Polish Benedictine sisters must raise $1 million by December 31 or repay EU grants

The Benedictine community at the monastery of Staniatki, in southern Poland, has until December 31, 2026, to raise $1 million to finish work on its "Benedictine Heritage Cloisters" project. If it does not, it will have to return the European grants it has received. Abbess Stefania Polkowska has made an urgent appeal through an online crowdfunding campaign, saying the community has reached the limit of what it can manage on its own.

The Abbey of St. Adalbert, founded in the early 13th century, is the oldest Benedictine convent in Poland. Its walls hold illuminated manuscripts, medieval art, sacred paintings, liturgical vestments and a collection of historical musical scores, among them the earliest written records of Polish Christmas carols. The monastery's Gothic church houses a venerated image of Our Lady of Sorrows, and its archives cover centuries of Polish history. The buildings have survived foreign invasions, the successive partitions of the country, two world wars and decades of communist rule, and the community has kept the Benedictine rhythm of prayer and work throughout. In 2020 the president of Poland designated the monastery a Monument of History.

The "Benedictine Heritage Cloisters" project, begun in 2018, aims to preserve those collections and open them to the public through a museum, a library, a reading room and space for cultural and educational activities. Many of the archive's most valuable items had remained inaccessible for lack of suitable facilities. "The project gives us the chance to show this enormous spiritual, religious, historical and cultural heritage, which at present remains hidden within the monastery walls. We want to show all of it," Mother Stefania said.

The race against the clock

The initial budget was about $2.8 million, of which nearly $1.8 million came from European funds. The rest came from donations and the sisters' own work. Complications appeared from the start: water pipes under the construction site required special concrete structures, changes to the plans and new administrative permits. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which pushed up the price of materials and labor. The total cost has risen to almost $7.1 million, more than two and a half times the original estimate.

The electrical systems are in place, the walls plastered and part of the flooring laid, but the final finishes, the furniture, the museum equipment and the landscaping outside are still to come. The community expected to have until February 2027, or June 2027 at the latest, to complete the project. An inspection in October established that the real deadline is December 31, with no extension possible.

Missing the deadline would mean repaying the European grant, something the sisters say they could not do. "We cannot get through this situation on our own. It is truly a crisis," Mother Stefania said. "In a monastery like ours, tightening our belts and going without many things is simply not enough."

The community's daily life shows how far it has stretched. Sister Bogusława cooks for the sisters and their guests and looks after the farm animals. Sister Zacarías cares for the church and the library and guides visitors. Sister Józefa makes devotional items and helps with the cleaning. Sister Benedicta serves as portress. Mother Stefania coordinates the whole community. To support the monastery financially, the sisters run a guesthouse, grow organic tomatoes, raise fish and make preserves. On top of that comes the upkeep of a historic complex that needs constant work: in recent years they have restored the abbey church and renewed much of the monastery roof. Heating, electricity and medical care for the older sisters are fixed costs that never stop.

Solidarity in an emergency

During the same period, as prices rose and the deadline drew closer, the monastery took in Ukrainian women and children fleeing the war, with help from volunteers. The building work went on. This is not the first time the community has turned to outside help: during the pandemic, a campaign raised nearly 500,000 zloty. The sum needed now is far larger and the time much shorter. The fundraising campaign is running at https://zrzutka.pl/yc5cfp.

"What gives me hope is faith in human goodness and in open hearts," Mother Stefania said. "Faith that there will be people who want to help us." In their campaign text, the Benedictines put it plainly: "We are not asking for comfort. We are only asking for help to finish a work that, through shared effort, we have brought almost to the end."