January 1
Sigismund Gorazdowski (1845–1920)
Priest and founder
Roman Martyrology
At Lviv, a city of Ukraine, Saint Sigismund Gorazdowski, a priest of Polish origin, who was distinguished by his love of neighbor, by being a pioneer in the commitment to protect life, and by founding the Institute of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, dedicated to caring for the poor and abandoned.
Practical advice
Identify someone who is usually left out, and make a real place for that person today in your time, at your table or in your conversation.
Biography
(Polish: Zygmunt Gorazdowski).
He was born at Sanok in Poland into a noble family. In 1864 he went to study law at the University of Lviv. He interrupted his studies in his second year when he felt called to the priesthood and entered the major seminary of Lviv. There he had to overcome a great trial: his health steadily worsened until his life was in danger, and his superiors therefore would not admit him to priestly ordination. His companions, who witnessed his personal ordeal at close hand, wrote in their memoirs: “Not being admitted to the priesthood was a very painful blow for Sigismund; he suffered morally and physically, but did not lose his trust in God.” Two years later, when his health had markedly improved, he was ordained a priest in Lviv Cathedral in 1871.
From the beginning of his pastoral ministry he joined priestly activity to charitable work. Seeing the various difficulties involved in proclaiming the Gospel message, he prepared a catechism that became widely circulated. For boys and girls he published the book “Counsels and Recommendations.”
He diligently promoted the sacraments among the faithful, especially the Eucharist. In imitation of Christ, he excluded no one from a pastoral ministry exercised with wholehearted love, and showed special concern for those on the margins of society. During a cholera epidemic, forgetting himself, he assisted the sick and brought them both the consolation of his priestly ministry and practical help.
He devoted much time to catechesis in various schools and wrote and published articles and books for parents and educators. He created the “Bonus Pastor” association to support the work of priests. He founded numerous charitable works: the “House of Voluntary Work” for poor people with nowhere to live; the “People’s Kitchen,” which provided low-cost meals to help the poor; the “Center for the Terminally Ill and Convalescents,” which received patients who could not be cared for in hospitals; the “Saint Josaphat Hostel” for poor students; and the “Infant Jesus Center” for single mothers and abandoned children. He was also one of the founders of the “League of Charitable Associations and Centers,” which coordinated the activity of works of Christian mercy.
To save Catholic children from religious indifference and even atheism, he founded a Polish-German Catholic school and entrusted it to the Brothers of the Christian Schools. The school initiative, together with the Catholic newspaper he founded and directed, “The Daily Gazette,” brought him great suffering and misunderstanding that lasted almost until his death.
To administer most of his charitable works, he asked a group of Franciscan tertiaries to collaborate and took care to provide them suitable formation. Thus, on 17 February 1884, a new congregation came into being: the Sisters of Saint Joseph. As the work developed, its founder involved the sisters in serving the sick in hospitals, orphanages and nursing homes, as well as in private homes.
For his sisters he himself was a model of prayer and heroic service to those in need. Called the “priest of the dispossessed,” the “father of the poor” and the “apostle of God’s mercy,” he died in Lviv. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him blessed at Lviv on 26 June 2001, and His Holiness Benedict XVI canonized him in Rome on 23 October 2005.