Aleksander Kakowski (; 5 February 1862 – 30 December 1938) was a Polish politician, diplomat, a member of the Regency Council and, as

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **'' Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **'' Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, t ...

and Archbishop of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, the last titular Primate of the Kingdom of Poland before Poland fully regained its independence in 1918.

Early life

He was born on 5 February 1862 in Dębiny near Przasnysz, the son of Franciszek Kakowski and Paulina Ossowska. He was ordained a priest on 30 May 1886 in

, by Cardinal Wincenty Chościak-Popiel. The following year he became one of the professors at the Warsaw Theological Seminary. In 1910 he became Rector of the

Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy The Imperial Roman Catholic Theological Academy (russian: Императорская Римско-Католическая Духовная Академия) was an institution of higher education preparing Roman Catholic theologians in the Russ ...

, and on 22 July 1913 he was ordained a bishop by Stanisław Zdzitowiecki. On 14 September 1913 he became the archbishop of Warsaw in St. John's Cathedral, thus becoming the titular primate of the Kingdom of Poland.

World War I and the Regency Council

After the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he remained in Warsaw and in 1917, he was appointed to be a member of the Regency Council, a semi-independent and temporary highest authority of the Kingdom of Poland, recreated by the

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as part of their Mitteleuropa plan. Kakowski was one of three members of that body, which served as a provisional head of state (hence the word "

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

" in its name).

Relations with Rome

On 28 November 1919, he was the main consecrator of Achille Ratti, the papal nuncio to Poland who later became

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City f ...

. On 15 December, Kakowski himself was made a cardinal. During his service as the Archbishop of Warsaw, Kakowski promoted the creation of a strong Catholic press. He was one of the authors of the success of '' Rycerz Niepokalanej'', one of the most popular newspapers in prewar Poland. He was also the main creator of the theological faculty at the

Warsaw University 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 of ...

and of the

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movement. For his role in liberating Poland from foreign occupation, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish decoration, in 1925; in July 1938, he even briefly appeared as the head of that order's chapter. In 1930, he also became a "bailiff of honour and devotion" of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. His successor, August Hlond, was to reintroduce the title of

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, but Kakowski continued to style himself Primate of the Kingdom of Poland until his death, on 30 December 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kakowski, Aleksander 1862 births 1938 deaths People from Przasnysz County People from Płock Governorate 20th-century Polish cardinals Archbishops of Warsaw Members of the Regency Council (Poland) Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Polish anti-communists Polish independence activists Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)