Mgr Jan Jaworski R.I.P.

Monsignor Jan Jaworski was born on June 22, 1920 in Lodz, Poland. His father ran a mill on the family estate in Krasniewice. He completed his primary school in Lodz and matriculated at the Jesuit-run Chyrow high school. During World War II he studied at the clandestine Warsaw Seminary, where he befriended Karol Wojtyla – later to become Pope John Paul II. Jaworski was ordained in Lodz on March 19, 1949.

After his ordination, Fr Jaworski returned to Warsaw, where he studied Patrology and the History of the Early Church at Warsaw University. He achieved a doctorate in Patrology, in 1954, and lectured on the subject at the Academy of Catholic Theology. In 1957 he moved in England where he undertook various pastoral duties and became a member of the British PEN Club (the international organisation of professional writers). He was also an associate-editor of the Franciscan Monthly (Miesiecznik Franciszkanski) in Pulaski, Wisconsin.

Fr Jaworski came to South Africa in 1962 and although he was based in Johannesburg, he served the Polish Community throughout South Africa as their Chaplain. By the decree of Pope Paul VI in 1970, he was elevated to the status of Cappelanus Suae Sanctitatis. In 1994, he was elevated to the rank of Protonotary Apostolic by Pope John Paul II, and on October 6, 2004, he was awarded by Poland’s ministry of Foreign Affairs for the promotion of Polish culture in the world.

Mgr Jaworski wrote 30 books, both in Polish and English. Among them are: Victim Of Love (biography of St Maximilian Kolbe); Polsko-Afrykanskie Koneksje (Polish-African Connections); Guide To The Devotion To The Mercy Of God; Surprise Pope (biography of Pope John Paul II); Guardians Of The Keys; Popes On The Threshold Of The New Millennium (biographies of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI). His reflections on religious themes appeared in The Southern Cross for many years.

He died on October 8, 2008. His Requiem Mass was celebrated by Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg, assisted by 45 priests and deacons, at the Lady of Our Wayside Church in Maryvale, Johannesburg. He was laid to rest in the Polish Section of the West Park Cemetery  beneath the altar next to the monument commemorating the Polish deceased which the monsignor was instrumental in building.