The attempt to sell Fawley Court in Oxfordshire took a new twist this month.
According to a press release by the Save Fawley Court group, the Marian Fathers have been accused of applying to exhume the burial ground of Father Jozef Jarzembowski - a location in the Fawley Court grounds he wished to be left to rest.
Two weeks ago the Marian Fathers allegedly applied for a licence to the Ministry of
Justice to exhume the body of Father Jozef Jarzembowski from his grave,
where he has lain for almost a quarter of a century. Save Fawley Court is asking people to petition the UK government to block the exhumation.
Says the Save Fawley Court press release: "Father Jozef Jarzembowski was a leading figure in Polish Catholic
emigree history in Britain. His achievements were remarkable: setting
up a Polish Museum, Polish Library and a Polish School for boys. These
were located at Fawley Court which was in recent years commemorated on
Polish stamps, as one of the four key monuments of Polish culture
outside Poland itself. (It is the only one which is of religious
character.) Here he organised the largest meetings of Free Poles during
Communist times, every Whit Sunday, on the largest piece of "Free
Poland" in Europe.
"His grave is located very fittingly next to the Church of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and St Ann which is in the vast grounds of Fawley
Court. The Church has just been listed as Grade II by English Heritage
on the 28th September this year. This is a great achievement for Polish
Ecclesiastical Architecture in Great Britain. Designed by the architect
Wladyslaw Jarosz for the Polish Community under the patronage of Prince
Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill it is a remarkable modern building,
constructed in a style reminiscent of a Polish mountain hut. It is a
wonderful setting for the only
"Shrine of Divine Mercy located in
Britain. The walls are covered in brass plates put up by those who have
received an answer to their prayers in this sanctuary. One of the
reasons given for the listing by Ian Dunlop of the Dept. of Culture,
Media & Sport is, that it is "of special historic interest to the
Polish Roman Catholic Community and which has associations with the
Polish Royal Family as the resting place of Prince Radziwill and which
was built as a memorial to his mother, Princess Lubomirska.
"Father Jozef was entrusted with bringing the Cult of Divine Mercy
out of Poland to the West by Father Michael Sopocko, the Personal
Confessor of St Faustyna herself. When imprisoned in one of the
notorious Russian prison camps during the war he vowed to God that he
would set up a shrine to Divine Mercy, if he managed to survive. He did
succeed in doing this, first in the U.S. and then in Britain at Fawley
Court.
"During his lifetime Father Jozef would point out the spot where he
was to be buried! To go against his wishes dishonours his memory. The
news of this application is made more incredible by the fact that
Father Jarzembowski is mentioned on the Marian Fathers' website as one
of the few of their number who has the potential for beatification.
Applying to exhume his body can only undermine his achievements.
As we approach All Souls Day, a time of year when Polish cemetries
abound with flowers and candles in commemoration of their loved ones,
let us respect the wishes of Father Jarzembowski and leave him to rest
in peace, in that piece of paradise which he found on Earth."
The communique ends with the following request:
If you wish to stop the exhumation please contact:
Paul Ansell, Coroners and Burials Division, Ministry of Justice, Petty France
Tel: 0203 334 6388
E-mail:
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