date: 28.02.2020.
''This is honour, joy and a special reward'', said Archbishop Henryk Hoser, Bishop Emeritus of Warsaw – Prague, the Apostolic Visitor with the special role for the parish of Medjugorje, when he received a reward 'Bishop Roman Andrzejewski' after he was awarded for all his merits and efforts taken for the development of the Polish villages. The presentation of the award took place on February 20, 2020 in the auditorium of the Polish Episcopal Conference in Warsaw.
"I need to admit I was surprised. I am not professional gardener or farmer, my profession is doctor, and vocation a priest. But, when I think about this, I notice some qualities that speak in the favour of this Committee who awarded me”, said Msgr. Hoser.
"I witnessed a hard work in the fields, constant work in a very hard conditions'', said Msgr. Hoser, recalling his personal relationship with agriculture in his family. He mentioned that, while he was a medicine student, already during the summer break he worked as a farmer abroad. As he said, his parents were agriculture engineers and his older sister graduated at Warsaw university, field science of life and his family still discussed agriculture because of that.
Archbishop Hoser reminded that farmers are carriers of Polish identity and he spoke about this each time when he would meet with them.
''Modern farms have much to offer and family farming can develop with them. It is important to have desire for Polish youth to return to their homeland and to produce healthy food for health and development of the entire society”, said Msgr. Hoser who was awarded by Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz.
''The purpose of this award imbues all dimensions of today’s activities. He is extraordinary, multi-dimensional person who can make use of every experience in all of the areas entrusted to'', said Cardinal Nycz, and reminded that Msgr. Hoser worked for the welfare of the Church as a doctor and missionary, then he was in Vatican, Poland and now in Medjugorje.
At the same time, this was an opportunity to give honour to the tradition of Hoser family, who contributed greatly to the development of Polish gardening since 1844. We would like to remind that Hoser family has developed the biggest horticultural farm in Poland, later on affected by communist confiscation.
The host of this ceremony was Sławomir Siwek, President of the Foundation, and Bishop Artur Miziński, the Head Secretary of the Polish Episcopal Conference, greeted all guests. Present were also Archbishop Salvatore Pennacchio, apostolski nuncij u Poljskoj, Msgr. Romuald Kamiński, Bishop of Warsaw Praha, as well as two Pallottine bishops, ArchbishopTadeusz Wojda from Białystok and Bishop Adrian Galbas from Ełko.
Award 'Bishop Roman Andrzejewski' Foundation was established in 2004 and honours persons who are especially meritorious in the work for the rural areas, for cultural and economic development of small towns and villages.
