Andrzej Maria Deskur (29 February 1924 – 3 September 2011) was President

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the

Pontifical Council for Social Communications The Pontifical Council for Social Communications ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Communicationibus Socialibus) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communications (now "Dicaste ...

and a

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of the

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.Prokop, Krzysztof Rafał, in Salvador Miranda
The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, Andrzej Maria Deskur
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Life and career

Deskur was born in Sancygniów, near

Kielce Kielce (, yi, קעלץ, Keltz) is a city in southern Poland, and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the bank ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, the son of Stanisława (Kossecka) and Andrzej Deskur. He received a doctorate in law in 1945 from the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

( study underground). He was the secretary general of the Polish student organization " Bratniak". He entered the seminary in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and was ordained a priest on 20 August 1950. He obtained a doctorate in theology from the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

and, after two years of pastoral activity and study in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, in September 1952, he was called to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to work in the Secretariat of State. During this period he served as undersecretary of the Pontifical Commission for Cinematography, Radio and Television (1954–1964), secretary of the Preparatory Secretariat for the Press and Entertainment during Vatican II (1960–1962), peritus for the assembly of the council (1962–1965) and was a member of the Conciliar Commissions for Bishops, for the Clergy, for the Laity, and for the Press and Entertainment. In 1973 he was named president of the Pontifical Commission (now Council) for Social Communications. He was appointed

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Tene on 17 June 1974 and received episcopal ordination the following 30 June. On 15 February 1980,

John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

named him

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and president emeritus of the Pontifical Commission. Deskur was raised to the Cardinalate on 25 May 1985, becoming Cardinal-Deacon of ''

San Cesareo in Palatio San Cesareo in Palatio or San Caesareo de Appia is a titular church in Rome, near the beginning of the Appian Way. It is dedicated to Saint Caesarius of Terracina, a 2nd-century deacon and martyr. History Origins In the 4th century, Emperor Va ...

,'' that had belonged to Pope John Paul II himself until his elevation to the Papacy. After ten years as a Cardinal-Deacon he exercised his right and his titular church was elevated and he became Cardinal-Priest. Cardinal Deskur lost the right to participate in the conclave when he turned 80 years old in 2004. Deskur contributed to numerous congresses and meetings for professionals of the press, radio, television and cinema, visiting about 70 countries on five continents. Among other endeavours, he was one of the promoters of the radio station " Radio Veritas" for countries in

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and

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. The challenge of promoting Christianity in the field of social communications did not impede Cardinal Deskur from dedicating himself also to pastoral activity. During all his years in Rome he performed his priestly and episcopal ministry in numerous parishes. For many years he devoted himself to the office of spiritual director at the pre-seminary St. Pius V. He was President of the

Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception The Pontifical Academy of the Immaculate Conception or Pontifical Academy of (Mary) Immaculate, it, Pontificia Accademia dell'Immacolata, italic=no, was an academic honorary society established in Rome by the Catholic Church for the advancement o ...

. Curial membership: * Causes of Saints, Divine Worship and Sacraments (congregations) *Health Care Workers (council) *

Vatican City State Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

(commission) Deskur died on 3 September 2011, aged 87.Vatican Information Service
He was buried at the St. John Paul II Center, Krakow, Poland.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deskur, Andrzej Maria 1924 births 2011 deaths Polish Roman Catholic titular bishops Participants in the Second Vatican Council 20th-century Polish cardinals Members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II 21st-century Polish cardinals Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Polish expatriates in Germany Polish expatriates in France Polish expatriates in Switzerland Polish expatriates in Italy Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI