On Sunday, October 24, 2021, a solemn Mass was celebrated in the Lublin Cathedral by archbishop of Lublin Stanisław Budzik. During that Mass Professor Teresa Krasowska was awarded the Papal Cross “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” (Cross for the Church and the Pope). The cross “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” is one of the rewords of the Holy See and has been established by Pope Leo XIII on July 17, 1888 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his priesthood. Eight priests were concelebrated the Eucharist. The John Paul II Foundation was represented by Fr. Jan Strzałka and Fr. Robert Ptak and a group of Foundation scholarship holders. Also, at the Mass the professor’s friends were present, among them a special guest Elżbieta Drucka – Lubecka de Sejourne from Belgium.
The award with the Papal Cross “Pro Ecclesia et Ponifice” was given to professor at the end of the Mass before the final blessing by Archbishop Stanisław Budzik. Fr. Jan Strzałka has read the justification why the award was given to Teresa Krasowski.
She was born in Vilnius, but her entire life and professional passion have been associated with Lublin. In 1983, she began studying musicology at the Catholic University of Lublin. Then she studied at the Academy of Music in Poznań. She returned to Lublin and fell in love with this city for good. Artistic and pedagogical activities undertaken by Teresa Krasowska promote the Lublin region abroad. She is an artist with a soul sensitive to the beauty that she is looking for in people and the world around her.
In 2010, she published a book entitled “Baroque music in Jesuit reductions” about baroque music in Latin America.
For many years, Professor Teresa Krasowska has been an active member of the John Paul II Foundation, which has been running a Home for Eastern students in Lublin since 1990 and enables them to study at the Catholic University of Lublin. The professor takes an active part in John Paul II Foundation activities. Among other things, he prepares large music projects commemorating the pontificate of the Great Pope.
Including young people in sacred music concerts, she tries not only to make young adepts of art develop their talent, but most of all they can feel closeness and spiritually commune with the Pope John Paul – the artist, drawing models from his personality.
In addition to many concerts in Poland, in thanksgiving for John Paul II, she performed in the Holy Land, three times in Belgium and Lithuania, many times in Rome, and in 2017 in Indonesia. All the concerts were related to St. John Paul II and the Foundation founded by the Saint Pope John Paul II.
After receiving the award, the professor thanked His Eminence, Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko, Chairman of the Foundation’s Administrative Council, who on her behalf asked Pope Francis to award the Professor with the Papal Cross “Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice”. Mr. Krasowska also expressed gratitude to His Excellency Archbishop Stanisław Budzik for presiding over the Eucharist and for the word of God delivered. She also thanked the priests concelebrating Mass and to all participants of the Eucharist.
Fr. Jan Strzałka
