Romuald Jałbrzykowski

Romuald Jałbrzykowski (7 February 1876 – 19 June 1955) was a Polish Catholic priest. From 1925 to 1926 he was the bishop of Łomża; from 1926 to 1955, archbishop of Wilno (Vilnius) and from 1945 to 1955, bishop of Białystok. [1]

His Excellency

Romuald Jałbrzykowski
Archbishop of Vilnius
ChurchRoman Catholic
ArchdioceseVilnius
Appointed24 June 1926
In office1926-1955
PredecessorJan Cieplak
SuccessorJulijonas Steponavičius
Orders
Ordination9 March 1901
Consecration30 November 1918
by Aleksander Kakowski
RankMetropolitan Archbishop
Personal details
Born(1876-02-07)February 7, 1876
Łętowo-Dąb, Poland
DiedJune 19, 1955(1955-06-19) (aged 79)
NationalityPolish
Previous postAuxiliary Bishop of Sejny o Sejna o Augustów (1918-1925)
Bishop of Łomża (1925-1926)

While Jałbrzykowski was the Archbishop of Vilnius, Saint Faustina Kowalska was a nun at the convent there, and her confessor was Father Michael Sopocko. Jałbrzykowski gave Sopocko permission to display the Divine Mercy image for the first time ever during a Mass on April 28, 1935, the second Sunday of Easter; the feast that is now officially called Divine Mercy Sunday.[2]:103–119

Jałbrzykowski knew Faustina, and she had been to confession with him and told him about the Divine Mercy devotion. In January 1936, Faustina went to see him again to discuss a new congregation for Divine Mercy, but he reminded her that she was perpetually vowed to her current order. In the summer of 1936, Jalbrzykowski provided his imprimatur for the first brochure on the Divine Mercy devotion, written by Sopocko.[2]

In 1939, a year after Faustina's death, Jałbrzykowski noticed that her predictions about the war had taken place and allowed public access to the Divine Mercy image. That resulted in large crowds and led to the spread of the Divine Mercy devotion.[2]:156

From 1942 to 1944, he was imprisoned by Nazi Germany. In 1945 he was freed by the Red Army, only to be quickly deported to Poland, as the Soviets tried to destroy the archdiocese of Vilnius in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. He died in 1955.

See also

References
  1. 1939: the year that changed everything in Lithuania's history by Sarunas Liekis 2009 ISBN 978-90-420-2762-6 pages 221–228
  2. Faustina: The Apostle of Divine Mercy by Catherine M. Odell 1998 ISBN 0-87973-923-1
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.