Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (August 17, 1894 – December 10, 1968) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

Roman 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 served as bishop of the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw ( la, Dioecesis Saginavensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering eleven County (United States), counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bish ...

in Michigan from 1950 to 1968. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit ( la, Archidiœcesis Detroitensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne. It is ...

in Michigan from 1937 to 1950.

Biography

Early life

Stephen Woznicki was born on August 17, 1894, in the Miners Mills section of

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

, to Stephen and Michalina (née Jablonski) Woznicki. He began his studies for the priesthood at

SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary is a four-year private Polish seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, United States. The seminary, taking its name from Saints Cyril and Methodius, was founded in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan, to prepare candidates for ...

in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He completed his studies at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Priesthood

On December 22, 1917, Woznicki was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

a priest by Bishop James Trobec for the Archdiocese of Detroit at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. After his ordination, Woznicki was assigned as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St. Joseph Parish in

Danville, Pennsylvania Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The population was 4,221 at the census. Danville is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan area. ...

. After arriving in Detroit in 1919, he became as secretary to Bishop Michael Gallagher. He was named a domestic prelate in 1926. Woznicki became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Hyacinth, a Polish-language parish in Detroit, in December 1936. At St. Hyacinth, he appealed to parishioners to not

anglicize Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

their family names and not flee to the suburbs.

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

On December 13, 1937, Woznicki was appointed as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit and

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 ''Peltae'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

. He received his episcopal

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

on January 25, 1938, from Archbishop Edward Mooney, with Bishop Joseph C. Plagens and William J. Hafey serving as co-consecrators. Woznicki selected as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

: ''Veritatem in caritate'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: "Truth in charity"). As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Hyacinth until 1950.

Bishop of Saginaw

Woznicki was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

on April 15, 1950. His installation took place at St. Mary Cathedral in Saginaw on May 24, 1950. Known as a "great builder," Woznicki established 21 new parishes and missions, permitted the building of 30 schools, and led a nearly $4 million campaign to open the doors of St. Paul Seminary and the main diocesan offices. He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference from 1956 to 1957. He also attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

in Rome from 1962 to 1965.

Resignation and legacy

On October 30, 1968,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

accepted Woznicki's early retirement as bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw due to health reasons; he was appointed Titular Bishop of ''Thiava'' on the same date. Stephen Woznicki died in Saginaw on December 10, 1968. at age 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woznicki, Stephen Stanislaus 1894 births 1968 deaths People from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania American people of Polish descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Saginaw Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Participants in the Second Vatican Council Catholics from Pennsylvania