| Saint Józef Bilczewski | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1860 Wilamowice, Bielsko County |
| Died | 1923 Lviv |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Beatified | 2001, Wilamowice by Pope John Paul II |
| Canonized | October 23, 2005, Rome by Benedict XVI |
| Feast | March 20 |
St. Jozef Bilczewski (ukr. Йосип Більчевський, Yosyp Bilchevsky)(1860–1923) was a Catholic archbishop of the city of Lviv, Ukraine, a professor of theology at the Lviv University and a rector of that school. Since 2005 he is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint.
Jozef Bilczewski was born in Wilamowice, Bielsko County, part of the Austrian province of Galicia. In 1880 he graduated from a local gymnasium in Wadowice and joined the theological seminary in nearby Kraków. After receiving PhD from Theological Faculty of the Jagiellonian University, on July 6, 1884 he became a priest and was ordained by Cardinal Archbishop of Kraków Albin Dunajewski. In less than 2 years Bilczewski received doctorate from theology and started his studies on dogmatics and Christian archaeology in Rome and Vienna and then in Paris. In 1890 he passed his habilitation at the Jagiellonian University and the following year he became a professor of dogmatics at the Lviv University (Lemberg in German). His university career progressed at a very fast pace as in 1893 he became a common professor and in 1896 he became a deacon of the Theological Faculty. In 1900 he was elected the rector of that university, but gave up the post later that year as he was ordained the archbishop of Lviv with the approval of emperor Francis-Joseph.
A supporter of organic work, Bilczewski started an extensive work on construction of new churches in the area. He initiated the construction of more than 330 churches in the arch-diocese of Lviv alone, including the monumental Saint Elizabeth Church in Lviv. He also organized courses for the priests wanting to be prepared for social work among the poor and financed several Catholic societies. His support for the students, as well as People's Schools gained him much popularity in his diocese, not only among the Catholics, but also among other denominations. During the World War I he was one of the people to create committees of relief for the workers of Galicia, severely touched by the war and shortages of food. During the Polish-Ukrainian War of 1918 and the Siege of Lviv, he was responsible for organization of food convoys for the besieged city. His help for the poor and the homeless was awarded by the homeless themselves with the title of honorary patron of louts in 1917. He died March 20, 1923 in Lviv and was buried at the Yaniv Cemetery.
In 2001 he was beatified by Pope John Paul II during his trip to Bilczewski's hometown, after World War II called L'viv. On October 23, 2005 he was canonized by Benedict XVI in Rome.
Bilczewski was an honorary member of K.D.St. V. Frankonia Czernowitz Erlangen, a Catholic student fraternity that belongs to the Cartellverband der katholischen deutschen Studentenverbindungen.
| Preceded by Seweryn Morawski |
Archbishop of Lwów 1900–1923 |
Succeeded by Bolesław Twardowski |
