10-05-2009

Visit of Maria Kaczyńska, First Lady of Poland

On May 6th to 9th, Madame Maria Kaczyńska, Spouse of Lech Kaczyński, President of the Republic of Poland, visited Canada. She spent the first two days of her visit in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, where she met with Madame Laureen Harper at 24 Sussex. She also visited several sites of the Polish-Canadian community in Ottawa, including the Polish Community Centre (Dom Polski) at Waverley Street, where she was greeted by representatives of the Polish Veterans Association and other leaders of the Polish community. Accompanied by the Hon. Blaine Calkins, Chair of the Canada-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group, Madame Kaczyńska took a tour of the Parliament, meeting the Hon. Peter Milliken, Speaker of the House of Commons. The First Lady also held a meeting with the Wilno Heritage Society, who represent the Kashubs, the oldest Polish settlers in Canada. Madame Kaczyńska was a guest at a reception in honour of the 218th anniversary of the May 3rd Constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was hosted by the two respective ambassadors at the Museum of Civilization.

The last two days of her visit were spent in Toronto, in the company of Consul General Marek Ciesielczuk, and the President of Canadian Polish Congress, Władysław Lizon, and their spouses. On Friday, May 8th, the First Lady held a meeting with Father Janusz Błażejak, Oblate Provincial, as well as Father Adam Filas of the St. Eugene de Mazenoid Parish who presented the concept of the Millenium Act (dziela milenijnego). A meeting with the Polish-Jewish Community was held to discuss the building of a museum in Warsaw dedicated to the history of Polish Jewry. Her visit to Copernicus Lodge proved to be a particular moving one, as the First Lady was greeted by an outpour of emotion from the home’s residents. Madame Kaczyńska paused to lay a wreath at the Katyń memorial in Toronto, where representatives of Polish veterans’ associations were present.

An extremely well-attended banquet at the John Paul II Polish Cultural Centre in Mississauga was held in honour of the First Lady’s visit but also in commemoration of several important historical dates – the Day of the Polish Flag, 3rd May Constitution, and the Day of Polonia. The First Lady gave a brief address to the guests, relaying her husband’s, Polish President Lech Kaczyński’s, greetings and summed up her trip thus far by expressing her amazement and gratitude for the work of her fellow Poles here in Canada, which has served the betterment of both countries.

On the last day of her visit, Madame Kaczyńska visited Niagara on the Lake where she paid her respects at the cemetery of the soldiers of General Haller’s Blue Army. Later, she met with representatives of the Polish National Alliance as well as the national executive of the Polish Teachers’ Association in Canada. In the afternoon, the First Lady was a guest at the Polish Consulate in Toronto which hosted the closing event of the “4th Polish Week in Windsor”. The last event of Madame Kaczyńska’s busy visit was a charity banquet for the Sick Children Hospital in Toronto. Organized by the “Koła Pań Nadzieja", the banquet raised 00 for the cause and thus capped off Madame Kaczyńska’s visit on a very successful note. The First Lady’s visit will be warmly remembered by all those who had the opportunity to meet her and it was a significant honour for Polonia to host her.