Fr. Ignacy Antonowicz, SDB,
Polish Salesian Martyr
Childhood and Youth
In 1901 he entered the Salesian secondary school in Oswiecim,
where he remained until 1905. He belonged to the 1st group of students of the Oswiecim
institution. According to tradition, it was he who saved the Salesian Institute
in Oswiecim from collapse by drawing the winning ticket in a lottery organized
by Fr. Franciszek Trawinski and donating the prize to the Salesians.
Salesian Path
He completed his novitiate in Daszawa under Fr. Peter
Tirone. In August 1909 he made his perpetual vows at Lanzo Torinese, Italy. He
pursued philosophical studies in Rome, where he later obtained a doctorate in
theology at the Gregorian University (1912–1916). He carried out his practical
training in Radna at the studentate of philosophy and spent 2 years in
Ljubljana.
He was ordained on April 23, 1916, in Rome by Bishop
Capotosti. After ordination, in 1916–1917, he lectured in dogmatic theology in
Salesian houses of study in Italy at Foglizzo and later at Cavaglià, attended
also by Polish students.
From 1919 he served as a chaplain in General Haller’s army
in Italy, France, and Poland.
In 1919–1920 he was a professor at the studentate of Philosophy in Krakow, and later again a military chaplain until 1921, when he was awarded the Cross of Valor. In 1923–1924 he was a professor of theology in Oswiecim and editor of Poklosie Salezjanskie. Later he became a catechist at the Oswiecim institution, then director of the Salesian house and secondary school in Aleksandrow. In subsequent years he served as director in Rozanystok.
On July 1, 1934, he was appointed a provincial councilor of
the Krakow Province, a role he held until the end of 1936. In that year he
became rector of the theological seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Krakow.
He was exemplary in religious life in every respect, a
prudent educator, much sought after as a spiritual director in the
confessional, and outstanding as a professor. He enjoyed universal esteem. He
was arrested while returning from pastoral ministry as a confessor to religious
sisters.
Arrest
On the tragic day of May 23, 1941, on the eve of the feast
of Mary Help of Christians, he shared the fate of a group of Salesians from
Krakow. As the director of the house at 39 Tyniecka Street, he was arrested and
imprisoned together with others in the Montelupich prison in Krakow. There,
mock trials, blasphemies, and brutal abuse inflicted upon completely defenseless
and innocent Salesians exhausted Fr. Antonowicz.
After a short time in the Krakow prison, he was transferred
with others to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. He returned to the city
where 40 years earlier he had first crossed the threshold of the Salesian
house—then as a young boy, now as a mature man, full of spiritual strength, a
courageous son of Don Bosco.
Beatification Process
Concerning the beatification process, see the last section
of the sketch on Fr.
Karol Golda below.
Antonowicz – Videos in English
Ist video: https://youtu.be/KBS0_ICB7_o
2d video: https://youtube.com/shorts/NA_tlFess5o
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