Janusz (Januariusz Mikołaj) Bolonek (6 December 1938 – 2 March 2016) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. He was named an archbishop in 1989 and represented the Holy See in

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and the

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

Biography

Janusz Bolonek was born in Huta Dłutowska, Poland, on 6 December 1938. After studying at the local seminary he was ordained priest on 17 December 1961 in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, Poland. To prepare for a diplomatic career he entered the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in 1967. He also studied at both the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Lateran University. His early assignments in the diplomatic service included stints in Nicaragua, the United States, and Egypt, and then at the Secretariat of State in Rome where he helped organize Pope John Paul's trips to Poland in 1983 and 1987 and worked on the commission negotiating the restoration of diplomatic relations between Poland and the Holy See. On 25 September 1989,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

named him a titular archbishop of Madaurus and apostolic pro-nuncio to the Côte d'Ivoire. He received his episcopal consecration from Pope John Paul on 20 October. On 18 November 1989, he was given additional responsibility as pro-nuncio to Niger and Burkina Faso. On 23 January 1995, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Romania. On 30 September 1998 he was assigned to the staff of the Secretariat of State in Rome. On 11 November 1999, Pope John Paul named him nuncio to Uruguay.

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

named him nuncio to Bulgaria on 24 May 2008, and added the responsibilities of the nuncio to

on 4 May 2011. He retired from the diplomatic corps on 6 December 2013. In 2014 a Polish historian accused him of spying while working in the Vatican, where he learned that Polish colonel Ryszard Kukliński was a CIA agent. He died on 2 March 2016.

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy: Archbishop Januariusz Mikołaj Bolonek
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolonek, Janusz 1938 births 2016 deaths Apostolic nuncios to Ivory Coast Apostolic nuncios to Uruguay Apostolic nuncios to Bulgaria Apostolic nuncios to Romania Apostolic nuncios to North Macedonia Apostolic nuncios to Niger Apostolic nuncios to Burkina Faso Polish Roman Catholic titular archbishops People from Pabianice County Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy alumni Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Pontifical Lateran University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic titular archbishops