: O Due to the British Protection Act, Polish survivors could be sent to British colonies. His mother and the youngest children were sent to Kenya, while his eldest brother was sent to Egypt and Walter was sent to Palestine. There he attended grammar school in Nazareth and a Salesian high school in Jerusalem. In 1947, the British Protection Act expired, and Walter was sent to England where he was reunited with his mother and siblings. He continued his seminary studies, desiring to become a Salesian priest. Meanwhile, Fr. Joseph Jarzebowski, MIC (the Marian who brought the Divine Mercy devotion to America), and a handful of other Marians had just arrived in England and established a novitiate in Hereford. Walter was accepted into the Congregation, arriving on Jan. 19, 1953. He said Fr. Jarzebowski “had a profound effect on me. He was always talking about Mary,” Fr. Gurgul said. “In fact, he used to greet everyone with ‘Ave Maria!’” Father Walter was ordained in Rome on July 4, 1960.“It was the most beautiful day of my life, because my mother was there to witness it,” he recalled. Following his ordination, he spent another two years in Rome, studying a new language every two years. At one point he knew Polish, Russian, German, French, English, Latin, Greek, Italian, and Portuguese. He had asked permission to go study in Paris and received permission from his superior – it was a dream come true. But just before leaving Rome for Paris, he received news that a Marian was sick in England and Fr. Gurgul needed to return to help teach at Fawley Court. Father Gurgul came to the United States in 1997. He served at the Marians' parish in Plano, Illinois, for a period of time. But most of his years in the U.S. were spent at the Shrine in Stockbridge, where he earned a reputation as an excellent confessor. https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/rest-peace-fr-walter-gurgul-mic-1930-2020 Fr. Gurgul’s favorite prayer: The Angelus The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary: And she conceived by the Holy Spirit. Hail Mary... Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to your word. Hail Mary... And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt amongst us. Hail Mary... Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Let us pray: Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen. "He would spend hours at a time in the confessional," recalled Fr. Kaz Chwalek, MIC, provincial superior of ther Marian Fathers in the United States and Argentina. "And he was a Scripture scholar. His homilies were very moving and drew deep into his knowledge of Scripture. Throughout his life, Fr. Walter would keep a corrspondance with fellow Siberian exiles. He would often speak about the kind, poor Russian women who gave what they could to help the Polish survive as they fled Siberia. Father Walter credited his mother for instilling in him a love for Our Lady. “That became the greatest spiritual influence of my life,” he said. “As a consequence, both before and after becoming a priest in Poland, it seemed natural to pray so much to the Blessed Mother — oh, so many prayers, and all the time she was listening. “I involve Our Lady in everything I do,” he said. “For example, before I preach, I ask the Blessed Mother for her guidance. When you love Mary, though, you run out of words. We have no words to properly express our praise and love for her. Sometimes, the only word that comes to my mind is her name: ‘Mary ... Mary ... Mary.” “My advice to all who will listen: One, make your last words of the day an Act of Contrition for anything you might have done to offend God. Two, stay in touch with Our Lady. She brings us to Jesus. Three, always carry a Rosary, wear a scapular, or have a prayer card with you. “Also, keep in mind what Our Lady said at Fatima. She's concerned for us, her children. She's worried about our future, about our final happiness, like any mother. That's why she appeared at Fatima, to help us and to save us. This is more important today than it was 100 years ago. “God will help anyone, as He helped me, if they approach Him through a love of Mary,” Fr. Walter said. “She never fails us.”
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