Tadeusz Gocłowski

Tadeusz Gocłowski
Tadeusz Gocłowski in 2008
Tadeusz Gocłowski (2008)
Born(1931-09-16)September 16, 1931
Piski
DiedMay 3, 2016(2016-05-03) (aged 84)
Gdańsk
Burial placeOliwa Cathedral
NationalityPolish
Years active1983–1984 (Auxiliary Bishop of Gdańsk)
1984–2008 (Diocesan Bishop of Gdańsk)
ReligionCatholicism
ChurchLatin Church
Congregations served
Congregation of the Mission

Tadeusz Gocłowski, C.M. (16 September 1931 – 3 May 2016) was a Roman Catholic archbishop.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1956, Gocłowski served as auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gdańsk, Poland, from 1983 to 1984. Then he served as bishop of the diocese from 1984 to 1992. In 1992, Gocłowski was elevated to archbishop serving until 2008.[1] He took care for the usage of Kashubian language in liturgy.

Biography

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Tadeusz Gocłowski was born on 16 September 1931 in Piski. From 1946 to 1951, he studied at the Minor Seminary of the Congregation of the Mission of Saint Vincent de Paul in Kraków. He passed his maturity exam externally at the King John III Sobieski 2nd High School. In October 1949, he was accepted into the Congregation of the Mission.[2] He took perpetual vows on 15 December 1951. From 1951 to 1956, he pursued philosophical and theological studies at the Theological Institute of the Congregation of the Mission in Kraków. He was ordained a priest on 24 June 1956 in the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle in Kraków by Stanisław Rospond [pl], auxiliary bishop of Kraków. He continued his studies from 1956 to 1959 at the Faculty of Canon Law of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, earning a Licentiate of Sacred Theology.[2] From 1969 to 1970, he studied at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome,[3] where, in 1970, he obtained a doctorate based on his dissertation Post-Tridentine diocesan seminaries entrusted to the leadership of the Congregation of the Mission – particularly in Poland.[2]

He was a member of the liturgical commission and the preparatory commission for the second synod of the Gdańsk diocese, held in 1972. From 1982 to 1983, he served as a defender of the marriage bond in the Gdańsk diocesan court.[2] In 1970, he became a consultor to the Primate's Tribunal in Warsaw, and in 1976, a member of the Polish Bishops' Conference Commission for the Pastoral Care of the Polish Diaspora. From 1981 to 1983, he was the editor of the semi-annual church history journal Nasza Przeszłość [pl].[2]

From 1959 to 1960, he lectured at the Theological Institute of the Congregation of the Mission in Kraków, and from 1960 to 1968, at the Gdańsk Theological Seminary [pl]. He served as rector of the Gdańsk seminary from 1971 to 1973 and from 1982 to 1983.[3] From 1973 to 1982, he was the visitor (superior) of the Polish province of the Congregation of the Mission in Kraków.[2][3]

On 22 March 1983, he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Gdańsk with the titular see of Beneventum.[2][3] He received episcopal consecration on 17 April 1983 in the St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk, conferred by Cardinal Józef Glemp, Primate of Poland, assisted by Lech Kaczmarek [pl], diocesan bishop of Gdańsk, and Albin Małysiak, auxiliary bishop of Kraków.[2] He adopted the episcopal motto Credite Evangelio (Trust in the Gospel).[3] From 1983 to 1984, he served as vicar general of the diocese. In 1983, he was appointed prelate of the Gdańsk cathedral chapter. In 1984, he administered the diocese following the death of Bishop Lech Kaczmarek.[2]

On 31 December 1984, he was appointed diocesan bishop of the Archdiocese of Gdańsk. He made his ingress to the Oliwa Cathedral on 2 February 1985. On 25 March 1992, with the establishment of the Gdańsk Metropolia, he was elevated to metropolitan bishop. He received the pallium in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome on 29 June 1992.[2] In the 1980s, he was among the Catholic hierarchs most actively supporting the Solidarity movement. He participated in meetings organized at the apartment of Father Stanisław Bogdanowicz [pl] with Lech Wałęsa and his associates and advisors.[4] Between 1988 and 1989, he took part in the Magdalenka talks [pl],[5][6] which paved the way for the Polish Round Table Agreement.[7] In 1989, he was a co-founder of the Institute for Market Economy Research in Gdańsk[8] and joined its Foundation Council.[9] He also engaged in political activities during the Third Republic. Before the 1993 parliamentary election, he organized a meeting of right-wing party leaders, leading to the formation of the Catholic Electoral Committee "Fatherland".[10] After the 1997 election, he invited Solidarity Electoral Action parliamentarians to his residence, urging them to form a coalition with the Freedom Union.[11] In the same year, he suspended Father Henryk Jankowski as pastor for delivering a sermon protesting "excessive Jewish influence in government".[12] On 30 October 2005, he organized final post-election coalition talks between leaders of Civic Platform and Law and Justice, which were unsuccessful.[13] He initiated the Gdański Areopag [pl] debate series. He hosted Pope John Paul II in his diocese during the pontiff's apostolic visits to Poland in 1987 and 1999.[14] On 17 April 2008, Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation as metropolitan archbishop of Gdańsk.[15][16]

