Wladyslaw Michal Bonifacy Zaleski (also called ''Vladislovas Mykolas Zaleskis'' in Lithuanian or ''Ladislao Michele Zaleski'' in English, 1852 – 1925) was a

Catholic 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 ...

archbishop, pioneer missionary, Apostolic Delegate to the East Indies and

Latin Patriarch of Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

Wladyslaw Zaleski Pope John Paul II plaques Papal Seminary

Youth and education

Zaleski was born in Veliuona ( Lithuania then under

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n rule). He was the son of Leon and Gabriela Zaleski of Dombrowiczów. Since there were no Polish schools in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, he did his primary and secondary schooling privately and he graduated from high school in Kaunas. In 1880 he joined the Warsaw Theological

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 ...

, and he went in 1881 for further studies at the

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. There he received his doctorate and received a diplomatic training, which he completed in 1885, while attending a course in

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 ...

at the

Collegium Romanum The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school (pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

Diplomat of the Holy See

After his ordination in 1882 or 1885 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, he was sent on a diplomatic mission to

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, and a year later for the first time went to the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, accompanying

Antonio Agliardi Antonio Agliardi (4 September 1832 – 19 March 1915) was an Italian Roman Catholic Cardinal, archbishop, and papal diplomat. Biography Agliardi was born at Cologno al Serio, in what is now the Province of Bergamo. He studied theology and can ...

, the Titular Archbishop of Cesarea and first

Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; 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 o ...

in India. In 1887,

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

appointed him as his personal representative to the 50th anniversary of the reign of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. For a time, Zaleski remained employed in the Roman Curia, as consulter on Eastern affairs at the

Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

(''Propaganda Fidei''). From 1889 to 1890 Ladislaus Zaleski worked at the nunciature in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. In 1890 he returned to India, where on 5 March 1892 he replaced Archbishop

Andrea Aiuti Andrea Aiuti (17 June 1849 – 28 April 1905) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. He was made a cardinal in 1903. Biography Andrea Aiuti was born in Rome on ...

as the Apostolic Delegate of the East Indies.

Apostolic Delegate to India

Along with the nomination for Apostolic Delegate in the East Indies, Zaleski was elevated to the dignity of archbishop and was appointed as the

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 ...

of Thebes. The area of his official activities ranged from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

in the north, to Ceylon and the neighboring islands of the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

in the south. On the initiative of the Archbishop eight

ecclesiastical provinces An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of severa ...

and twenty-seven

dioceses In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

were founded in the territory. Archbishop Zaleski resided in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

, where he founded a national seminary,

Papal Seminary Papal Seminary, Pune, India, is a Catholic educational institute whose primary function is training priests. Currently, it caters to the formation of about 180 Seminarians from most of the dioceses of India. It trains students from all three ri ...

, which produced 51 bishops and three cardinals over the years. Zaleski also initiated the creation of many minor seminaries and ordained several bishops, including local priests

Augustine Kandathil Augustine Kandathil (25 August 1874 – 10 January 1956) was Metropolitan and head of the Syro-Malabar Church (1923-1956). Further reading *George Thalian: , Mar Louis Memorial Press, 1961(Postscript)Alexander Chulaparambil (1914). Zaleski was almost constantly travelling on missionary work, even outside of his delegation. He visited, among other places, China, Japan,

Indo-China Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He was the most outstanding

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

traveler in this region in the late nineteenth century. During his tenure as the Apostolic Delegate, he broadened his polyglot skills having already mastered eight European languages, to which he added

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

and

Sinhalese Sinhala may refer to: * Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka * Sinhalese people * Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka * Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language ** Sinha ...

Archbishop Zalesky was Apostolic Delegate for the supervision of all Roman Catholic missions of the East Indies, that is, over an area that was about half as large as the whole of Europe, including Russia and in which 300 million people lived. His closest companion was Father Aloysius Benziger, who took care of the secretariat independently. Into his hands came the letters from all parts of India, reports, requests, complaints, and cries for help. He had to write their answers on the Indian bishops to enter into negotiations to assign missionaries to resolve difficulties. It was his job to keep Rome up to date; his drafting of the Inspectorate reports was transmitted. These Inspectorate reports presuppose that Father Benziger made the inspection trips. He learned in this way about the whole of India, other countries, peoples and states, their kings and princes, the different races and religions, the character of the individual tribes."

