Rafal Wladyslaw Kiernicki ( uk, Рафал Владислав Керницький; pl, Rafał Władysław Kiernicki; 3 May 1912 – 23 November 1995) was a Roman Catholic prelate from Ukraine as the Titular Bishop of Dura and Auxiliary bishop of Archdiocese of Lviv since 16 January 1991 until his death on 23 November 1995. Ukraine-Lviv-Latin Cathedral-4

Life

Kiernicki was born in the peasant Roman Catholic family of Antoni and Michaela (née Swiatłowska) Kiernicki in a present day of the territory of

Kolomyia Raion Kolomyia Raion ( uk, Коломи́йський райо́н, translit=Kołomyjśkyj rajon) is a raion (district) of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (region). The administrative center of the raion is the city of Kolomyia. Population: . On 18 July 2020, a ...

of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. After graduation of the primary school in his native village (1920–1924) and the neighbouring village Hvozdets (1924–1927), he continued to study in a Franciscan gymnasium in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

(1927–1934). While studied in gymnasium, he joined the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

in 1930; made a

profession A profession is a field of work that has been successfully ''professionalized''. It can be defined as a disciplined group of individuals, '' professionals'', who adhere to ethical standards and who hold themselves out as, and are accepted by ...

on September 4, 1931 and a solemn profession on October 4, 1934. Kiernicki subsequently made a philosophical and theological studies at the Franciscan Theological Seminaries in Lviv,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

and at the Faculty of Theology of the

University of Lviv The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...

and the Major Roman Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv and was ordained as

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

on June 29, 1939 by Archbishop

Bolesław Twardowski Archbishop Bolesław Twardowski ( uk, Болеслав Твардовський; pl, Bolesław Twardowski; 18 February 1864 – 22 November 1944) was a Roman Catholic prelate, who served as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of ...

. During first Soviet and Nazi occupations of the

Western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

he served as an parish priest and professor in the Theological Seminary. In the same time he was the clandestine member and chaplain of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) est ...

. Was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...

in 1941, but avoided the death, because of the prison

Brygidki Brygidki ( uk, Бригідки) is a prison in the building of a former Bridgettine nunnery in Lviv, Ukraine. History The monastery was founded in 1614 at the behest of Anna Fastkowska and Anna Poradowska for girls from noble families. After th ...

's escape. In 1944 he was again arrested by NKVD and imprisoned until 1948, when was released and continued to serve as a parish priest and during a period of the

Polish population transfers (1944–1946) The Polish population transfers in 1944–1946 from the eastern half of prewar Poland (also known as the expulsions of Poles from the Kresy macroregion), were the forced migrations of Poles toward the end and in the aftermath of World War II. ...

he remained in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Rest of his life he spent as a Dean of the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Lviv (1949–1958, 1965–1991). Here he worked until 1991 under the Communist persecution of the

Religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

. On January 16, 1991, he was appointed by the

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 ...

as an Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lviv and a

Titular Bishop 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 ...

of Dura. On March 2, 1991, he was consecrated as bishop by Metropolitan Archbishop

Marian Jaworski Marian Franciszek Jaworski ( uk, Мар'ян Францішек Яворський, 21 August 1926 – 5 September 2020) was a Cardinal Priest and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv of the Latins, Archbishop of Lviv of the Latins in the Roman ...

and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Lviv. Kiernicki died in office in

on November 23, 1995 in the age 83. Kiernicki's canonisation process was opened on May 4, 2012 in the century of his birth date in the Cathedral Basilica in Lviv and he became a '' Servant of God''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiernicki, Rafal 1912 births 1995 deaths People from Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria Polish Austro-Hungarians Conventual Friars Minor Conventual Franciscan bishops Ukrainian people of Polish descent University of Lviv alumni Prisoners and detainees of the Soviet Union 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ukraine Servants of God