Jan Tyranowski, Mentor of St. John Paul II

Jan Tyranowski, 
Mentor of St. John Paul II

(ANS – Rome – March 30) - John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, after 85 years of life, more than 26 of them as Pope.

The young people whom he had always sought and invited to follow Christ accompanied him in his last moments on this earth, filling St. Peter’s Square in the hours of his agony and displaying banners with the words “Santo Subito,” literally “Saint right away,” already on the day of his funeral.

At the origins of this great feeling between the Polish Pope and the young there was also the contribution of the Salesian environment wherein he matured his vocation, especially due to the charism of a committed layman, Jan Tyranowski.

“Being saints is not difficult”: this sentence inspired Jan Tyranowski, and he repeated it to Karol Wojtyla while the future Pope discerned his priestly vocation in the Salesian parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Krakow’s Debniki neighborhood. The sentence proved to be of undeniable impact, if one observes how John Paul II became a saint in record time in 2014, while for Tyranowski the recognition of Venerable came last year.

Tyranowski, born in Poland on February 9, 1901, loved to walk in the mountains and was interested in many things, such as science, foreign languages, gardening, and psychology. He was first an accountant, then took over his father’s business and began working as a tailor. It was at that time that he joined the apostolate of Catholic Action.

He became increasingly involved in parish activities, and in 1935 during the homily given by a Salesian priest, he felt a strong call that led him to undertake a life of profound spirituality.

The Nazi invasion of Poland changed his life. Nine Salesians from the parish were deported and died in concentration camps. In 1940 Tyranowski was asked to become responsible for pastoral care of the young men and women of St. Stanislaus. A little fearful, he accepted. Dozens of young people took part in his “circles of the living Rosary” and eleven vocations arose, including the future Pope’s.

The Polish Pontiff never forgot Tyranowski’s influence, and he had a small portrait of him in his room in the Apostolic Palace. The Pope attributed the flourishing of his vocation to the priesthood to him.

Tyranowki could not be present on the day of the Fr. Wojtyla’s ordination in November 1946, as he was affected by tuberculosis. He died on March 15, 1947, embracing a crucifix.