Ignacy Ludwik Jeż (31 July 1914, Radomyśl Wielki – 16 October 2007) was the

Latin Rite Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church '' sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...

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 ...

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

Emeritus of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, located in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Jeż was born in the Polish town of Radomyśl Wielki on 31 July 1914. He was ordained a Catholic

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 ...

on 20 June 1937. In 1942 he was sent first to Niemców labour camp and then interned in Dachau concentration camp as prisoner no. 37196, where he met fellow priest

Joseph Kentenich Peter Joseph Kentenich, SAC (16 November 1885 – 15 September 1968) was a Pallottine priest and founder of the Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement. He is also remembered as a theologian, educator, and pioneer of a Catholic response to an array of ...

. After the camp was liberated by the American forces in 1945, Jeż returned to priesthood, and from 1946 until 1960 he was the director of a Catholic Gymnasium in Katowice. On 5 June 1960, under

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

, Cardinal

Stefan Wyszyński Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He was created a cardinal on ...

and future Cardinal Bolesław Kominek appointed Jeż Titular Bishop of Alba Maritima. In 1967 he was elevated to Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław. In 1972 he was appointed Bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, in northern Poland. He held this post until 1 February 1992, when, at the age of 77, his resignation request was accepted 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 ...

. Jeż died on 16 October 2007 in Rome, Italy, the day before the announcement that

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

had planned to make him a cardinal (in the consistory of 24 November 2007).

Work

Jeż was one of the pioneers of re-initiating post-war German-Polish relations. His widespread work led him to become an honorary

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

(''Ehrendomherr'') of the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n Diocese of Würzburg, and in 2005 the

President of Germany The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; born 22 February 1943) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU (of which he is a member) and the CSU, as well as the ...

awarded him the Grand Cross of Germany's federal order of merit, the Bundesverdienstkreuz. The following year the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

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awarded him the ''Preis für Zivilcourage'', "for his courageous behaviour as a young priest during the

Nazi occupation of Poland Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

". (in German) In 2007 he received the Grand Cross of the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievement ...

. Jeż was made an honorary citizen of several cities and municipalities: Radomyśl Wielki (since 2004),

Koszalin Koszalin (pronounced ; csb, Kòszalëno; formerly german: Köslin, ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-sta ...

(since 1994), Slupsk (since 2006), Połczyn Zdrój (since 2006), Katowice (2007) and Kolobrzeg (since 2008). Jeż was a Knight of the Order of the Smile.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy.com: Bishop Ignacy Ludwik Jeż
1914 births 2007 deaths People from Mielec County Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Dachau concentration camp survivors 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland {{Poland-RC-bishop-stub