Antoni Julian Nowowiejski (11 February 1858 – 28 May 1941) was a Polish

bishop of Płock 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 ...

(1908–1941),

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Silyum, first secretary of

Polish Episcopal Conference The Polish Episcopal Conference or Polish Bishops' Conference ( pl, Konferencja Episkopatu Polski) is the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is composed of 2 cardinals, 28 archbishops and 118 bishops. Members ** President – abp ...

(1918–1919), honorary citizen of

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

and historian. He died at the hands of the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

Soldau concentration camp The Soldau concentration camp established by Nazi Germany during World War II was a concentration camp for Polish and Jewish prisoners. It was located in Działdowo (german: Soldau), a town in north-eastern Poland, which after the Nazi-Soviet inva ...

near

Działdowo Działdowo (german: Soldau) (Old Prussian: Saldawa) is a town in northern Poland with 20,935 inhabitants as of December 2021, the capital of Działdowo County. As part of Masuria, it is situated in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship (since 1999), D ...

on 28 May 1941, and was subsequently

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "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 n ...

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 ...

in 1999 as one of the

108 Martyrs of World War II The 108 Martyrs of World War II, known also as the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs ( pl, 108 błogosławionych męczenników), were Roman Catholics from Poland killed during World War II by Nazi Germany. Their liturgical feast day is 12 June. The 108 ...

Biography

Antoni Julian Nowowiejski was born on 11 February 1858 in Lubienia near

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populati ...

. At sixteen he entered the diocesan seminary at studied

. He received Holy Orders on July 10, 1881. The following year he obtained a degree in theology from the Academy of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Nowowiejski became a professor and a rector of the Płock Seminary,

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 ...

of Płock and in 1902

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop ...

of the Płock diocese. He was ordained bishop of Płock on 6 December 1908. As the leader of the Płock diocese he carried out an administrative reform, devoting much attention to catholic education and created a junior seminary. During the

First World War 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 was active in charity organizations. He oversaw two diocesans (

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin word mean ...

s) in 1927 and 1938, and initiated a local chapter of "Akcja Katolicka" (Catholic Action). In November 1930, he became the

of Silyum.Borreilli, Antonio. "Blessed Antoni Julian Nowowiejski and companions", ''Santi Beati'', 18 March 2003
/ref> In 1931, he was awarded the Commander's Cross with the Star of the Order of Rebirth of Poland by President Mościcki. The

University of Warsaw 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 ...

awarded him the

honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

of ''

doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad ho ...

''."Bł. Antoni Julian Nowowiejski", Polonia Christiana
/ref> 6 Plock 094

On 1 September 1939, the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...

marked the beginning of the

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 ...

. One of the Nazis' goals was the elimination of Polish

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

. on 28 February 1940, Bishop Nowowiejski and Płock's suffragan bishop Leon Wetmański were arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in

Słuck Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population is ...

and

. He refused the chance to escape, saying, "How can a pastor abandon their sheep?" Archbishop Nowowiejski was tortured when he refused to trample on his pectoral cross. Although suffering, he imparted his blessing to the tortured and dying. After three months of torture and hunger, he died, at the age of eighty-three, at the Dzialdowo death camp on 28 May 1941. The place of burial of his body is unknown, but it is supposed that it was a forest in Malinowo. He was

on 13 June 1999 as one of the

, and is commemorated on June 12.

Works

Antoni Julian Nowowiejski was the author of many works in the realm of history (especially the history of Płock) and

Catholic liturgy In the Catholic Church, liturgy is divine worship, the proclamation of the Gospel, and active charity. Catholic liturgies are broadly categorized as the Latin liturgical rites of the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic liturgies of the Easte ...

. His ''Cereminiał parafialny'' (Parish ceremony) became a standard textbook for parish priests, and went through seven editions before the war. Selected works: * Wykład liturgii Kościoła katolickiego * Ceremoniał parafialny * Płock. Monografia historyczna

References

Sources

BŁ. ABP ANTONI JULIAN NOWOWIEJSKI
retrieved on 25 September 2007

External links

Antoni Julian Nowowiejski
at catholic-forum.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Nowowiejski, Antoni Julian 1858 births 1941 deaths Polish beatified people Bishops of Płock 20th-century Polish historians Polish male non-fiction writers Polish Roman Catholic titular archbishops 19th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Poland People who died in Soldau concentration camp 20th-century venerated Christians Polish civilians killed in World War II People from Starachowice County Polish people executed in Nazi concentration camps Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era Executed people from Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship 19th-century Polish historians

Biography

Works

References

Sources

Further reading

External links