Faith in action

This morning we found ourselves at one of the sites I had heard so much about, but had never had the opportunity to see.

Believe it or not, the Wieliczka salt mines have been in operation for centuries and are still being mined today. Like the mines back home, part of this complex has been converted into a tourist attraction. Unlike the mines in Sudbury, meant to expose the general public to the realities of nickel mining, the publicly visited parts of the Wieliczka mine are works of art which tell the story of faith that is so engrained in the hearts of the people who work there.

Faith. This is evident everywhere in Poland, thanks to the generations and generations who have learned of the importance of the Madonna of Czestochowa, and of the love of God as has no doubt been taught by their mothers, fathers and other examples of faith. Poland is a country made up of 90% Catholics, so faith is still very strong and apparent here.

Among the attractions at the Wieliczka salt mine are statues and crucifixes, made from salt or from other materials. There are chandeliers constructed entirely from salt crystals, and there are veritable wonderlands containing statuary of humans, dwarves, carvings, and many chapels. To enter the salt mines and to walk this path is truly to experience a testament of faith, left behind by the miners themselves who have created these works of art with their own hands, on their own time.

The most recent addition to this display is a pathway reminiscent of a shaft which leads from one exhibit to another. Along the shaft, there are Stations of the Cross, carved in wood. This collection was blessed by Stanislaus Cardinal Dziwisz, formerly the secretary to Pope John Paul II, and currently the Archbishop of Krakow, and stands as a testament of gratitude from the miners to their beloved Holy Father.