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Father Gregory's path to God
Meet Bedford's Polish priest in our latest Talk Of The Town interview.
Grzegorz Aleksandrowicz was born in Slupsk in Pomerania, moving to a town called Tomaszow Maz when he was aged six.
"That is where I went to secondary school and grammar school before I moved to Lodz and began my seminary," he said.
"I was ordained as a priest in 1973, and then the following year I came to England. My first job was in the Polish parish in Islington, and after that I went to Nottingham, then Coventry, and then spent 18 years in Ipswich before I came to Bedford in 2000.
"I chose to come to England because I had family here. My father's brother lives in Wolverhampton, and I have cousins over here. It feels like my second country, and I have become a British citizen.
"There are lots of Polish people living in Bedford now, so it is a big job. Last year we had 34 baptisms in the church, and it is Polish custom to visit parishioners after Christmas so I am very busy doing that at the moment.
"After the Second World War I think there were maybe 600 Polish people who come to the area, many of them employed at the brickworks in Stewartby. There was a lot of work for them there, and Bedford became one of the main centres for Polish people in this part of the country.
"The Polish congregation took over this church in 1980. And when Poland joined the European Community many Poles came to Bedford year after year, so now we have an even larger community.
"We used to have one Mass every Sunday when I first came here, and about 80 people attended. Now we have two every Sunday because the congregation has grown to around 400 people. A lot more Polish people have come to Bedford since then, but I think it is also because faith is so strong among Polish people. It is a vital part of their daily lives.
"I think it is important to keep in touch with your roots. The first
generation came here after the war and tried to continue the traditions, with their children and grandchildren. Now, even with their great-grandchildren they speak Polish and come here to our church.
"There is also a Polish Saturday school at Saint Gregory's Middle School in Biddenham, where we teach Polish culture and language so the next generation can continue the Polish traditions. And there are the Christmas events such as nativity plays, which take place every year.
"Polish people are very similar to the English. They all like sport, they are both Christian countries, and maybe they both have a habit of drinking too much. I don't think I know of any big problems between
Polish and English people in Bedford.
"Bedford is a very friendly town to all nationalities. There are lots of Italians here, there are the Poles, and there are many Hindus and
Pakistanis. I hope that there is more and more friendship.
"We do get some English people come to our church, and some Ukrainians and Lithuanians. But it is mostly Polish people, and so we preach and say services in Polish.
"The best part of my job is helping people find their way to God. That is my purpose. I am also happiest when I am marrying people, carrying out baptisms and preaching.
"I can do ceremonies in both English and Polish. A few weeks ago though we had a wedding, and it had to be done in English. The registrar only spoke English – and he had to understand what everybody was saying to make it official!"
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Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
