Canon Lawyer Saint Joseph Pelczar
Saint Joseph Pelczar beatified and canonized by Pope John Paul II. And they look alike too!
I am always on the hunt for lawyers who caught the eye of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, either canon lawyers or secular lawyers. So far, Dr. Google has shown me that out of the thousands of people who have been investigated by that Congregation, approximately thirty-five were lawyers.
Every Catholic in law knows that Saint Thomas More is the patron saint of lawyers; notoriously executed by Henry VIII. Some are even familiar with St. Ivo who comes up second in a search of lawyer-saints. That approximation of thirty-five breaks down into eight Saints, twenty-four Beatifieds and three Venerables. Overall, not a big number so maybe that is why the rest of the thirty-five are unknown for their legal prowess.
One of these unknowns, at least outside of Poland, is Saint Joseph Sebastian Pelczar (1842-1924). His feast day is January 19th. This Saint Joseph was Polish (like my grandmother so I like him already) and studied canon law in Rome at the Pontifical Gregorian University. His first published book was his bestseller that put him on the map as an academic. After that he wrote many well-received pieces on many Church subjects. But it was not his legal work or writings that brought him to sainthood. The last twenty-five years of his life he was a Bishop in Poland, who was most known for his many charitable works. Those led him to found two religious groups that served those needy and uneducated in society then.
It's a shame it was not his lawyer status that got him into heaven I think. Pope John Paul II helped bring his canonization process, that began in 1954, to fruition. In Poland in 1991 His Holiness beatified him and in Rome in 2003 he canonized him. This after two accepted miracles credited to the then prospective saint. That’s a long process (1954-2003) but then it might take a bit longer for lawyers. It’s just nice to know another canon lawyer to look up to.
https://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20030518_pelczar_en.html