Bolesław Kominek
Bolesław Cardinal Kominek [ bɔˈlɛswaf kɔˈmʲinɛk ] (born December 23, 1903 in Radlin II , † March 10, 1974 in Wroclaw ) was a Roman Catholic clergyman and the first Polish Archbishop of Wroclaw .
Life
Boleslaw Kominek attended the State School in Rybnik and received on September 11, 1927 in Katowice , the ordination . From 1927 to 1930 he studied philosophy and Catholic theology at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow and then at the Catholic Institute in Paris , where he also worked as a pastor for Polish emigrants. After completing his studies, he worked as a priest in the Katowice diocese from 1930 to 1939 and was also secretary of Catholic Action . During the Second World War he looked after prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates in Lublin and Upper Silesia .
After the death of Cardinal Bertram in July 1945 and the resignation of the elected capitular vicar Ferdinand Piontek , Bolesław Kominek was appointed on August 15, 1945 by the Polish primate , Cardinal August Hlond , who divided the diocese of Breslau into three administrative districts (Breslau, Oppeln and Landsberg an der Warthe ), was unilaterally appointed Apostolic Administrator of Opole, although Hlond had no papal authorization to do so.
On January 26, 1951, the three administrators were forbidden from further administration by the communist rulers. They were recalled from the administered office and were banned from staying in their previous residences. In their place, so-called capitular vicars were appointed by the People's Republic of Poland . Bolesław Kominek left Opole and took up residence in Cracow.
In the same year 1951 the Pope appointed him titular bishop of Sophene and de facto auxiliary bishop in Wroclaw (the Archdiocese of Wroclaw was officially still regarded by the Holy See as belonging to Germany). The communist rulers forbade him both to settle in Breslau and to receive episcopal ordination . The consecration, secretly donated in Przemyśl by Bishop Franciszek Barda on October 10, 1954, had to be kept secret until 1956. After the death of Bolesław Bierut and the temporary political and religious liberalization by party leader Władysław Gomułka , Kominek was allowed to take office as auxiliary bishop and capitular vicar in 1956 and to take up residence in Wroclaw.
Pope John XXIII appointed Kominek Titular Archbishop of Euchaitae in 1962 . 1962 to 1965 he took part in the Second Vatican Council .
In November 1965, Kominek wrote the important appeal of the Polish bishops to their German brothers in office for reconciliation , which became known above all for the phrase “we forgive and ask for forgiveness”, and thus made a major contribution to German for the next few decades - Polish understanding and reconciliation.
After the reorganization of the former German eastern dioceses by the Holy See , Bolesław Kominek was in 1972 by Pope Paul VI. appointed Archbishop of Wroclaw. On March 5, 1973 he accepted him as a cardinal priest with the titular church of Santa Croce in via Flaminia in the college of cardinals .
Bolesław Kominek died on March 10, 1974 in Wroclaw and was buried in Wroclaw Cathedral .
literature
- Józef Pater: The resettlement of Lower Silesia in the context of the re-establishment of the diocese of Wroclaw in the years 1945 to 1951. In: Cultures in encounter. Collegium Pontes, Wrocław - Görlitz 2004, ISBN 83-7432-018-4 .
- Basil Kerski , Thomas Kycia, Robert Żurek: We forgive and ask for forgiveness. The exchange of letters between the Polish and German bishops in 1965 and its effect. Fiber Verlag, Osnabrück 2006, ISBN 3-938400-10-2 .
Web links
- Kominek, Bolesław. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website), accessed December 17, 2016.
- Entry on Bolesław Kominek on catholic-hierarchy.org ; accessed on December 17, 2016.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| - (to the Archdiocese of Wroclaw) |
Administrator of the Archdiocese of Wroclaw, Opole District 1946–1951 |
Emil Kobierzycki |
|
Adolf Cardinal Bertram as Archbishop until 1945 Kazimierz Lagosz as District Administrator Wroclaw until 1956 Ferdinand Piontek as Capitular Vicar until 1963 |
Archbishop of Wroclaw 1972–1974 Administrator (“Vicar Capitular”) of the Wroclaw District from 1956 Vicar Capitular from 1963 |
Henryk Roman Cardinal Gulbinowicz |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kominek, Bolesław |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kominek, Cardinal Bolesław (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Polish clergyman, cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and Archbishop of Wrocław |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 23, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Radlin II |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 1974 |
| Place of death | Wroclaw |