Edmund Nowicki (13 September 1900 – 10 March 1971) was a Polish Roman Catholic bishop of the

Diocese of Gdańsk In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

from 1964 until his death in 1971. He previously served as apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Administration of Kamień, Lubusz and the Prelature of Piła from 1945 to 1951 and

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Diocese of Gdańsk from 1951 to 1964.

Biography

Early life & career

Nowicki was born in

Trzemeszno Trzemeszno is a town in Gniezno County in Greater Poland Voivodeship, west-central Poland. It is situated on the eastern shore of the Popielewskie Lake, and is one of the oldest settlements in the region. Etymology The town's name derives from a ...

to Zygmunt and Maria Nowicki (). He attended a gymnasium in

Nakło nad Notecią Nakło nad Notecią (Polish pronunciation: ) is a town in north-central Poland on the river Noteć with 23,687 inhabitants (2007). It is the seat of Nakło County, and also of Gmina Nakło nad Notecią, situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivod ...

. Afterwards, he attended the diocesan seminary of the Archdiocese of Gniezno-Poznań – located in both

Gniezno Gniezno (; ; ) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The city is the administrative seat of Gniezno County (''powiat'') ...

and

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

– between 1919 and 1924. He was ordained a priest at

Gniezno Cathedral The Royal Gniezno Cathedral (The Primatial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Shrine of St. Adalbert, ) is a Brick Gothic cathedral located in the historic city of Gniezno that served as the coronation place for ...

on 15 March 1924 by Edmund Dalbor. After his ordination, Nowicki served as vicar for a parish based in Poznań between 1924 and 1927. In 1927, he was sent to Rome, where he studied

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

until 1930; he was awarded a doctorate in canon law the same year. During his time studying at Rome, he worked as a clerk for the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

. After returning to Poland, Nowicki worked as a notary for the archdiocesan curia between 1 July 1930 and 2 October 1939. He also served as adjutant judicial vicar for the archdiocesan court in Poznań from 1934. On 3 October 1939, Nowicki was arrested by German forces and was imprisoned at a jail on Młyńska Street in Poznań; he was transferred to a monastery in

Kazimierz Biskupi Kazimierz Biskupi () is a village in Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in West Central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Kazimierz Biskupi. It lies approximately north-west of Konin and east of th ...

in November 1939, followed by

Fort VII Fort VII, officially ''Konzentrationslager Posen'' (renamed later), was a Nazi German death camp set up in Poznań in German-occupied Poland during World War II, located in one of the 19th-century forts circling the city. According to differen ...

and

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

on 4 May 1940, where he was given the identification number 22032. On 2 August 1940, he was transferred to

Mauthausen Mauthausen was a German Nazi concentration camp on a hill above the market town of Mauthausen (roughly east of Linz), Upper Austria. It was the main camp of a group with nearly 100 further subcamps located throughout Austria and southern ...

. He returned to Dachau on 8 December 1940 and was released on 6 February 1941, on the condition that he didn't perform priestly functions or renounce the priesthood. After his release, he served as a

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * Procurator (Ancient Rome), the title of var ...

for a timber company in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, before going into hiding in Warsaw and

Zakopane Zakopane (Gorals#Language, Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has ...

under the name "Strzelecki".

Apostolic administrator of Kamień

Nowicki was appointed apostolic administrator of the Apostolic Administration of Kamień, Lubusz and the Prelature of Piła by

August Hlond August Hlond, SDB (5 July 1881 – 22 October 1948) was a Polish Salesian prelate who served as Archbishop of Poznań and Gniezno and as Primate of Poland. He was later appointed Archbishop of Gniezno and Warsaw and was made a cardinal of ...

on 15 August 1945. Reflecting on his appointment, he stated, "We were entering the unknown without any resources whatsoever." He assumed his office on 1 September 1945. Nowicki ceremonially assumed control of the diocese on 16 September 1945 at

