Famous Polish Priests

Stefan Wyszyński was a Polish prelate best remembered for his service as the bishop of Lublin between 1946 and 1948. He also served as the archbishop of Gniezno and archbishop of Warsaw from 1948 to 1981. Stefan Wyszyński is credited with saving Christianity in Poland during the Communist regime, which witnessed the repression of Christianity. 

Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar and a Catholic priest. Venerated as Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Maximilian is best remembered for volunteering to die at the death camp of Auschwitz in place of a stranger during World War II. In 1982, Pope John Paul II declared Maximilian Kolbe a martyr of charity.

Hyacinth of Poland was a Polish Dominican missionary and priest best remembered for his efforts to improve women's monasteries in Poland. A learned man of enormous capabilities, Hyacinth was canonized by Pope Clement VIII on 17 April 1594. According to a legend, Hyacinth heard the voice of Mary inside the monastery chapel during a Mongol attack on Kiev in 1240.

Moses Isserles was a Polish Ashkenazic rabbi, scholar, and talmudist. He is best remembered for his immense contribution to Halakha, the collective body of Jewish religious laws. Moses Isserles is also remembered for his inline commentary on several religious texts that are considered important by the Jewish community. 

Ignacy Krasicki was a Primate of Poland, playwright, journalist, encyclopedist, translator, critic of the clergy and a prominent Enlightenment poet of Poland. The most notable works of Krasicki are his Fables and Parables and Satires. The first Polish novel, The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom, written in the form of a diary by Krasicki is a milestone in Polish literature.

Polish chronicler, soldier, and priest Jan Długosz is remembered for writing the first-known comprehensive history of Poland. His 12-volume Annals or Chronicles of the Famous Kingdom of Poland, a patriotic documentation of Poland’s history, written in Latin, earned him the tag of Poland’s first historian.

Apart from being a Catholic priest, Michał Heller is also a mathematical cosmologist and a professor. The Templeton Prize-winner was born in Poland, but he later fled with his family to the USSR, to escape the Nazis, and lived in Siberian labor camps. His current research deals with general relativity.

Józef Glemp was a senior member of the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed a Cardinal of the Church and also served as Archbishop of Warsaw between 1981 and 2006. Glemp also played a key role in selecting Pope Benedict XVI as he was one of the cardinal electors who took part in the 2005 papal conclave.

Henryk Jankowski was a Polish Roman Catholic priest who became known for his support towards the Solidarity movement during the 1980s. He was one of the priests who opposed the communist government in favor of the Solidarity movement. In the late-1990s, Jankowski was accused of child molestation but wasn’t convicted. In 2019, his statue in Gdańsk was destroyed by protestors.

Stanislaus of Szczepanów was a Polish priest who also served as the Bishop of Kraków. He is best remembered for his conflict with the King of Poland Bolesław II the Generous whose violent behavior was criticized by Bishop Stanislaus. Enraged, the king executed Stanislaus and he became known as Saint Stanislaus the Martyr.

Adam Naruszewicz was the first historian from Poland to use modern scholarship methods. A Roman Catholic bishop, he later became a major figure of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland and also popularized the term Piast dynasty through his writings. Apart from his 7-volume history of Poland, he also wrote poems.

Polish poet, bishop and diplomat Johannes Dantiscus, who was the prince-bishop of Warmia and Bishop of Chełmno, was one of the first representatives of Renaissance humanism in Poland. Known as the Father of Polish Diplomacy, Dantiscus served as a royal diplomat and the royal secretary for over three decades. His notable literary works include his autobiography Vita Joannis de Curiis Dantisci. 

Polish scholar, teacher, administrator and Jesuit priest Tadeusz Brzozowski was the first world-wide general of the restored Society of Jesus. When Pope Pius VII restored the Society of Jesus across the globe, he elected Brzozowski as the twentieth Superior General of the Society of Jesus. Brzozowski translated Claude-Adrien Nonnotte’s work Dictionnaire philosophique de la religion into Polish.

Jan Niemiec was a Polish-born Ukrainian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Apart from serving as the Titular Bishop of Decoriana, Jan Niemiec also served as the Auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Kamyanets-Podilskyi from 2006 until his death in 2020.

Bogdan Jozef Wojtus was a Polish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He is best remembered for his service as the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Gniezno, which is the oldest Latin Catholic archdiocese in Poland. Bogdan Jozef Wojtus also served as the Titular Bishop of Vassinassa after being appointed by Pope John Paul II.

Raphael Kalinowski was a Polish friar who founded several Carmelite monasteries in and around Poland after the suppression by the Russians. A multi-talented personality, Kalinowski also served as a royal tutor, engineer, and teacher. Raphael Kalinowski was beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1983. Today, he is revered by Catholics as a patron saint of officers in Poland.

Elimelech of Lizhensk was a rabbi who played a key role in the founding of the famous and influential Hasidic movement. Many of his disciples like Chozeh of Lublin and Menachem Mendel of Rimanov went on to become great leaders.

Polish bishop and philosopher Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki is best remembered for his Latin book De optimo senator, or The Accomplished Senator, dedicated to King Sigismund II Augustus, whom he served. The book not only showcased Poland’s democratic and social systems but also influenced the formation of the 1791 Polish Constitution.