Ladislaus Zaleski presided over several provincial synods in India, and worked to strengthen the local church hierarchy and promote sustainable growth of the missions. He rediscovered the Indian priest

Joseph Vaz Joseph Vaz ( Konkani: ''San Zuze Vaza''; pt, São José Vaz; kn, ಪವಿತ್ರಾ ಯೋಸೆಫ್ ವಾಸ್ ಸಂತರು ''Pavitra Yoseph Vaz Santaru''; ta, புனித யோசேப் வாஸ் முனிவர் ...

(1651-1711), called as the apostle of Ceylon at the end of the nineteenth century, and became a Blessed Joseph Vaz devotee and admirer, publishing an account of his life. He held him up as a model for the native clergy he had been sent to train, and proposed that a new Cause for Canonization be started for Vaz. Zaleski's fellow Pole

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 ...

would beatify Vaz in 1995. Zaleski also did some research about the 2012-beatified, Indian

martyrs 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 external ...

including

Devasahayam Pillai Devasahayam Pillai (born Neelakanta Pillai and baptized as Lazarus; 23 April 1712 – 14 January 1752) was an Indian layman and martyr of the Catholic Church.

(1712-1752), and promoted devotions to them. Archbishop Zaleski was the principal consecrator for Indian bishops Aloysius Benziger (bishop of

Quilon Kollam (), also known by its former name Quilon , is an ancient seaport and city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The city ...

Augustine Kandathil Augustine Kandathil (25 August 1874 – 10 January 1956) was Metropolitan and head of the Syro-Malabar Church (1923-1956). Further reading *George Thalian: , Mar Louis Memorial Press, 1961(Postscript)Alexander Chulaparambil. Zaleski's mission ended in 1916, after almost thirty years of residence in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. After returning to Rome he was nominated as the Patriarch of Antioch by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (Latin: ''Benedictus XV''; it, Benedetto XV), born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, name=, group= (; 21 November 185422 January 1922), was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His ...

. Pope Benedict considered in 1919 his candidacy for the nomination of Cardinal, but eventually in the consistory that year other Polish bishops received the scarlet – Edmund Dalbor and Alexander Kakowski. Zaleski was in Rome for the rest of his life, where he died on 5 October 1925. He expressed the wish that his remains come to rest among those for whom he had laboured. With the transfer of the

, which he founded, from Kandy to its new location in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, in India, the Alumni of the same Seminary, some of whom had known Zaleski, fulfilled his wish, when his remains were transferred in 1955. Mgr. Zaleski's remains now rest in the Seminary at the floor of the altar in the new Chapel. After his death, he was honored by naming one of

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

's areas as 'Zaleski Place' (in 1937). Throughout his life, Zaleski kept in touch with the home country, often emphasizing his attachment to Poland.

Botanist

Zaleski's stay in India was not limited to pastoral and missionary activities. He was into botanical science, gathering a large collection of tropical plants. This collection, numbering about 35,000 images of flora Indo-Malay, went to the Department of Plant Systematics and Geography,

University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...

. Among other topics in his books of travel, Zaleski described Botanical Gardens at

Buitenzorg Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

) and Penang (

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

) and several exotic plants he encountered during his travels.

Publications

Patriarch Zaleski was the author of several travel and ethnographic works. His published works run into more than seven and a half thousand pages of print, and he left a further seven thousand pages of manuscripts. Some books were written under pseudonyms, including the History of Ceylon from 1913 as G. Francis, and under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'Pierre Courtenay' he published several books of adventure for young people. He was also accomplished in poetry.

Bibliography

* * * * (A journey through Indo-China, Java and Chinese coasts in 1897 and 1898) * (The Apostle St. Thomas in India. History, Tradition and Legend) * * * (The origins of Christianity in the Indies)

References

External links

catholic-hierarchy.org

GCatholic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaleski, Wladyslaw Michal 1852 births 1925 deaths Apostolic Nuncios to India Latin Patriarchs of Antioch Clergy from Kaunas Polish Roman Catholic priests Missionary botanists