Jan Pietraszko

Jan Pietraszko's pastoral ministry began as a vicar and catechist in Rabka from 1936 to 1938. From 1938 to 1939, he served as personal secretary to Cardinal Sapieha. At the beginning of the Second World War, he was sent back to Rabka. On September 2, 1939, the day after the invasion of Poland, he was arrested and held hostage by the Gestapo alongside the parish priest and another vicar, under the threat of immediate execution if weapons or Polish soldiers were discovered in the parish. Once released, he continued his ministry under extremely difficult wartime conditions, notably in Czarny Dunajec (1942-1944) and then in Zakopane (1944-1947), where he was particularly involved with youth and scouting. In 1947, he was appointed prefect of the Krakow seminary. The following year, in 1948, he began his major work by becoming the chaplain for students at the Collegiate Church of Saint Anne in Krakow. There, he developed a university ministry of immense influence, becoming a spiritual guide, a sought-after confessor, and an outstanding preacher for the youth and the Krakow intelligentsia. In 1957, he was appointed pastor of that same Saint Anne parish, a position he would hold until 1984. Under the communist regime, his influence on young people attracted the attention of the security services (UB/SB), who placed him under close surveillance and interrogated him on several occasions. Despite constant pressure, he refused to yield and continued to preach inner freedom and the truth of the Gospel. On November 23, 1962, Pope John XXIII appointed him auxiliary bishop of Krakow and titular bishop of Turrisblanda. He received episcopal consecration on April 15, 1963, from the hands of the Primate of Poland, Stefan Wyszyński, assisted by Karol Wojtyła (the future Pope John Paul II) and Julian Groblicki. As a bishop, he actively participated in the third and fourth sessions of the Second Vatican Council (1964-1965). He collaborated very closely with the Archbishop of Krakow, Karol Wojtyła, who held him in deep esteem. From 1970 onwards, he was entrusted with the responsibility for the personnel affairs of the diocesan clergy.

Jan Pietraszko passed away on March 2, 1988, at the neurological clinic in Krakow. According to his final wishes, he was interred in the crypt of the Collegiate Church of Saint Anne in Krakow, beneath the Altar of the Holy Cross, facing the tomb of Saint John of Kenty. His reputation for holiness, already strong during his lifetime, spread rapidly after his death, and many faithful came to pray at his tomb. At the urging of Pope John Paul II, who wished to see the memory of his former collaborator honored, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, Archbishop of Krakow, officially opened the diocesan beatification process on March 18, 1994. The nihil obstat decree was granted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on July 7, 1994, bestowing upon him the title of Servant of God. The diocesan inquiry, tasked with collecting his writings and testimonies regarding his life, was closed on April 24, 2001. The validity of this inquiry was confirmed by the Vatican on February 22, 2002.

After the thorough examination of the Positio by the commissions of theologians and cardinals of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Pope Francis authorized, on December 21, 2018, the promulgation of the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues. Jan Pietraszko was then declared Venerable. For his beatification to be pronounced, the Church requires the official recognition of a miracle attributed to his intercession. To this day, no miracle has yet been the subject of a decree of approval by the Holy See.

The spirituality of Jan Pietraszko is deeply Eucharistic, Marian, and rooted in a constant search for the divine will. He is characterized by a great simplicity of life, a rigorous evangelical poverty, and a profound humility. His most striking legacy lies in his method of spiritual accompaniment and his art of preaching. His homilies, of great theological depth but expressed with a simplicity accessible to all, nourished generations of Polish students and intellectuals under the communist yoke. John Paul II himself confided that he learned theology by his side and wrote to him upon his death: "You showed me the way to the youth." His vision of spiritual direction was based on absolute respect for the freedom of the person being accompanied, with the guide needing to step aside to let the Holy Spirit act.