Within the Polish Bishops' Conference, he was part of the Main Council (from 1996, the Permanent Council), chaired the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Workers and the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Seafarers, and served on the Commissions for Seminaries, Religious Orders, Legal Affairs, and Iustitia et Pax.[2] He was also the liaison for emeritus bishops.[17] From 1996 to 2004, he co-chaired the Joint Commission of the Polish Government and the Bishops' Conference.[18] He chaired the Committee for the Apostolic Visit of Pope John Paul II to Poland in 1999.[3] He was a member of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People and the Dicastery for Bishops.[2]

He was a co-consecrator during the consecrations of Gdańsk auxiliary bishops Zygmunt Pawłowicz (1985), Ryszard Kasyna (2005), and Zbigniew Zieliński (2015), as well as auxiliary bishop of Warmia Jacek Jezierski [pl] (1994) and auxiliary bishop of Toruń Józef Szamocki [pl] (2000).[19]

He died on 3 May 2016 at the University Clinical Centre in Gdańsk, following a massive stroke.[20][21] On 6 May 2016, he was buried in the crypt of Gdańsk bishops in the Oliwa Archcathedral.[22]

Honours, awards, and legacy

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In 2011, Polish President Bronisław Komorowski awarded him the Order of the White Eagle.[23] In 2006, he received the Gold Gloria Artis Medal for Merit to Culture, awarded by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.[24][25]

He was granted honorary citizenship of Gdynia (2002),[26] Reda (2007),[27] Sopot (2008),[28] Gdańsk (2016),[29] and Wejherowo.[30] In 2006, he declined Gdańsk's honorary citizenship amid concerns it was linked to an upcoming local election campaign.[14] In 2008, he received the Honorary Distinction for Merits to the Pomeranian Voivodeship.[31]

In 1989, he became an honorary member of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association.[32] In 2001, he received the Stolem Medal [pl] from the Pomorania Student Club,[33] in 2003, the Saint Brother Albert Medal,[34] and in 2008, the title of Ambassador of Polish Speech from the Presidium of the Polish Language Council.[35]

