The growth of the Polish anti-Catholic culture requires good spiritual formation and much prayer for all priests, but especially for young ones. Poland remains a bastion of Catholicism in Europe, although it also shows signs of secularization that particularly affects young people, hence this priest’s urge to evangelize tirelessly. Adamski points out that in Poland, around 90% of the population still declares itself Catholic, but of this percentage, only 30% now attend Sunday Mass, a higher percentage than in other European countries.

Toruń is the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus, a canon, mathematician, and astronomer best known for being the author of the heliocentric theory that demonstrated that the Earth revolved around the sun. His life and scientific contributions have been some of the clearest demonstrations of the profound connection that has existed throughout history between science and faith.

Bartosz Adamski, a priest with a doctorate in theology from the University of Navarra and currently a professor at the University of Toruń, which is named after this great Catholic scientist, comes from this Polish diocese.

“Every year, we see this percentage decrease. Generally, young people are not interested in the faith, so the culture in Poland is becoming more secular and anti-Catholic every year,” explains Bartosz. Regarding this situation, he tells an anecdote: “One of my priest friends is Spanish, and when he visited my country on vacation, he told me that Poland is now like Spain was 30 years ago. So, we can expect that in the future, the Church in Poland will have far fewer faithful.” Of course, we as Polish priests try to counter this trend, and to do so, we evangelize, provide catechesis, and educate people and ourselves.

Family, Key to the Spiritual Formation of Children

Bartosz Adamski entered the seminary of his diocese at the age of nineteen after completing high school. “My family, that is, my parents and grandparents, have played an essential role in the growth of my faith. They gave me the necessary foundations to be a Christian, showed me what an honest life was, and taught me how to live in true love,” this priest confesses.

Regarding his calling, he himself acknowledges that it is a true mystery and that “only God knows what it was like.” He acknowledges that he was never an altar boy or involved in parish groups. He simply went to Mass on Sundays and sometimes during the week. Therefore, he believes that his vocation was forged, both in his heart and mind, since he received the sacrament of Confirmation. “Since I was young, I was interested in philosophy and sought an answer to the question: how is the world ordered? And then to another: who orders it? So my search led me to the major seminary.”

Once ordained, Adamski was sent by his bishop to Pamplona to pursue a doctorate in Dogmatic Theology at the University of Navarra. Regarding this stage of his life, which lasted from 2018 to 2022 and included the entire coronavirus pandemic, this priest asserts that this period of study was very important for his priestly life. “I deepened my theological knowledge and gained a lot of experience in ecclesial life in a very international environment,” Bartosz tells us.

His stay in Spain and his experience at the university

What most caught his attention was the university itself: “Its order, its rich library, its well-prepared professors, and the academic environment. All of this invites one to study.” Another lesson Father Adamski learned from his time in Spain is that to be a good theologian, you have to read a lot, work hard, and learn the correct methodology.

He makes a special mention of the global coronavirus pandemic he experienced in Pamplona. It was a difficult time, but one where he also found a way to cope: “I remember that getting together over coffee at our residence helped us a lot; I could talk with the brothers and survive the time of confinement.”

A special message for the CARF Foundation’s benefactors

Finally, this Pole has a special message for CARF’s benefactors: “Thank you for your prayers and offerings! Thanks to you, priests in many countries can obtain good training, not just theological, to better serve the Church.”

Regarding the challenges facing today’s priests, especially the younger ones, Bartosz Adamski is clear that “the most important thing is the priest’s personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” Therefore, he emphasizes that “prayer and spiritual formation are the key.” He emphasizes this last point, since he believes that study is essential for a priest to understand what God is like and to be able to respond to the demands of the world today. All of this helps, in his opinion, to acquire a priestly identity. “The priest cannot forget who he is,” he concludes.