Bishop Radosław Zmitrowicz, O.M.I. (; ; born 2 September 1962 in

Wrzeszcz Wrzeszcz (pronounced , ; ) is one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish city of Gdańsk. With a population of more than 65,000 in an area of (population density 6,622), Wrzeszcz is the most populous part of Gdańsk. History The current n ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

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 ...

) is a Polish-born Ukrainian Roman Catholic prelate, who serves as an

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. ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamyanets-Podilskyi The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamianets-Podilskyi () is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Ukraine. Maksymilian Leonid Dubrawski O.F.M is the current bishop of the diocese. He was appointed to the episcopal see of Kamiane ...

and the Titular Bishop of Gypsaria since 21 October 2006.

Life

Bishop Zmitrowicz was born in the Roman-Catholic family in the suburb of

. After graduation from the school and lyceum education, he joined the

Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest later recognized as a Catholic saint. The congregation wa ...

in 1981; he made a solemn profession on 21 May 1987, and was ordained as

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 17 June 1989, after graduation from the Major Missionary Oblates Theological Seminary in Obra, Poland, and Theological faculty of the

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań The Adam Mickiewicz University (; Latin: ''Universitas Studiorum Mickiewicziana Posnaniensis'') is a research university in Poznań, Poland. Due to its history, the university is traditionally considered among Poland's most reputable institution ...

. After his ordination he served in the different Missionary Oblates institutions in

from 1989 until 1997, when he was transferred to

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

in the newly created

Mission sui iuris of Turkmenistan The Mission ''sui iuris'' of Turkmenistan is a Roman Catholic (Latin Church) mission sui iuris (pre-diocesan jurisdiction) for the Catholics of Turkmenistan. It is exempt, i.e. directly subject to the Holy See (not part of any ecclesiastical prov ...

. After 2000 he worked in

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 ...

. Fr. Zmitrowicz served in the Missionary Oblates parishes in

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

Slavutych Slavutych (, ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, purpose-built for the evacuated personnel of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after the 1986 disaster that occurred near the city of Pripyat. Geographically located within Chern ...

and

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, until 2006, when he was appointed as a Superior of the Delegature of

in Ukraine. On 29 November 2012 he was appointed by the

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 ...

as the

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. ...

of the

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 Gypsaria. On 9 February 2013 he was consecrated as bishop by Bishop

Leon Dubrawski Maximilian Leon Dubrawski (; born 1 July 1949) is the Roman Catholic bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi. Life Dubrawski was born near Zhytomyr, present day Ukraine. In 1978 he entered the seminary in Riga. On 31 August 1982 he joined the Franciscan Or ...

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 ...

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

The bishop's diocese was largely unaffected by the direct impact of the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, but saw a large influx of refugees, to whom the Church provided aid and humanitarian assistance. In an interview with

Aid to the Church in Need Aid to the Church in Need (, , ) is an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, which yearly offers financial support to more than 5,000 projects worldwide. Aid to the Church in Need's General Secretariat and Project Headquarters is in ...

, Bishop Zmitrowicz warned about the lasting effects of the conflict. "The worst consequences of the war will not be immediate, but will drag out. The psychological, spiritual, physical and humanitarian consequences, as well as those on the family, will probably be felt later. The healing is a process. We have started psychological services in one of our houses, and a priest takes part in this process. Only God can heal these deep wounds. Only God can answer the question of why are we suffering in this way." He told the organisation that the Catholic Church had already asked for help from international specialists on PTSD to prepare programmes to help soldiers and their families in the long-run.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zmitrowicz, Radoslaw 1962 births Living people Clergy from Gdańsk Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań alumni Polish expatriates in Ukraine 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Ukraine