In the face of contemporary challenges related to the demographic crisis, it is worth taking a fresh look at the gift of life. Father Piotr Chmielecki SCJ presents both the spiritual dimension of entrusting families to God in prayerful intention, as well as concrete actions undertaken to save newborns and their mothers in mission countries.
Olsztyn, March 25, 2026
Praised be Jesus Christ!
Poland has entered the global top ranks in the unfortunate category of countries with the fastest declining populations. Many young people – by choice – do not want to have children. On the other hand, in doctors’ offices and churches, tears are being shed by those who, for various reasons, are not granted the grace of parenthood.
As Christians, we believe that not everything is closed within purely human capabilities, such as medicine. In Kraków, at the Dehonian Fathers’ community, there is a miraculous image of Our Lady of Płaszów – the Mother of Blessed Motherhood. On the sanctuary’s website, we can find, among others, the following testimony:
“Agata and Piotr Zemsta, living in France, despite long and costly treatment, received a medical diagnosis leaving no room for hope: they would never have children! At one of the meetings in the Paris parish where they prayed, a Polish priest was present to whom they presented their situation. The priest listened to their story and said that in Kraków there is an image of Our Lady of Blessed Motherhood and that it would be worth praying before it for this intention.
During the first phone conversation, Mrs. Agata, sobbing, spoke about her sorrow, difficult situation, and great desire to have a child. She asked us to pray for them before the image of Our Lady of Płaszów. We offered Holy Masses for their intention and repeatedly entrusted their request during a novena. Six months after the first contact, we received information from France that our prayers had been answered and Agata was expecting a child! The couple is convinced that the birth of Gabriel occurred through the intercession of Mary from the image of Blessed Motherhood located in the Płaszów church.”
For several years now, together with a team of volunteer medical professionals led by lay missionary Izabela Cywa, we have been fighting to reduce neonatal mortality in the Central African Republic. To understand the scale of the tragedy, one must know the numbers: in the CAR, 40 infants die per 1,000 live births, while in Poland it is one. Encouragingly, our midwifery training program “Safe Mother” is producing remarkable results according to data from the Ministry of Health of the CAR. Infant mortality in the regions where we have trained traditional midwives is decreasing.
Below is one of the stories shared with us by Izabela Cywa: “Marcellin is a premature baby who constantly wants to breastfeed. He is small and thin, but the happiest of his seven siblings. His mother Stephanie gave birth unexpectedly after intense physical effort. This is her seventh child, so she assumed the delivery would be as easy as the previous ones. She had never attended prenatal check-ups, considering them an unnecessary expense. Her family is very poor. Stephanie’s husband died when she was three months pregnant with Marcellin. He had gone to work in a mine and never returned… He was buried by a landslide, and his body was recovered only a few days later. During that time, Stephanie often went to bed hungry, unable to afford even one meal a day.
On the day of delivery, the woman had the opportunity to earn extra money – she was helping harvest cassava. At three in the morning, she began experiencing severe abdominal pain and her water broke. Her eldest daughter ran to fetch the traditional midwife, who arrived after the baby had already come into the world. Marcellin was premature. Although the birth was quick, the child was born not breathing. Fortunately, the midwife had with her a medical backpack received during the 'Safe Mother' training. With trembling hands, she took out a newborn Ambu bag. She remembered the Polish instructor repeatedly emphasizing during training that the most important thing is to stay calm and properly place the mask. First, she cleared the baby’s nose and mouth of mucus and began resuscitation. After several dozen seconds, Marcellin began to breathe. For the midwife, it was the first resuscitation of her life.”
I encourage you to take part in this beautiful initiative of saving newborns and their mothers in the Central African Republic. I also kindly ask you to send prayer intentions concerning family matters, which will be placed before the image of Our Lady of Płaszów on Mother’s Day, May 26, 2026. I will also celebrate the Eucharist in these intentions on that day at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary.
With prayers +
Deputy Secretary of for Foreign Missions
of the Priests of the Sacred Heart in Poland
Fr. Piotr Chmielecki SCJ