In 2016, the tunnel under the Martwa Wisła, Poland's first underwater road tunnel, was named in his honour.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Archdiocese of Gdańsk
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Prokop, K. R. (1998). Biskupi Kościoła katolickiego w III Rzeczpospolitej [Bishops of the Catholic Church in the Third Polish Republic] (in Polish). Kraków: Universitas. pp. 45–46. ISBN 83-7052-900-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Polak, G. (1999). Kto jest kim w Kościele [Who's Who in the Church] (in Polish). Warsaw: Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna. p. 101. ISBN 83-911554-0-4.
  4. ^ Hall (2011, pp. 15, 22)
  5. ^ Hall (2011, pp. 36, 39)
  6. ^ Codogni, P. (2012). Wybory czerwcowe 1989 roku [June 1989 Elections] (in Polish). Warsaw: Institute of National Remembrance. p. 40. ISBN 978-83-7629-342-4.
  7. ^ "Abp Tadeusz Gocłowski nie żyje. Miał 84 lata" [Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski has died. He was 84]. wyborcza.pl (in Polish). 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 3 May 2016.
  8. ^ "O Instytucie. Ludzie" [About the Institute. People]. ibngr.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  9. ^ "Rada Fundacji" [Foundation Council]. ibngr.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 21 June 2016.
  10. ^ Hall (2011, pp. 266–267)
  11. ^ Hall (2011, p. 311)
  12. ^ Roszkowski, Wojciech (2003). Najnowsza historia Polski 1980–2002 [Recent History of Poland 1980–2002] (in Polish). Warsaw: Świat Książki. p. 202. ISBN 83-7391-086-7.
  13. ^ Hall (2011, p. 382)
  14. ^ a b "Abp Tadeusz Gocłowski (sylwetka)" [Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski (profile)]. ekai.pl (in Polish). 19 April 2004. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
  15. ^ "Rinuncia dell′Arcivescovo Metropolita di Gdańsk (Polonia) e nomina del successore" [Resignation of the Metropolitan Archbishop of Gdańsk (Poland) and appointment of his successor]. press.vatican.va (in Italian). 17 April 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Abp Sławoj Leszek Głódź metropolitą gdańskim" [Archbishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź as metropolitan of Gdańsk]. ekai.pl (in Polish). 17 April 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2013.
  17. ^ "Tadeusz Gocłowski na stronie Konferencji Episkopatu Polski" [Tadeusz Gocłowski on the Polish Bishops' Conference website]. episkopat.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 11 August 2013.
  18. ^ "Komisja Wspólna Rządu i Episkopatu" [Joint Commission of the Government and the Bishops' Conference]. ekai.pl (in Polish). 24 June 2009. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  19. ^ "Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Zmarł abp Tadeusz Gocłowski" [Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski has died]. niedziela.pl (in Polish). 3 May 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  21. ^ Bakowska, M. (3 May 2016). "Arcybiskup Tadeusz Gocłowski nie żyje. Zmarł w szpitalu po ciężkiej chorobie" [Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski has died. He passed away in hospital after a serious illness]. radiogdansk.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 4 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Msza pogrzebowa abp. Tadeusza Gocłowskiego" [Funeral Mass of Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski]. ekai.pl (in Polish). 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 9 listopada 2011 r. o nadaniu orderów" [Decision Of The President Of The Republic Of Poland Of 9 November 2011 On The Awarding Of Orders]. Monitor Polski (in Polish) (329). 2012.
  24. ^ "Lista laureatów Medalu Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis" [List of recipients of the Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis]. gov.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  25. ^ "Gdańsk: Metropolita Gocłowski nagrodzony za troskę o dziedzictwo narodowe" [Gdańsk: Metropolitan Gocłowski awarded for care of national heritage]. ekai.pl (in Polish). 10 September 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013.
  26. ^ "Uchwała nr XXXVII/1187/2002 Rady Miasta Gdyni" [Resolution No. XXXVII/1187/2002 of the Gdynia City Council]. gdynia.pl (in Polish). 23 January 2002. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016.
  27. ^ "„Zasłużony dla Miasta Redy" – lista osób nagrodzonych medalem" ["Meritorious for the City of Reda" – list of medal recipients]. miasto.reda.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  28. ^ "Uchwała nr XIV/180/2008 Rady Miasta Sopotu" [Resolution No. XIV/180/2008 of the Sopot City Council]. bip.sopot.pl (in Polish). 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Abp Tadeusz Gocłowski zjednoczył gdańskich radnych!" [Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski united Gdańsk councilors!]. gdansk.pl (in Polish). 28 April 2016. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  30. ^ "Abp Gocłowski zostanie honorowym sopocianinem" [Archbishop Gocłowski to become an honorary citizen of Sopot]. trojmiasto.pl (in Polish). 28 March 2008. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  31. ^ "Uchwała nr 303/XIX/08 Sejmiku Województwa Pomorskiego z dnia 25 lutego 2008 roku" [Resolution No. 303/XIX/08 of the Pomeranian Voivodeship Sejmik of 25 February 2008] (PDF). pomorskie.eu (in Polish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2013.
  32. ^ "Członkowie honorowi Zrzeszenia Kaszubsko-Pomorskiego" [Honorary members of the Kashubian-Pomeranian Association]. kaszubi.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  33. ^ "Medal Stolema" [Stolem Medal]. pomorania.com (in Polish). Archived from the original on 21 January 2021.
  34. ^ "Medal Św. Brata Alberta" [Saint Brother Albert Medal]. albert.krakow.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  35. ^ "Ambasador Polszczyzny" [Ambassador of Polish Speech]. rjp.pan.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  36. ^ Wołodźko, D. (30 June 2016). "Tunel podwodny imienia arcybiskupa Tadeusza Gocłowskiego" [Underwater tunnel named after Archbishop Tadeusz Gocłowski]. gdansk.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 14 April 2025.

Bibliography

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