Józef Kowalski (13 March 1911 – 4 July 1942) was a Polish

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest from the Salesian Society murdered at the

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

during World War II. He was

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

on 13 June 1999.

Biography

Józef Kowalski was born in Siedliska (

partitioned Poland Partition may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Partition'' (1987 film), directed by Ken McMullen * ''Partition'' (2007 film), directed by Vic Sarin * '' Partition: 1947'', or ''Viceroy's House'', a 2017 film Music * Par ...

) on 13 March 1911 to Wojciech and Zofia Borowiec, the seventh of their nine children. He was ordained a priest on 29 May 1938 in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

as member of the

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

Religious Society, and took up a post of secretary to the Salesian provincial. During the

German occupation of Poland German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

the Salesians continued their educational work. The

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrested Kowalski on 23 May 1941, along with eleven other Salesians who worked in Kraków. They were taken to

Montelupich Prison The Montelupich Prison, named for the street on which it is located, the ''ulica Montelupich'' ("street of the Montelupi family"),Ulica Montelupich or "street of the Montelupis" itself is named after the Montelupi manor house (Kamienica (archite ...

and tortured.

Auschwitz concentration camp

Kowalski was sent to Auschwitz

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

on 26 June 1941 (prisoner number 17,350 or 17,950). There, he ministered secretly to his fellow prisoners in Block 25, and attempted to strengthen their will to survive day-to-day life in the camp. He absolved condemned victims, usually in secret, but at least once in front of everyone at the moment of mass execution. He was known at Auschwitz simply as Father Józef. At one roll call, he was ordered by Blockführer Gerhard Palitzsch to trample upon his

rosary The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...

when he was discovered with it. Kowalski refused. As punishment, he was assigned to a penal company. In his last letter to his parents, Józef wrote: On 3 July 1942 he was mocked, ridiculed and severely beaten by the guards for being a priest. The same night, his oppressors pulled him out of his barracks, gravely beat him outside and possibly drowned him. Kowalski's body was found the next day and burned with others. He was 31 years of age. Poles began to venerate his memory after World War II.

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 ...

had known

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

Kowalski personally before the war, when Kowalski lived and served with the Parish of St. Stanisław Kostka in

Dębniki, Kraków Dębniki is one of 18 dzielnica, districts of Kraków, located in the southwest part of the city. The name ''Dębniki'' comes from a village of same name that is now a part of the district. According to the Central Statistical Office (Poland), C ...

. During one of his return visits to Poland, John Paul II beatified Kowalski in

at a ceremonial three-hour mass of 13 June 1999, attended by President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

, in front of 600,000 people. Kowalski was one of 108 Polish Martyrs from World War II beatified by the Pope on that day.

References

External links

The Salesians in Pila, Poland

The Salesians in Kraków, Poland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kowalski, Jozef (priest) Martyred Roman Catholic priests Polish Roman Catholic saints 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests Salesians of Don Bosco Polish people who died in Auschwitz concentration camp 1911 births 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs 1942 deaths Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era