Jerzy Ciesielski

After his secondary studies, Jerzy Ciesielski enrolled in the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Krakow University of Technology (Politechnika Krakowska) as well as the Institute of Physical Education at the Jagiellonian University. Graduating as a civil engineer in 1954, he began a brilliant academic and professional career. A recognized specialist in reinforced and prestressed concrete, he actively participated in the introduction of these innovative technologies in Poland, notably for the construction of cement silos and bridges. He obtained his doctorate in technical sciences in 1960, then his habilitation (doctorat habilitatus) in 1968, becoming a professor at the Krakow University of Technology. He published numerous scientific works and filed several patents. In October 1969, eager to put his skills at the service of development and international solidarity, he accepted a position as a visiting professor at the University of Khartoum, in Sudan, to train young African engineers. Parallel to his scientific career, Jerzy was deeply involved in the life of the Church. In 1968, he discovered the Focolare Movement. Deeply touched by the spirituality of unity and evangelical love lived within this community, he joined it fully. With Dr. Giuseppe Santanché, an Italian focolarino, he presented the nascent movement to Cardinal Karol Wojtyła to obtain his blessing. During the summer of 1969, during a clandestine Mariapolis organized in Zakopane, he felt the call to dedicate himself entirely to God as a married focolarino. In Khartoum, he founded and led a local Focolare community, bringing together Catholics, Protestants, and Coptic Orthodox Christians.

It was during his university years that Jerzy Ciesielski met Father Karol Wojtyła (the future Pope John Paul II), then chaplain for students at Saint Florian's parish in Krakow. Jerzy became one of the pillars of the youth group led by the future pontiff, known as the "Środowisko" (the "Environment"). A deep and lasting friendship formed between the two men, who shared many mountain excursions, kayaking trips, and intense spiritual discussions. For Jerzy, lay life, professional work, and marriage were not obstacles to holiness, but privileged paths to achieve it. He sought his future companion through prayer and discernment. On June 29, 1957, he married Danuta Plebańczyk at the Collegiate Church of Saint Anne in Krakow, during a ceremony blessed by Father Karol Wojtyła. The couple would have three children: Maria (born in 1958), Katarzyna (born in 1961), and Piotr (born in 1962). Jerzy strove to live a deeply Christian marriage, considering his family a true domestic church. His exchanges with Karol Wojtyła on the beauty of conjugal love and the holiness of the laity would largely inspire the future Pope's reflections, particularly for the writing of his major work Love and Responsibility.

On October 9, 1970, while teaching in Sudan, Jerzy Ciesielski died tragically at the age of 41 in a boat accident on the Nile, near Khartoum. The pleasure craft on which he was traveling with his children struck a sandbank and sank. Jerzy, who had gone down into the cabin to put his youngest children, Katarzyna and Piotr, to sleep, drowned with them. His eldest daughter, Maria, who was on the upper deck, managed to save herself by jumping into the water and swimming to the shore. His wife, Danuta, had remained at their home. Upon hearing the terrible news, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, then in Rome, interrupted his stay to return immediately to Krakow to preside over his friend's funeral and celebrate the requiem mass. The ashes of Jerzy and his son Piotr were brought back to Poland and buried in the Podgórski cemetery in Krakow. In 1998, his remains were solemnly transferred to the tomb chapel of Saint John of Kenty, within the Collegiate Church of Saint Anne in Krakow. The cause for the beatification of Jerzy Ciesielski was officially opened by the Archdiocese of Krakow on December 31, 1985. The diocesan inquiry was closed on May 29, 1990. On December 17, 2013, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of his virtues, thereby declaring him Venerable.

The spirituality of Jerzy Ciesielski is based on the harmonious integration of the Christian faith into the daily realities of the secular world. He demonstrated that a layperson can strive for evangelical perfection through his work as an engineer, his responsibilities as a husband and father, and his involvement in associations or sports. His life perfectly illustrates the universal call to holiness, a central theme of the Second Vatican Council. His friendship with Karol Wojtyła left an indelible mark on the magisterium of John Paul II regarding the family and the laity. In his book Crossing the Threshold of Hope, the saintly pope recalls with emotion this young student who aspired with determination to holiness while remaining fully engaged in the technical world. In Poland, his legacy is perpetuated in particular by the "Jerzy Ciesielski Prize" (Nagroda im. Sługi Bożego Jerzego Ciesielskiego - Ojca Rodziny), awarded each year since 1997 to fathers of families who distinguish themselves by their commitment to family, professional, and social life, faithful to Christian values.