The role of Bishop Józef Sebastian Pelczar in the cultural life of Przemyśl in the early 20th century

Strona wydawcy: https://www.wuj.pl

Józef Sebastian Pelczar, Bishop of Przemyśl (1901-1924), can hardly find an equal in the long history of the episcopal see on the San. An all-round scholar and erstwhile Professor and Rector of the Jagiellonian University, he was always preoccupied with raising the standards of moral and communal life in his diocese, and especially in Przemyśl. He started large-scale educational and charitable work, which he continued to support in a number of ways - also through direct personal involvement - during his whole term of office. Many of those activities also enriched the cultural life of Przemyśl. Pelczar saw the theatricals, patriotic celebrations and any social event he attended as ever so many occasions to propagate the idea of a socially engaged Christian. This message was addressed principally to Przcmyśfs educated classes, and to bring it home Pelczar would conduct special Lent meditations for the local intelligentsia himself. He was not only a regular participant of church conferences and symposiums, but also got directly involved in the life of local institutions and associations like no other the Przemyśl bishop before him. Pelczar is certainly one of the great men of Przemyśfs cultural history. He founded the diocesan museum and library as well as the ecclesiastical monthly Chronicle of the Przemyśl Diocese. He also reorganized and funded the local weekly The Przemyśl Echo. From the moment of its creation, he was a supporting member of the Society of the Friends of the Sciences. While holding the office of curator of the local branch of the Vincent d Paulo Society, he was also an active member of the Society of People's Schools, and the Association of University Lecturers. He used his patronage and prestige to assist a great number of social and cultural projects, most notably the Przemyśl Museum (today's National Museum of the Przemyśl Region). Pelczar pioneered the idea of proclaiming the Krasiński Year and the Skarga Year to mark the anniversaries of the two great Polish patriots, then chaired the respective organizing committees and lent a hand in preparing the commemorative events. The current social agenda did not absorb all of his time and attention. He stopped the demolition of the old Jesuit church, a fine piece of Baroque architecture, and had it restored. At the same time he was overseeing the renovation of the cathedral and its bell-tower. During the war he rescued the oldest church bells from requisition. By inviting the Salesian Order to Przemyśl, Pelczar not only broadened the educational opportunities for working-class youths but also helped to found an organists' school, which, under its Rector Father Antoni Hlond, became the leader among similar schools in Małopolska. Thanks to Pelczar's personal contacts, Przemyśl became an important meeting place for members of the intellectual elite of Galicia and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Distinguished guests poured in to synods called by Pelczar, his anniversaries, or special events such as the Marian Congress of 1911. Thus Bishop Pelczar's cultural activities, though by no means of prime importance for his episcopal function, left a mark on Przemyśfs intellectual life in the early decades of the 20th century.