Blessed Piotr Dańkowski
Blessed Piotr Edward Dańkowski (born June 21, 1908 AD at Jordanów, Poland; died April 3, 1942 AD at Auschwitz) was a Polish Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Kraków and a martyr of the Second World War. A parish priest and religious instructor in the region of Zakopane, he joined the Polish resistance after the German invasion of Poland, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1941, and was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he died on Good Friday, April 3, 1942, worn out by forced labour and beatings. He is numbered among the 108 Martyrs of World War II beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 13, 1999, and is honoured as a patron of clergy and seminarians of the Archdiocese of Kraków.[1][2]
The son of a shoemaker, Dańkowski was ordained a priest in 1931 and served in several parishes before settling at Zakopane, where he taught religion and cared for the sick and the poor. Under the German occupation he worked in the clandestine resistance under the codename "Jordan," and for this he was seized, imprisoned and finally sent to Auschwitz. There, subjected to brutal treatment, he died on Good Friday 1942; his fellow prisoners recalled that among his last words were "To God! To Heaven!"[1][2][3]
His feast is kept on April 3, the day of his death, and he is also commemorated with the other 108 Polish martyrs on June 12.[1][3]
Stored in Cargo: Blessed Piotr Dańkowski
| Blessed Piotr Dańkowski | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | April 03 |
| Profession | Diocesan priest; religious teacher; martyr |
| Rel. Affiliation | Catholic Church; Archdiocese of Kraków |
| Patronage | Clergy and seminarians of the Archdiocese of Kraków |
| Attributes | Priestly cassock; palm of martyrdom; concentration-camp uniform |
| Birthplace | Jordanów, Lesser Poland, Poland |
| Death Place | Auschwitz concentration camp, Oświęcim, German-occupied Poland |
| Cause of Death | Martyred; died of exhaustion after forced labour and beatings at Auschwitz on Good Friday, April 3, 1942 |
| Primary Shrine | Commemorated among the 108 Blessed Polish Martyrs of the Second World War |
| Liturgical Class | Not included in the General Roman Calendar; observed in Poland and commemorated with the 108 Martyrs of World War II (June 12) |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth and early life
Piotr Edward Dańkowski was born on June 21, 1908, at Jordanów, a small town in Lesser Poland, the son of a shoemaker, and was raised on a farm.[1][2] He completed his secondary education at the gymnasium in Nowy Targ, and in 1926 entered the major seminary of the Archdiocese of Kraków, studying theology at the Jagiellonian University.[1]
Priesthood
He was ordained to the priesthood on February 1, 1931, at the Church of St Anne in Kraków.[1][2] During the 1930s he served in a succession of parishes in the archdiocese. At Zakopane, the mountain resort town in the Tatra Mountains, he worked as a teacher of religion in the secondary schools and as a confessor to the Albertine Sisters, while engaging in works of social charity.[1][2]
Resistance and arrest
After the German invasion and occupation of Poland in 1939, Dańkowski joined the underground resistance, becoming a member of the Union of Armed Struggle (Związek Walki Zbrojnej). Taking the codename "Jordan" — an allusion to his native Jordanów — he worked alongside his brother Stanisław, translating Allied radio broadcasts and helping to produce clandestine publications.[1][2] He was arrested by the Gestapo on May 10, 1941, and interrogated at their headquarters in Zakopane, then held in the prison at Tarnów before being deported, in December 1941, to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where he was registered as prisoner number 24,529.[1]
Martyrdom
At Auschwitz Dańkowski was subjected to the harshest treatment. Weakened by hunger, sickness and forced labour, he was beaten by a Kapo while carrying a heavy load, and died of exhaustion on April 3, 1942 — which that year was Good Friday — at the age of thirty-three; his body was cremated in the camp.[1][2] His companions in the camp remembered that his final words expressed his faith and hope: "To God! To Heaven!"[2]
Significant events
- Born June 21, 1908, at Jordanów, Lesser Poland.
- Educated at Nowy Targ and entered the Kraków seminary in 1926, studying at the Jagiellonian University.
- Ordained a priest on February 1, 1931, at the Church of St Anne, Kraków.
- Served as priest and religious instructor at Zakopane during the 1930s.
- Joined the resistance under the codename "Jordan" during the German occupation.
- Arrested by the Gestapo on May 10, 1941; imprisoned at Tarnów.
- Deported to Auschwitz in December 1941 (prisoner no. 24,529).
- Died a martyr at Auschwitz on Good Friday, April 3, 1942.
- Beatified by Pope John Paul II among the 108 Martyrs of World War II on June 13, 1999.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Jordanów, Lesser Poland, Poland
Death location: Auschwitz concentration camp, Oświęcim, German-occupied Poland
Notable location: Birthplace; source of his resistance codename "Jordan" (Jordanów, Lesser Poland, Poland)
Notable location: Where he was ordained a priest on February 1, 1931 (Church of St Anne, Kraków, Poland)
Notable location: Where he served as priest and religious instructor and joined the resistance (Zakopane, Lesser Poland, Poland)
Notable location: Where he was imprisoned and died a martyr (Auschwitz concentration camp, Oświęcim, Poland)
Notable location: Beatified there among the 108 Martyrs on June 13, 1999 (Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Canonization
Beatification
Piotr Dańkowski was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 13, 1999, at Piłsudski Square in Warsaw, during the pope's pilgrimage to Poland, as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II — a group of Polish bishops, priests, religious and laity who died at the hands of the German occupiers between 1939 and 1945.[1][3] Because they were beatified as martyrs (in odium fidei), no separate miracle was required. He has not been formally canonized.
Feast day
April 03 (also commemorated with the 108 Martyrs of World War II on June 12)
Veneration
Blessed Piotr Dańkowski is venerated in his native Poland and especially in the Archdiocese of Kraków, which honours him as a patron of its clergy and seminarians. His memory is joined to that of the 108 Martyrs of World War II, witnesses to the faith under the Nazi occupation, and his death on Good Friday has been seen as a martyr's conformity to the Passion of Christ.[2][3]
Prayers
Authored
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Intercessory
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External links
- Wikipedia – Piotr Edward Dańkowski
- Aleteia – Blessed Piotr Edward Dańkowski, priest and martyr in Auschwitz
- Wikipedia – 108 Martyrs of World War II