Hilary Jastak (3 March 1914 – 17 January 2000) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Catholic priest

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

Doctor of Theology Doctor of Theology (, abbreviated DTh, ThD, DTheol, or Dr. theol.) is a terminal degree in the academic discipline of theology. The ThD, like the ecclesiastical Doctor of Sacred Theology, is an advanced research degree equivalent to the Doctor o ...

, Chaplain of

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

movement, Major of

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

, Lieutenant Commander of

Polish Navy The Polish Navy (; often abbreviated to ) is the Navy, naval military branch , branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish ...

. Jastak was born in

Kościerzyna Kościerzyna (; Pomeranian language, Pomeranian and ; former ) is a town in Kashubia in Gdańsk Pomerania region, northern Poland, with 23,327 inhabitants as of June 2023. It has been the capital of Kościerzyna County in Pomeranian Voivodeship si ...

. In 1934, he entered the

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

Pelplin Pelplin () is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009). Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art ...

. On 7 June 1941 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 ...

, he was ordained as a priest by the

Archbishop of Warsaw The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Warsaw. On 30 June 1818, the see was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese. Also included are the auxiliary bishops. Bishops of Warsaw: * Józef Miaskowski, 1798–1804 * Ignacy Raczyń ...

Stanisław Gall Stanisław Tomasz Gall (21 April 1865 – 11 September 1942) was a Polish Roman Catholic bishop. Biography Gall was born in Warsaw; he began attending the diocesan seminary in Warsaw in 1880. He was later sent by Wincenty Teofil Popiel to ...

. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Jastak was vicar in Lubania,

Józefów Józefów () is a town in east-central Poland, located in Masovian Voivodeship, in Otwock County. It lies about southeast of Warsaw city centre and is a part of that city's metropolitan area. Located on a picturesque confluence of Vistula and Ś ...

, Goszczyno (where he joined the

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; 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) established in the ...

Sulejów Sulejów is a town in central Poland with 6,130 inhabitants (2020). It is situated in Łódź Voivodeship. Sulejów gives its name to the protected area known as Sulejów Landscape Park. History The origins of Sulejów are associated with a vi ...

Strachówko Strachówko is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Płońsk, within Płońsk County, Masovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (prov ...

Gołubie Gołubie is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stężyca, within Kartuzy County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately east of Stężyca, south-west of Kartuzy, and south-west of the regional capital ...

and

Pogódki Pogódki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Skarszewy, within Starogard County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Skarszewy, north-west of Starogard Gdański, and south-west of the ...

. In 1946, Jastak became the

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of Caritas in

Gdynia Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...

. In July 1949, Jastak became the

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of the newly created parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Gdynia, with whom he was associated until his death. In 1966, Jastak completed the construction of the new church. During

Polish 1970 protests The 1970 Polish protests, also known as the December 1970 Events () and the Coast Massacre (), occurred in northern Poland from 14–19 December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase in the prices of food and other everyday items ...

, Jastak actively supported families of people killed in street battles. Ten years later, during the Strike on the Coast (August 1980), at the request of the shipyard he celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at the Gdynia shipyard. During the

Martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The Polish United Workers' Party, government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an a ...

, Jastak actively supported the resistance movement and helped the imprisoned. In 1991, Jastak created the Aid Scholarship Foundation, whose purpose is to promote talented young people from poor families. Jastak is Honorary Citizen of Gdynia (1991) and Kościerzyna (1999). He was also awarded the Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, ...

. He died in 2000 in Gdynia, and was buried at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in which he was provost for many years.

External links

The biographical note on the official website of Gdynia's city
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jastak, Hilary 1914 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Polish Roman Catholic priests People from Gdynia Polish Navy officers Military personnel from West Prussia