Marian Oleś (8 December 1934 – 24 May 2005) was a Polish prelate of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and in the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

Biography

Marian Oleś was born on 8 December 1934 in Gmina Miastkowo, Poland. As a boy he was exiled from Poland with his family by the Soviets and they lived in Siberia, Persia and India, and his early education was in India and England. He was ordained a priest on 9 July 1961. He joined the diplomatic service of the Holy See and his first postings were to Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, and Portugal. He then spent ten years in Rome working at the

Congregation for Bishops The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usu ...

. On 28 November 1987,

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 ...

appointed him

Titular Archbishop 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 ...

Ratiaria Ratiaria (or: Ratsaria, Raetiaria, Retiaria, Reciaria, Razaria; ; ;) was a city founded by the Moesians, a Daco- Thracian tribe, in the 4th century BC, along the river Danube. In Roman times it was named '' Colonia Ulpia Traiana Ratiaria''. ...

and

Apostolic Pro-Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is a ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and in

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. He received his episcopal consecration from John Paul on 6 January 1988. His tenure based in Baghdad, Iraq, coincided with the final months of the Iran-Iraq War and, after a brief period of peace, the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. On 9 April 1994, John Paul appointed him Apostolic Nuncio to

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. He became Apostolic Nuncio on 28 December 1996 to

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

as well. He believed the people of Central Asia were tied to religious communities by tradition rather than commitment and told an interviewer: "I do not like to use terms, like "Christians," "Orthodox," or "Muslims." I prefer to talk about people who come from a Christian tradition or a Muslim tradition, because I think that most people in Central Asia have not yet decided to which religion they want to belong." He identified language as a key barrier to evangelization: "With a few exceptions, none of the priests master any of the local languages. Some of them speak Russian very well. Almost none of them speak the languages of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. This is a problem-- and a great problem." Pope John Paul visited Kazakhstan while Oleś was nuncio there. On 11 December 2001, John Paul appointed him apostolic nuncio to

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Oleś ended his service as nuncio in May 2002 upon the appointment of

Giuseppe Leanza Giuseppe Leanza KC*HS (born 2 January 1943) was born in Cesarò, Italy. and ordained on 17 July 1966. Diplomatic career After being awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law, he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1972 and served at th ...

to succeed him in Macedonia and Slovenia. Three years later, Archbishop Marian Oleś passed away unexpectedly on May 24, 2005, in Warsaw at the age of 70, after 44 years as a priest and 18 years as a bishop. He was buried at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Marian Oles
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oles, Marian 1934 births 2005 deaths Apostolic nuncios to Iraq Apostolic nuncios to Kuwait Apostolic nuncios to Kazakhstan Apostolic nuncios to Kyrgyzstan Apostolic nuncios to Uzbekistan Apostolic nuncios to Tajikistan Apostolic nuncios to North Macedonia Apostolic nuncios to Slovenia