and gave the sculpture of the Crucified to Sadowie’s Golgota. Among the pilgrims except the priests from distant decanates one should mention the Passionists from all six Polish monasteries, among whom the only living monk so far who built the monastery in Sadowie, b. Franciszek Użarowski. In the central jubilee ceremony two Passionist professors from the Catholic University of Lublin, pro-rector Damian Wojtyska, and theologian-liturgist f. Jerzy Kopeć also participated. /.../ Hundreds of pilgrims came from Łódź and Rawa Mazowiecka by bus for this central ceremony on Sunday the 12th of September. The pilgrims from Rawa stood out of the thousands in their traditional colorful regional clothes. B. Henryk Rostalski from Nowe Skalmierzyce cultivates this tradition with particular care by the monastery of the Passionists in Rawa. During the jubilee mass with their own musical accompany tens of brass and string instruments, a children choir sang from near Rososzyca under the supervision of its creator an organist Tadeusz Gruszka. The jubilee ceremony coincided with a general chapter of the Order taking place in Rome and that is why there was no superior of Polish province in Sadowie as he took part in the aforementioned chapter. The general father was even least expected at the ceremony. However, with exception to celebration of the jubilee year f. general Paweł M. Boyle arrived at Sadowie on the 14th of August 1982 and took vows from nine seminarists. Next day they participated together with fathers and brothers as well as parishioners from Sadowie in the mass in front of the Wonderful Painting at Jasna Góra under the supervision of the father general. There also took place a meeting with primate Józef Glemp who at that time sent a special letter with blessing to Sadowie The apostolic blessing of pope John Paul II came little earlier then from the ordinary of archdiocese of Poznań, archbishop Jerzy Stroby.

                    "Fathers Passionists in Sadowie 1932-1982"  -   Franciszek Budnik