Prince Jan Duklan Maurycy Paweł Puzyna de Kosielsko (13 September 1842 – 8 September 1911) 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

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

who was

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

(now Lviv,

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) from 1886 to 1895, and the

bishop of Kraków A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

from 1895 until his death in 1911. Named a Cardinal in 1901, he was known for his

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

views and

authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

Biography

Puzyna was born in 1842 in what was then a part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

and former part of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, in the diocese of Lwów. He earned a doctorate in law from the

University of Lwów The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

on 24 June 1870. He began a career in civil administration, but decided to embrace an ecclesiastical career. 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 1 December 1878, he was a vicar (assistant pastor) at

Przeworsk Przeworsk (; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland with 15,675 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Since 1999 it has been in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, and is the capital of Przeworsk County. The ancient Przeworsk culture was named after the town ...

, and then became a Canon of the Cathedral of

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

. He was named

of the Latin-rite Archbishop of Lwów and

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 an ...

of Memphis on 26 February 1886. He was consecrated a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

on 25 March of that same year by

Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski Mieczysław Halka-Ledóchowski ( IPA: /mʲɛˈtʂɨswaf ˈxalka lɛduˈxɔfski/), (29 October 1822 – 22 July 1902) was born in Górki (near Sandomierz) in Russian-controlled Congress Poland Franziskus von Paula Graf von Schönborn Franziskus von Paula Graf von Schönborn (; 24 January 1844 – 25 June 1899) was a Czech Catholic cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal. Early life Born at Prague on 24 January 1844 into an Uradel, ancient noble House of Schönborn, he was the fou ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and Archbishop

Joseph Sembratovych Joseph Sembratovych (, ; 8 November 1821, Krynica-Zdrój – 23 October 1900) was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1870 until his resignation in 1882. Life Joseph Sembratovych was born on 8 November 1821, s ...

Ukrainian rite The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) is a major archiepiscopal ''sui iuris'' ("autonomous") Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ukraine. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. I ...

Lwów. He was translated to the

Archdiocese of Kraków 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 ...

on 22 January 1895. On 15 April 1901, Puzyna was created a

cardinal-priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

, with the title of Santi Vitale, Valeria, Gervasio e Protasio by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...

. He received his red hat on 9 June 1902. During the

conclave of 1903 A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around po ...

, acting on behalf of his Sovereign, Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, he presented a

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...

against the election of Cardinal

Mariano Rampolla Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro (17 August 1843 – 16 December 1913) was an Italian Cardinal in the Catholic Church, and the last man to have his candidacy for papal election vetoed through ''jus exclusivae'' by a Catholic monarch. Rampolla is i ...

. Puzyna wanted to avoid the election of Rampolla, who was sympathetic to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Among other things, Rampolla sought to curry favor with Russia by abolishing the Polish language and instituting Russian in the Russian partition's Catholic churches. These were ethnic and linguistic considerations. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, too, did not wish to see Rampolla elected to the

Chair of Peter The Chair of Saint Peter (), also known as the Throne of Saint Peter, is a relic conserved in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the sovereign enclave of the Pope inside Rome, Italy. The relic is a wooden throne that tradition claims belonged ...

. He held a grudge against Rampolla for opposing a proper

burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

for his son

Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (Rudolf Franz Karl Josef; 21 August 1858 – 30 January 1889) was the only son and third child of Franz Joseph I of Austria, Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. He was heir apparent to the imp ...

, upon Rudolf's suicide. Rampolla also openly supported political forces in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

that were hostile to the Emperor. The Emperor therefore authorized the Cardinal to present the veto in his name. On his way to the conclave, Puzyna met in Vienna with the Emperor and proposed that the Emperor present his veto, ''

jus exclusivae (Latin for "right of exclusion"; sometimes called the papal veto) was the right claimed by several Catholic monarchs of Europe to veto a candidate for the papacy. Although never formally recognized by the Catholic Church, the monarchs of France ...

'', against Cardinal Rampolla. The Emperor subscribed to the idea, and Puzyna presented the veto on the third day of the conclave, in the name of His Apostolic Majesty Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. When the veto was read, Cardinal Luigi Oreglia di Santo Stefano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, replied, "This communication cannot be received officially or unofficially. No cardinal is to give any consideration to this 'veto' and all are to continue to vote according to their conscience." In other words, the attempt at a veto was rejected. It was the last time such a veto was used. The veto, although not recognized by

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 ...

, and as such non-binding, still carried much political weight, as the cardinals feared opposing the manifest will of one of the Christian monarchs. The veto, once conceded by tradition to the Emperor, the King of France and the King of Spain, was abolished by the newly elected

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

, who imposed the penalty of

excommunication Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in Koinonia, communion with other members o ...

upon anyone who would dare to introduce a veto, or otherwise interfere in the election of the

Roman Pontiff Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. Pope Pius X further decreed that all cardinals should take an

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

at the beginning of the conclave, promising not to aid any civil power in an attempt to influence the election of the pope. Puzyna was decorated with the Grand Cross of the

Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary The Order of Saint Stephen () is an order of chivalry founded in 1764 by Maria Theresa. In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary. The name of the Order changed to the Royal Hungarian Order of ...

in 1904. He was a member of the Sacred Congregation Consistorial, the SC of Bishops and Regulars, the SC of the Index, the SC of Indulgences and Relics, and the SC of Studies. Jan Cardinal Puzyna de Kosielsko died in Kraków in 1911, five days before his 69th birthday.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puzynadekosielsko, Jan Maurycy Pawel 1842 births 1911 deaths 20th-century Polish cardinals Cardinals created by Pope Leo XIII Bishops of Kraków Knights of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary 19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Poland

Biography

See also

Related article

Notes