Melchior Grodziecki (c. 1582 – 7 September 1619) was a Silesian Jesuit priest. He is considered a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

and saint by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. He was canonized in 1995 and is liturgically commemorated on 7 September.

Biography

He was born in Těšín into the noble Grodziecki family, and received his education in the Jesuit college of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. In 1603 he entered the Jesuit novitiate of Brno. After making his first

religious profession In the Catholic Church, a religious profession is the solemn admission of men or women into consecrated life by means of the pronouncement of religious vows, typically the evangelical counsels. Usage The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines the te ...

in 1605, he went on to the Jesuit College in

Kłodzko Kłodzko (; cz, Kladsko; german: Glatz; la, Glacio) is a historic town in south-western Poland, in the region of Lower Silesia. It is situated in the centre of the Kłodzko Valley, on the Eastern Neisse river. Kłodzko is the seat of Kłodzko ...

(1606–1607). To be able to teach in high schools, he spent a year in the seminary in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

. In 1608, he returned to Kłodzko to complete his education in music. He graduated from philosophy and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

in the

Clementinum The Clementinum (''Klementinum'' in Czech) is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries; the City Library was also nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. In 2009, th ...

of Prague and in 1614 was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. From 1616, he was entrusted with the management of a hostel in Prague for poor students. After the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

(1618–1648), he was sent to Kassa,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(today Košice, Slovakia) with Hungarian István Pongrácz, a colleague from the Jesuit seminary. When the army of the

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

, George Rákóczi, took Kassa, Melchior stayed at the castle, together with István Pongrácz and canon

Marko Krizin Marko Stjepan Krizin ( 1589 – 7 September 1619), or Marko Križevčanin ( hu, Kőrösi Márk, en, Mark of Križevci, link=yes, italics=yes) was a Croatian Roman Catholic priest, professor of theology and missionary, who was active in t ...

. On 7 September 1619, the Transylvanian army stormed the castle and arrested the priests. They gave them a death sentence on charges of treason; accusing them of inviting the Polish army into Kassa. They were tortured and then beheaded that day. The execution of the priests, known for their gentleness and courtesy, shocked the local population, Catholics and Protestants alike. The bodies of the martyrs were recovered, after negotiations with

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

, and were buried in the vicinity of Kassa. In 1636, they were moved to Nagyszombat (today:

Trnava Trnava (, german: Tyrnau; hu, Nagyszombat, also known by other alternative names) is a city in western Slovakia, to the northeast of Bratislava, on the Trnávka river. It is the capital of a ''kraj'' ( Trnava Region) and of an '' okres'' ( T ...

, Slovakia).

Veneration and Canonization

The cause of

beatification 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 ...

of the Kassa (Košice) martyrs was opened in 1628 and they were finally beatified on 15 January 1905 by Pope Pius X. They were

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

on 2 July 1995, in Košice itself 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 ...

. Although their feast day is on 7 September, the Jesuits also celebrate a feast day on 19 January, for the Martyrs of the Reformation in Europe.Calendar
from JesuitInstitute.org, retrieved 8 September 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grodziecki, Melchior Jesuit saints People from Cieszyn 17th-century Polish Jesuits Polish Roman Catholic saints Executed Polish people Year of birth uncertain 1619 deaths 17th-century executions by Hungary Christian martyrs executed by decapitation People executed by Hungary by decapitation Executed people from Silesian Voivodeship

Biography

Veneration and Canonization

See also

References