Józef Bilczewski

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City
by Pope Benedict XVI
AttributesEpiscopal attire
Patronage
  • Archdiocese of Lviv
  • Teachers
  • Wilamowice
  • Beggars
  • Homeless people
Ordination history of
Józef Bilczewski
History
Priestly ordination
Ordained by
Jan Maurycy Paweł Puzyna z Kosielsko
Co-consecratorsAndrij Aleksander Sheptytsky & Józef Sebastian Pelczar
Date20 January 1901
PlaceLviv Cathedral, Lviv, Austria-Hungary (now Ukraine)
Episcopal succession
Bishops consecrated by Józef Bilczewski as principal consecrator
Władysław Bandurski30 December 1906
Bolesław Twardowski12 January 1919

Józef Bilczewski (26 April 1860 – 20 March 1923) was a

doctorates in the course of his own studies. He earned a reputation as a learned and cultured man; these qualities led to Emperor Franz Joseph I nominating him for the Lviv archdiocese as its head. Pope Leo XIII named him as its archbishop and he set to work prioritizing a range of different pastoral initiatives aimed at revitalizing the faith within people and also prioritizing ecumenical cooperation with other denominations.[1][2][3]

Bilczewski aided his people throughout the onslaught of

apostolic nuncio Achille Ratti - the future Pope Pius XI.[1][3]

His cause for sainthood commenced in 1944 and he became titled as a

Saint Peter's Square.[2]

Life

Latin Cathedral in Lviv
.

Józef Bilczewski was born in

peasants Franciszek Biba and Anna Kuczmierczyk.[4][1]

From 1868 until 1872 he attended school in his hometown while he studied later at

priesthood in Kraków.[3]

He received his

episcopal consecration the next month in the Lviv Cathedral
.

He supported

Eucharistic Adoration in their parishes. He also organized courses for the priests wanting to be prepared for social work among the poor and financed several Catholic societies.[1][2][3] His support for the students made him a popular figure even to other denominations. In 1904 he organized the first Mariological Congress in Poland
.

During

apostolic nuncio Achille Ratti - future pope - in this regard. He also made several 'ad limina' visits to Rome to visit Leo XIII and Pope Pius X as well as Pope Benedict XV. His help for the poor and the homeless was awarded and the homeless themselves titled him as the "patron of louts" in 1917. From 1918 to 1921 his archdiocese lost 120 priests.[1][3]

He died on 20 March 1923 due to a pernicious anemia which had first struck him not long before on 18 January; Pope Pius XI hailed him as one of the greatest bishops in the world and since 2001 his heart has been put in an urn and moved to the Lviv Cathedral.[1] Since 20 March 1928 a monument to him has been in the cathedral.

Honours

In 1922 he received the second tier to the Cross of Valor and on 2 May 1922 was awarded the Grand Cross level of the Order of Polonia Restituta. He received an 'honoris causa' doctorate from the Warsaw college in 1921.[2]

Sainthood

Grave.

The beatification process was introduced under

Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the informative phase. The postulation later submitted their Positio dossier to the C.C.S. in 1997 for assessment while it received the approval of theologians on 16 May 1997 and that of the C.C.S. on 11 November 1997. The confirmation of his model life of heroic virtue allowed for Pope John Paul II
to title him as Venerable on 18 December 1997.

Bilczewski's beatification depended upon the approval of a miraculous healing. Marcin Gawlik (b. 1986) - aged nine at the time - suffered from third degree burns that all but disappeared on 24 July 1995 after appeals for Bilczewski's intercession. This was investigated in the diocese of origin before it was sent to the C.C.S. for validation and the approval of both a medical board and a commission of theologians. The C.C.S. approved this healing on 23 April 2001 as did John Paul II on 24 April 2001 who confirmed the beatification would take place while on his visit to Ukraine. John Paul II beatified the late archbishop at the Lviv Hippodrome on 26 June 2001.

One final miracle was required for sainthood. One case was investigated and sent to the C.C.S. who validated this process before medical experts approved the miraculous nature of the healing on 24 June 2004. Theologians attributed this healing came as a result of Bilczewski's intercession on 21 September 2004 while the C.C.S. approved the findings of the two previous boards on 9 November 2004. John Paul II approved this healing - therefore the canonization also - on 20 December 2004. Cardinal

Saint Peter's Square
on 23 October 2005.

Patronage

Bilczewski has been the patron of his hometown since 5 October 2013. He is also the patron for beggars and homeless people as well as teachers and his archdiocese.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Saint Jósef Bilczewski". Saints SQPN. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Saint Josef Bilczewski". Santi e Beati. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Joseph Bilczewski (1860-1923)". Holy See. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  4. ^ "O Świętym". jozef.bilczewski.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 27 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.

External links

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
Archbishop of Lwów

17 December 1900 – 20 March 1923 		Succeeded by
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