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

and 28 October 1945 at

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

. As apostolic administrator, he established various church structures, including a

curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

in 1945, as well as an

ecclesiastical court In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

based in Poznań on 29 October 1950. In order to increase the amount of clergy in the apostolic administration, Nowicki established a seminary in Gorzów Wielkopolski — consecrated on 26 October 1946 — as well as three minor seminaries in Gorzów Wielkopolski,

Wschowa Wschowa (pronounced , ) is a town in the Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland with 13,875 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Wschowa County and a significant tourist site containing many important historical monuments. It is part of the his ...

and

Słupsk Słupsk (; ; ) is a city with powiat rights located on the Słupia River in the Pomeranian Voivodeship in northern Poland, in the historical region of Pomerania or more specifically in its part known in contemporary Poland as Central Pomerania ...

. He also established a religious school in Szczecin, which operated from 1949 to 1952. On 26 January 1951, Nowicki was removed from his position as apostolic administrator by Polish authorities after they had issued a regulation that dissolved temporary church administration in the

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands () are the lands east of the Oder–Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line that over the centuries were gradually lost by Poland and colonized by the Germans, and that returned to Poland after World War II. T ...

and made it possible to elect

vicar capitular A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic part ...

s. After he was removed, he fled to Poznań, where he stayed with a group of

Sisters of Saint Elizabeth The Sisters of Saint Elizabeth are a Roman Catholic religious institute. Generally styled "Grey Nuns" (to be distinguished from the Grey Nuns of Montreal). History The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth (CSSE) was founded by an associa ...

. He remained as a regional bishop, though he didn't have the power to ordain priests.

Coadjutor bishop & bishop of Gdańsk

On 26 April 1951, Nowicki was appointed by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

''sedi datus'' of the

and titular bishop of Hadriane. He was also appointed protonotary apostolic and canon of its

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

in 1952 (serving as the latter until his resignation in 1965). Nowicki was secretly consecrated as coadjutor bishop at the bishop's chapel in Poznań on 21 September 1954 by

Walenty Dymek Walenty Dymek (1888–1956) was the Archbishop of Poznań from 1946 to 1956. He was born on 31 December 1888 in Połajewo, was Auxiliary Bishop of Poznań in the years 1929–1946, and was Archbishop of Poznań from 1946 to 1956. He died 22 Oct ...

, with assistance from Franciszek Jedwabski and Lucjan Bernacki. As a result of

Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...

, he would assume governance of the Diocese on 8 October 1956. He also participated in the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

. On 7 March 1964, Nowicki was appointed bishop of Gdańsk by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He assumed control of the diocese on 12 April 1964 at St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk. As coadjutor bishop, and later bishop, of the Diocese of Gdańsk, he expanded the diocesan curia and formed a seminary at

Oliwa Oliwa () (; ; ) is a northern district of the city of Gdańsk, Poland. From east it borders Przymorze and Żabianka, from the north Sopot and from the south with the districts of Strzyża, VII Dwór and Brętowo, while from the west with Mat ...

, Gdańsk on 27 October 1957, which he entrusted to the

Vincentians Vincentian can refer to: People *A citizen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A person from Saint Vincent (island), the largest island in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *A member of one of the orders or societies in the Vincentian Family, both ...

. He called the second diocesan synod of the Diocese of Gdańsk in April 1961, though it began in 1973 due to the Second Vatican Council. Nowicki died on 10 March 1971 in

; his funeral was held on 14 March 1971 and he was buried at

Oliwa Cathedral Oliwa Cathedral, formally known as the Archcathedral Basilica of the Holy Trinity, is a Roman Catholic church in the district of Oliwa, in Gdańsk, Poland. Completed in the late 14th century in a Brick Gothic style, the present church comprises ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

*{{Cite journal , last=Wejman , first=Gregorz , date=2019 , title=Rev. dr. Edmund Nowicki – Apostolic Administrator in Gorzów Wielkopolski , url=https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/1918995 , journal=Studia Theologica Varsaviensia , volume=52 , issue=2 , pages=71 – 116 , doi=10.21697/stv.2019.57.2.04, doi-access=free 1900 births 1971 deaths Polish Roman Catholic bishops Bishops of Gdańsk Bishops appointed by Pope Pius XII Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI