Missions are a time when a person must leave yourself behind, put your own opinions aside, and truly get to know the other person you want to serve, says Bishop Wiesław Krótki OMI, Ordinary of the Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson in northern Canada.

The Commission for Missions of the Polish Episcopal Conference awarded him “the Benemerenti in Opere Evangelizationis” medal in the “special award” category. The Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson is one of the largest in the world in terms of territory.

[Interview]

Piotr Ewertowski (PE): Bishop, you received “Benemerenti in Opere Evangelizationis” medal in the “special award” category. Was it a big surprise for you?

Bishop Wiesław Krótki OMI: It was a big surprise for me, and I was somewhat confused. I wondered if it was about me or, most likely, about someone else. I had never even heard of this award before.

So it was a bit of a shock for me, because obviously I would not have put myself on that list, nor would I have nominated myself. I don't really deal with such titles. I tend to stay on the sidelines.

PE: You are the bishop of a diocese that is also somewhat “on the sidelines,” somewhere far away on the periphery. You have been on a mission there for over 30 years. How does a mission in such a sometimes difficult area change a person? What has changed in you during this long time?

– Naturally, such a mission certainly changes a person. First of all, if someone goes on such a mission with a personal decision and a positive attitude, out of desire rather than obligation, that is already a very good start. And this already defines, what this work can be like. When I came to the north, I really wanted to experience everything as naturally as people in the north experience it and live. It was very important to me.

So I wasn't expecting anything. I wanted to accept everything as God and nature would give me the opportunity to experience it. My attitude towards poverty, culture, and tradition has definitely changed, because I knew nothing about them before. In books, it all seems to be sugar-coated, but it turned out that this is really a time that allows you to get to know another person deeply.

It is a time when you have to leave yourself behind, to put your own opinions aside, to really get to know the other person you wish to serve, the person you want to live with. Getting to know someone like this takes time, but I think that's what it's all about. I think I got to know these people and saw what it means to truly love.

PE: In one of your interviews, you said that the Inuit themselves are also changing – modernization brings various problems. I would like to ask how society and the area in which you work have changed over the past 30 years? 

– Today, my missionaries and I are very concerned about the changes in the younger generation. The first is the most serious. When I came to the far north 35 years ago, we had never heard of suicide or even attempts to harm oneself. We knew that there were difficult situations in families, that there was abuse, but we had never heard of suicides at that time. The views of young people, their mentality and characters have changed. Of course, each such event is a complex matter. Often, there is also a lack of adequate psychological help in the region.

PE: What other negative changes do you see in the young Inuit generation?

– Today, they lack that hardness, that determination, that responsibility for themselves, their families, their lives, their friends, and each other. We see that their characters are becoming very weak and uncertain. They succumb to the external environment in which they live. Of course, young people also cannot find their place among all these modern things: phones, the Internet, and computers. I have the impression that it overwhelms them.

From the media, they receive a strongly individualistic message – live for yourself and don't worry about others. The Inuit have always been generous and done everything for others without seeking any benefit for themselves. It was a community that shared. Today, this is disappearing. This lack of sharing with others makes them selfish. Selfish people who are only interested in themselves, whereas traditionally they always lived for others.

However, it is not so bad everywhere. Where I started my mission, in Baffin Island, there are very strong characters, but even there, there are sometimes young people who are lost and do not have a positive vision of life.

PE: Your diocese is one of the largest in the world in terms of territory. The climate there is extreme. Pastoral work in this area is not easy. So how do you administer such a diocese? Do you have any time for yourself?

I must admit that a few years ago it was a little easier. Currently, for example, I am unable to fly directly to my mission. I first have to travel south and then fly north. The worst thing is the price of flights—the highest in Canada, if not the world. Therefore, it is a significant burden. In this situation, I am quite far from my missions.

As much as I can, I keep in touch with the priests. We usually talk via online messengers such as Zoom. This is a good solution for us. When I go on a mission, it's a two-month trip because I want to visit as many missions as possible.

 We have three regions in the diocese. One can be reached from Toronto, the second from Edmonton, and the third can only be visited pastorally by flying from Winnipeg. So it is not possible to fly across the entire territory of my diocese. You always have to go south first, and then you can fly north. And so on and so forth. It is very tedious, expensive, and, I admit, tiring. But it is necessary.

PE: Finally, I would like to ask what we, Poles, can learn from the Inuit?

– Certainly, simplicity and hope. The Inuit are people who live in hope from day to day. They don't like to dwell on the past, they look to the future, and above all, the present is most important to them. That's why they don't have to think too much about what will happen. Their culture in this respect is completely different from the Polish one.

Many things that are important in Poland are meaningless in the far north. In Poland, people often worry about trivial matters, but there, they say “never mind” and move on. This gives them strength and hope, so that they don't worry too much and aren't tied down by the past, which is often painful.

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Bishop Wiesław Antoni Krótki was born on June 12, 1964, in Jaworzynka, in the heart of the Silesian Beskids. On June 19, 1990, he was ordained a priest in the Congregation of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. On the same day, he was assigned to the Arctic Delegation of Hudson Bay in northern Canada. After a short period of pastoral preparation in Poland, he left for Canada on October 28, 1990. He began his ministry at Holy Ghost Parish in Winnipeg, then went to the Fort Alexander reserves and to the Inuit communities in the north: Arviat, Chesterfield Inlet, Baker Lake, and Rankin Inlet. In July 1991, he arrived in Igloolik, where he began his long-term ministry among the Inuit, learning their language, culture, and spirituality. From there, he served five other pastoral stations on Baffin Island. In 1993, he was sent to Gjoa Haven and the Kitikmeot region, where he served for eight years. He built churches in Kugaaruk (St. Peter's), Taloyoak (St. Michael's), and Igloolik (St. Stephen's). On February 16, 2013, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Ordinary of the Diocese of Churchill-Baie d'Hudson.

Piotr Ewertowski

(all photo from the archives of Bishop Wiesław Krótki, OMI)

[Source: oblaci.pl / translation: TJ/DJ]

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The “Benemerenti in Opere Evangelizationis” medal is a unique distinction awarded by the Commission of the Polish Episcopal Conference for Missions to individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the missionary work of the Church. The award was established in 2017 as an expression of gratitude and recognition for those who support missions spiritually, materially, through the media, or through personal involvement. The medal is awarded in four categories: for merits in missionary work, prayerful and spiritual support, material and financial support for missions, and media coverage. Each category is symbolically represented on the obverse of the medal. On its reverse side are the words of encouragement: “Share Christ.” This year's Medal Award Ceremony took place on October 23, 2025, at the Missionary Seminary of the Divine Word Missionaries in Pieniężno. The Chapter of the “Benemerenti in Opere Evangelizationis” Medal awarded, in the “special” category, among others, Bishop Wiesław Krótki, OMI , a missionary of the Hudson Bay Delegation in northern Canada, for his faithful presence among the inhabitants of the far north, bearing witness to God's love for all people, activating the laity in the life of the Church, and preserving the heritage of the local Inuit community.

[Source: https://www.misje.pl/blog/gala-medalu-benemerenti-in-opere-evangelizationis-2025/109971 ; translation: TJ/DJ]