Pastoral Care of Polish Emigration in Austria, Great Britain and France in the 19th Century. An Attempt at Comparison

This article aims to present and compare the conditions of the Polish emigrant pastoral ministry in three Western European countries in the 19th century (Austria, France and Great Britain). Such a choice was dictated by source research related to this geographical and national area, which I have conducted over the last fifteen years. The selected countries were characterised by different approaches to Polish emigration. They also presented different models of attitude towards Catholicism. The Polish concentrations on the Danube differ significantly from the emigrants living on the Seine and Thames. In the Habsburg capital, pastoral endeavours were mainly driven by the spiritual needs of the aristocracy and the young people studying. This distinguishes the wanderers in Britain and France, where pastoral care had national and identity characteristics. Polish missions and pastoral centres were a point of reference for the émigrés in Paris and London, which integrated the Polish community and made efforts of not only a religious but also a cultural nature.