Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (August 17, 1894 – December 10, 1968) was an American

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 ...

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 ...

. He served as bishop of the

Diocese of Saginaw The Diocese of Saginaw () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Michigan in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Detroit. The D ...

in Michigan from 1950 to 1968. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

in Michigan from 1937 to 1950.

Biography

Early life

Stephen Woznicki was born on August 17, 1894, in the Miners Mills section of

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( , alternatively or ) is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It ...

, to Stephen and Michalina (née Jablonski) Woznicki. He began his studies for the priesthood at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. He completed his studies at St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Priesthood

On December 22, 1917, Woznicki was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest by Bishop James Trobec for the Archdiocese of Detroit at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul. After his ordination, Woznicki was assigned as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St. Joseph Parish in

Danville, Pennsylvania Danville is a borough in and the county seat of Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. The population was 4,221 at the 2020 census. Danville is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolita ...

. After arriving in Detroit in 1919, he became as secretary to Bishop Michael Gallagher. He was named a

domestic prelate Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

in 1926. Woznicki became

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

of St. Hyacinth, a Polish-language parish in Detroit, in December 1936. At St. Hyacinth, he appealed to parishioners to not

anglicize Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English languag ...

their family names and not flee to the suburbs.

Auxiliary Bishop of Detroit

On December 13, 1937, Woznicki was appointed 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 Archdiocese of Detroit 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 ''Peltae'' by

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on January 25, 1938, from Archbishop Edward Mooney, with Bishop Joseph C. Plagens and William J. Hafey serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Woznicki selected as his episcopal

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

: ''Veritatem in caritate'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: "Truth in charity"). As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Hyacinth until 1950.

Bishop of Saginaw

Woznicki was appointed the second bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

on April 15, 1950. His installation took place at St. Mary Cathedral in Saginaw on May 24, 1950. Known as a "great builder," Woznicki established 21 new parishes and missions, permitted the building of 30 schools, and led a nearly $4 million campaign to open the doors of St. Paul Seminary and the main diocesan offices. He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference from 1956 to 1957. He also attended the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the or , was the 21st and most recent ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. The council met each autumn from 1962 to 1965 in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City for session ...

in Rome from 1962 to 1965.

Resignation and legacy

On October 30, 1968,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

accepted Woznicki's early retirement as bishop of the Diocese of Saginaw for health reasons; he was appointed Titular Bishop of ''Thiava'' on the same date. Stephen Woznicki died in Saginaw on December 10, 1968. at age 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woznicki, Stephen Stanislaus 1894 births 1968 deaths People from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania American people of Polish descent 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Saginaw Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit Participants in the Second Vatican Council Catholics from Pennsylvania