Albert Chmielowski

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Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Feast17 June[1]
Patronage

Albert Chmielowski (20 August 1845 – 25 December 1916) - born Adam Hilary Bernard Chmielowski - was a

Uprising of 1863, and founder of both the Albertine Brothers and Albertine Sisters servants of the homeless and destitute.[3][2]

Life

Chmielowski was born in Igołomia, on the outskirts of Kraków Congress Poland, into a szlachta family, the eldest of four to Wojciech Chmielowski, (1811–1853) and Józefa Borzysławska (1821-1859). His siblings were Stanisław Teodor (b. 1848), Jadwiga Modesta Szaniawska (b. 1850) and Marian Antoni (1852-1903).[4] Due to the lack of a priest in turbulent times, Albert was baptised by a lay on 26 August 1845. A formal baptism followed on 17 June 1847.

He was orphaned at age 8 when his father died and, 10 years later, by the death of his mother. Guardianship and care of the family fell to their paternal aunt, Petronela. After home schooling Chmielowski went on to study agroforestry at the Puławy Polytechnic Institute with a view to managing his late parents' estate.

Insurgent for his country

He became involved in independence politics and joined the January Uprising.[3][2][5] Chmielowski participated in a battle on 1 October 1863 in which a Russian grenade killed his horse and damaged his leg to the extent that it had to be amputated. The injured Chmielowski had been carried to a woodman's cabin where Finnish soldiers allied with Russia found him. The captain recognized him since there were persistent rumours that Chmielowski evaded all gunfire and was invulnerable, but told him his leg had to be removed, to which Chmielowski is believed to have said: "Give me a cigar - that will help me pass the time". The operation went ahead, successfully though without anesthesia. He offered his intense suffering to God as he endured the excruciating pain.[6][5] Chmielowski was then taken to a hospital for a doctor to assess him - the soldiers then needed to decide what to do with their captive - but accomplices helped him to escape from the hospital hidden in a coffin. He was eventually fitted with a permanent wooden prosthesis. He offered up his loss of a limb to God and for the cause of Polish independence.[4]

The vicious response of the

Czarist authorities to this insurrection forced Chmielowski to leave Poland. He stopped in Ghent in Belgium where he resumed engineering studies. During this period he discovered he also had a talent for painting
which he began to develop, despite the objections of family trustees at his change of direction.

Painting interlude

Adam Chmielowski by Aleksander Gierymski, oil

This was however short-lived and in 1870 he joined the

Munich Art Academy, where he was befriended by some celebrated Polish artists, including, Stanisław Witkiewicz, Józef Chełmoński, Aleksander Gierymski, Leon Wyczółkowski.[7] He was prolific and sent his work to exhibitions in Poland. He was for time a popular artist. Religious themes began to appear at this juncture such as his St. Margaret's vision and his most celebrated work, Ecce homo, currently in the chapel of the Albertine Sisters in Kraków
.

Adam Chmielowski's extant artistic output includes 61 oils, 22 watercolours and 15 drawings. Among his better known works are: Po pojedynku ("After the duel"), Dziewczynka z pieskiem ("Little girl with a dog"), Cmentarz ("Cemetery"), Dama z listem ("Lady with a letter"), Powstaniec na koniu ("Insurgent on horseback"), Zachód słońca ("Sunset") and Amazonka ("The amazon").

Lwów
with a friend.

Religious vocation

While working on an image of Christ, he had perceived a religious vocation and on 24 September 1880 he entered the

Lazarist priest.[4][6]

On 25 August 1887 he joined the

Carmelite monastery where he came upon the works of John of the Cross who would be his favourite author. He also came to know the Carmelite superior, Raphael Kalinowski
who suggested he might become a Carmelite. Chmielowski, however saw his path as that of a Franciscan.

Death

He died at noon on 25 December 1916 due to

Anointing of the Sick on 23 December when his condition began to deteriorate.[6] He was buried in the Rakowicki Cemetery. His remains were exhumed on 15 September 1932 and placed in a metal coffin. They were exhumed once again on 31 May 1949 and placed in a Discalced Carmelite church.[5]

Legacy

On 10 November 1938 he received a posthumous award in the form of the Order of Polonia Restituta.[5]

Karol Wojtyła in 1949, then a simple priest in Poland, wrote a well-received play about Albert, entitled Brat naszego Boga which was made into a film with the same title in 1997. John Paul II later said that he found great spiritual support for his own vocation in the life of the Polish saint whom he saw as an example of leaving behind the world of the arts to make a radical choice in favour of the religious life.[2]

Sanctity

Chmielowski's now empty grave

The canonisation process started in 1966 under

Saint Peter's Square. His liturgical feast is affixed to 17 June and not his death date, due to that date being Christmas.[5]

The beatification process began with an information process which Cardinal

Venerable
on 20 January 1977.

The beatification miracle was investigated on a diocesan level where it occurred and it later received C.C.S. validation on 27 January 1983. A medical board of experts approved the healing as a miracle on 26 May 1983. Theologians followed up that June with the C.C.S. John Paul II approved the said miracle on 9 June 1983 and beatified Chmielowski while on a visit to Kraków on 22 June 1983.

The canonization miracle was investigated in the diocese of origin from 9 September to 24 November 1987 and this process was given its validation on 26 February 1988 before the medical board met to approve it, several months later, on 23 November 1988. Theological experts also assented to this miracle on 3 February 1989 as did the C.C.S. on 21 February 1989. Then John Paul II approved it on 24 February 1989, confirming that Chmielowski would be proclaimed as a saint in due course. John Paul II canonized Chmielowski on 12 November 1989 in

Saint Peter's Square.[8]

Gallery

  • Portrait of Sygietyński
    Portrait of Sygietyński
  • Cmentarz włoski - Italian cemetery at dusk
    Cmentarz włoski - Italian cemetery at dusk
  • Chmielowski's Ecce Homo, 1879
    Chmielowski's Ecce Homo, 1879
  • Czarnokozince
    Czarnokozince
  • Girl with a hat
    Girl with a hat
  • Zawale
    Zawale
  • Abandoned parsonage
    Abandoned parsonage

References

  1. ^ St. Albert Chmielowski: The Painter Who Became an Advocate for the Poor
  2. ^ a b c d e "17 June: St. Albert Chmielowski". UCAN. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Saint Albert Chmielowski". Saints SQPN. 23 January 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e "St. Albert Chmielowski: The Painter Who Became an Advocate for the Poor". National Catholic Register. 17 June 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Saint Albert Chmielowski". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Spiritual Newsletter". Abbey of Saint-Joseph de Clairval. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  7. ISBN 83-903086-1-4
    .
  8. ^ "Saint of the day: Albert Chmielowski". Archived from the original on 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-01-27.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albert Chmielowski.
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