Deputy Prime Minister Jacek Sasin said on Saturday that Radio Maryja “is the salt of the Polish earth,” a station committed to defending Catholic faith and national traditions, state news agency PAP reported.
He added that the broadcaster had an audience of loyal listeners on whose prayers, "dedication and generosity" it has been able to count over the last 31 years.
Speaking at the station’s birthday bash in the north-central city of Toruń, Sasin thanked Radio Maryja listeners for helping "defend Poland against secularization, against attempts to deprive us of our roots, our culture, our faith, our history, and national pride."
He praised the station’s founder, Redemptorist Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, for his efforts "building and running the project."
Sasin, who also serves as Minister of State Assets, led a contingent of government officials who attended Saturday’s event, among them Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, according to the PAP news agency.
Meanwhile, presidential aide Grażyna Ignaczak-Bandych read a letter from the Polish head of state, who praised Radio Maryja for "bringing comfort and support" to its listeners and for "strengthening feelings of love and faith in people's hearts."
Presidential aide Grażyna Ignaczak-Bandych reads a letter from Polish President Andrzej Duda during Saturday's celebrations. Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski
President Andrzej Duda also said in the letter that Radio Maryja "has inspired Poles over the years" and "provided numerous examples of how we should help our country and our neighbours."
He added that the station "has contributed to building a sense of solidarity and mutual assistance," especially "in the face of Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Jarosław Kaczyński, leader of Poland’s governing conservative Law and Justice (PiS), said in his own letter that Radio Maryja and other projects undertaken by the station’s founder, including radio and television stations, a daily newspaper, a college, various foundations, and a geothermal heating plant - deserved special “admiration.”
Tadeusz Rydzyk, founder and director of Radio Maryja. Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski
In his letter, Kaczyński praised "the venerable Father Director Tadeusz Rydzyk" for "his bold imagination and brave ideas, supported by charisma, iron will and a desire to devote himself completely to the service of God and homeland."
"We thank our Lord for this great gift that Radio Maryja is for millions of religious people and for other wonderful projects developed under the auspices of the venerable Father Tadeusz Rydzyk," Kaczyński wrote in the letter, which was read during the celebration by Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak.
Poland's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak addresses the gathering. Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski
Several thousand pilgrims from all over Poland and abroad flocked to Radio Maryja’s 31st birthday event, which culminated with a mass celebrated by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, the PAP news agency reported.
Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda. Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski
Several thousand pilgrims from across Poland and beyond attended the event, state news agency PAP reported. Photo: PAP/Tytus Żmijewski
Radio Maryja went on air on December 8, 1991, initially as a regional broadcaster. The station has been available online worldwide since 1998.
Catholic television broadcaster Trwam and the College of Social and Media Culture are also based in Toruń, both run by the Redemptorist congregation.
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Source: PAP