Dominik Jędrzejewski

Dominik Jędrzejewski (4 August 1886 – 29 August 1942) was a Polish

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...

killed at the

Dachau concentration camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

on 13 June 1999. Jędrzejewski was born in Kowal, Poland, and was the youngest of six children. He entered the

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

Włocławek Włocławek (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Leslau) is a city located in central Poland along the Vistula (Wisła) River and is bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928. Loc ...

, was ordained a priest on 18 June 1911, and then served in parishes in

Zadzim Zadzim (german: 1943–45 Scharhausen) is a village in Poddębice County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Zadzim. It lies approximately south-west of Poddębice and wes ...

, Poczesna, and

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

. He also served as a prison chaplain, as a high school prefect, and also was devoted to youth work. After the outbreak of

, Jędrzejewski was arrested on 26 August 1940 and was taken to a transit camp in Szczeglin and then to

Sachsenhausen concentration camp Sachsenhausen () or Sachsenhausen-Oranienburg was a German Nazi concentration camp in Oranienburg, Germany, used from 1936 until April 1945, shortly before the defeat of Nazi Germany in May later that year. It mainly held political prisoners ...

. On 14 December 1940 he was sent to Dachau, where he refused to renounce the priesthood to regain freedom and died from debilitating work on 29 August 1942. Jędrzejewski was beatified by Pope

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 ...

13 June 1999 as part of a group of

108 Martyrs of World War II The 108 Martyrs of World War II, known also as the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs ( pl, 108 błogosławionych męczenników), were Roman Catholics from Poland killed during World War II by Nazi Germany. Their liturgical feast day is 12 June. The 108 ...

. 1886 births 1942 deaths 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Polish people who died in Dachau concentration camp Martyred Roman Catholic priests 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era People from Włocławek County Sachsenhausen concentration camp prisoners {{Poland-RC-clergy-stub