Bishop Jerzy Maculewicz, O.F.M.Conv. (born 30 May 1955) is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who serves as the first Apostolic Administrator of the Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan and Titular Bishop of

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

since 1 April 2005.

Education

Bishop Maculewicz was born into a Polish-Russian Roman Catholic family in

Dashiv Dashiv (; ) is a rural settlement in Haisyn Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast in Ukraine. It is located on the banks of the Sob, a left tributary of the Southern Bug. Dashiv hosts the administration of Dashiv settlement hromada, one of the hromadas of U ...

Vinnytsia Oblast Vinnytsia Oblast (, ), also referred to as Vinnychchyna (), is an oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in central Ukraine. Its capital city, administrative center is Vinnytsia. The oblast has a population of History Vinnytsia Oblast, first established on ...

, then of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. His father Stanisław 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 ...

and mother Serafima (née Koltsova) was Russian. He grew up in

Łazy Łazy is a town in Zawiercie County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. As of 2019, the town has 6,811 inhabitants. Łazy belongs to the historic region of Lesser Poland. History In the Middle Ages, in the area of today's Łazy were five ...

Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its bank (geography), left-bank tributary, the Brda (river), Brda, the strategic location of Byd ...

and

Dąbrowa Górnicza Dąbrowa Górnicza () is a city in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie, southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. It is located in eastern part of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Czarna Przemsza and Biała Przemsza rivers (tributaries of the Vistula Rive ...

(since 1963) in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, where his parents were resettled in 1957. After finishing secondary school, he graduated at the energetical technikum in

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Metropolis GZM municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Industrial Re ...

, completed his compulsory military service in the Polish Army and worked as an electrician, in the same time was engaged in the parish life as a layperson. In 1989 he joined a mendicant Catholic religious community of the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

and after the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

Kalwaria Pacławska Kalwaria Pacławska () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Fredropol, within Przemyśl County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It lies approximately south-west of Fredropol, ...

made a solemn profession on 2 October 1994. Also Jerzy consequently studied at the Major Theological Seminary in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and continued his studies at the

Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure The Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure or Pontifical Theological Faculty of Saint Bonaventure (, ), commonly called the Seraphicum, is the international study center of the Conventual Franciscans, Friars Minor Conventual in Rome. As a Pontif ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

with the licentiate of the Christology degree and was ordained a

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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

on 22 June 1996 by Bishop

Adam Śmigielski Adam Stefan Śmigielski (24 December 1933 in Przemyśl − 7 October 2008 in Sosnowiec) was a Polish Roman Catholic bishop. Ordained to the priesthood on 30 June 1957, Śmigielski was named bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sosnowiec, Pol ...

, after completed his philosophical and theological studies.

Pastoral, administrative and educational work

After his ordination, during 1997–2000 Fr. Maculewicz worked at the St. Maksymilian Centrum in Harmęże near

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; ; ; ) is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rivers. Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an im ...

, and for two years he lectured the

Mariology Mariology is the Christian theological study of Mary, mother of Jesus. Mariology seeks to relate doctrine or dogma about Mary to other doctrines of the faith, such as those concerning Jesus and notions about redemption, intercession and g ...

at the Franciscan Major Theological Seminary in Kraków. He was elected vicar and secretary of his province at the Provincial Chapter in 2000, and a year later at the General Chapter, he was elected an Assistant General of the Order for Eastern Europe. During these years (2001-2005) he continuously visited all areas of the order that fell under its jurisdiction, including the

Mission sui iuris of Uzbekistan The Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan is a Roman Catholic (Latin Church) Apostolic Administration (pre-diocesan jurisdiction; originally an Independent Mission) for the Catholics of Uzbekistan (West Turkistan, Central Asia). It is exempt, i.e. ...

, entrusted to the Conventual Franciscans from this province.

Prelate

On 1 April 2005, he was appointed by

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 ...

as the Titular Bishop of

and an Apostolic Administrator of the newly created Apostolic Administration of Uzbekistan. On 14 May 2005, he was consecrated as bishop by Cardinal

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...

and other prelates of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in

and was installed on 26 June 2005 in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. On 29 April 2022 he was elected the Vice-President of the newly created Bishops' Conference of Central Asia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maculewicz, Jerzy 1955 births Living people People from Vinnytsia Oblast Uzbekistani people of Polish descent Uzbekistani people of Russian descent Polish people of Russian descent Conventual Franciscan bishops Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops Bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II