Józef Sebastian Pelczar
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Józef Sebastian Pelczar (17 January 1842 – 28 March 1924) was a Polish Roman Catholic
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
and was also the co-founder of the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus which he had established in 1894 with Ludwika Szczęsna. He also served in several episcopal posts and served as the
Bishop of Przemyśl A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
- on his fourth visit to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
- beatified Pelczar in 1991 and presided over the canonization at
Saint Peter's Square St. Peter's Square (, ) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave in Rome, directly west of the neighborhood (rione) of Borgo (rione of Rome), Borgo. Both t ...
in 2003.


Life

Józef Sebastian Pelczar was born in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
in 1842 to Adalbert and Marianna Mięsowicz. As a child he felt a strong calling to serve
God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
and so once wrote in his journal: "Earthly ideals are fading away. I see the ideal of life in sacrifice, and the ideal of sacrifice in priesthood". Pelczar studied in Rzeszow and then commenced his studies for the priesthood in
Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...
in 1860. At the age of 16 he became a member of the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and of the organization known as Popular Education. After the completion of his studies, he was
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
as a priest on 17 July 1864. He was assigned to be a parish priest at Sambor. He was later transferred to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in 1866 for further studies and he studied at the Institute of Saint Apollinaris and at the Collegium Romanum. He gained a
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
in both theological studies and in
canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
. He also served as a professor from 1869 to 1877 and served in that role in both Przemyśl and Krakow from 1882 to 1883. Pelczar established several libraries and he delivered free lectures and published countless books. He would write on historical topics as well as on canon law. He started a school for those who were servants. He founded the Fraternity of Our Lady, Queen of the Polish Crown in 1891 with the objective of caring for the poor and for orphans as well as for the sick and those who had no job. While in Krakow in 1893 he met Ludwika Szczęsna and the two established the Sister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on 15 April 1894 with the aim of working with women.
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
appointed Pelczar as the
Bishop of Przemyśl A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
on 17 December 1900 and he was installed in 1901. He made frequent visits to all parishes within the diocese and supported all religious orders. He also conducted three episcopal meetings to discuss diocesan issues and worked to reform seminaries to promote better education and greater access to resources for them. In addition to this, he also built and restored churches, established nurseries, kitchens, homeless shelters and schools. He ensured that the implementation of the social doctrine described in the writings of Leo XIII — such as the papal encyclical
Rerum Novarum ''Rerum novarum'', or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, passed to all Catholic patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops, which addressed the condi ...
- was a top priority. Pelczar also served as one of the co-consecrators at the consecration of Achille Ratti — the future
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...
on 28 October 1919. Pelczar died on 28 March 1924 with a strong reputation for holiness and was hailed as a shepherd who paid close attention to pastoral issues. It is said that he died in the
odour of sanctity The odour of sanctity, according to the Catholic Church, is commonly understood to mean a specific scent (often compared to flowers) that emanates from the bodies of saints, especially from the wounds of stigmata. These saints are called myroblytes ...
.


Canonization

The sainthood process was introduced on a formal level on 25 January 1983 despite the fact that the local process had opened and the
positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...
had been submitted for evaluation. The local process had spanned from 26 March 1954 until 1957 which granted Pelczar16 the posthumous title of
Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...
. The positio — documentation and a biography — was submitted to the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...
in 1982.
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...
approved that Pelczar had lived a life of
heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...
and declared him to be
Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...
on 18 February 1989. The miracle that was required for Pelczar's
beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the p ...
was investigated and was ratified on 23 June 1989. John Paul II approved the miracle on 10 July 1990 and beatified him on his visit to Poland on 2 June 1991. The pope also approved the second miracle required for canonization and presided over the canonization on 18 May 2003.


References


External links


Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNSister Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelczar, Jozef Sebastian 1842 births 1924 deaths Founders of Catholic religious communities 19th-century venerated Christians 20th-century venerated Christians Polish educators Polish Roman Catholic saints Beatifications by Pope John Paul II Canonizations by Pope John Paul II Bishops of Przemyśl People from Subcarpathian Voivodeship Venerated Catholics by Pope John Paul II