Ignacy Jeż
| Ignacy Jeż | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg | |
 |
|
| Enthroned | 5 June 1960 |
| Reign ended | 1 February 1992 |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Ignacy Ludwik Jeż |
| Born | 31 July 1914 Radomyśl Wielki, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland |
| Died | October 16, 2007 (aged 93) Vatican City |
Ignacy Ludwik Jeż (July 31, 1914, Radomyśl Wielki – October 16, 2007) was the Latin Rite Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, located in Poland.
Bishop Jeż was born in the Polish town of Radomyśl Wielki on July 31, 1914. He was ordained a Catholic priest on June 20, 1937. In 1942 he was sent first to Niemców labour camp and then interned in Dachau concentration camp as prisoner no. 37196, where he met fellow priest Joseph Kentenich.
After the camp was liberated by the American forces in 1945, he returned to priesthood, and from 1946 until 1960 he was the director of a Catholic Gymnasium in Katowice.
On June 5, 1960, under Pope John XXIII, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński and future Cardinal Bolesław Kominek appointed him Titular Bishop of Alba Maritima. In 1967 he was elevated to Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław. In 1972 he was appointed Bishop of Koszalin-Kołobrzeg, in northern Poland. He held this post until February 1, 1992, when, at the age of 77, his resignation request was accepted by Pope John Paul II.
Jeż died on October 16, 2007 in Rome, Italy, the day before the announcement that Pope Benedict XVI had planned to make him a cardinal (in the consistory of November 24, 2007).[1]
Work [edit]
Jeż was one of the pioneers of re-initiating post-war German-Polish relations. His widespread work led him to become an honorary canon (Ehrendomherr) of the Bavarian Diocese of Würzburg, and in 2005 the President of Germany Horst Köhler awarded him the Grand Cross of Germany's federal order of merit, the Bundesverdienstkreuz. The following year the German Bundestag awarded him the Preis für Zivilcourage, "for his courageous behaviour as a young priest during the Nazi occupation of Poland".[2] In 2007 he received the Grand Cross of the Polonia Restituta.
He has been made Honorary Citizen of several Cities and Municipalities: Radomyśl Wielki (since 2004), Koszalin (since 1994), Slupsk (since 2006), Połczyn Zdrój (since 2006), Katowice (2007) and Kolobrzeg (since 2008).
Jeż is a Knight of the Order of the Smile.
References [edit]
- ^ "Annuncio di Concistorio per la Creazione di nuovi Cardinali" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-10-17.
- ^ http://www.gemeinsinn.de/templates/tem_sta2.php?mmID=11&smID=&cdID=15 (in German)
External links [edit]
|
 |
This article about a Polish Catholic bishop or archbishop is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1914 births
- 2007 deaths
- People from Radomyśl Wielki
- Polish Roman Catholic priests
- Polish Roman Catholic bishops
- Nazi concentration camp survivors
- Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Recipients of the Order of the Smile
- Dachau concentration camp survivors
- Polish Roman Catholic bishop stubs
