Saint Joseph Sebastian Palczar
I never cease to be amazed when I learn of another Canon Lawyer saint. There are about a dozen of them and canon lawyers don’t usually know about them because they are not known for being Canon Lawyers. Most often they are known for their charitable and pastoral work. Saint Joseph Palczar is one of those.
This Saint Joseph was renowned in his Polish homeland and if you read about all he accomplished, it’s amazing. I would go as far as to call him the Jimmy Carter of his time. Score one for the Church!
Father Pelczar did not confine himself only to academic work. He generously involved himself in other social and charitable activities such as the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Society for the Education of the People. In the latter of these two, he served as President for 16 years. During that time, he erected hundreds of libraries, delivered numerous free lectures, published and distributed more than a thousand books, and opened a school for servants. He founded the Sister Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, still with active religious congregations in Poland, Ukraine, Italy, France, Bolivia, Argentina, Jamaica, and the United States.
Despite the unfavorable political circumstances of his times, encompassing World War I, he conducted three diocesan synods. Always responsive to the needs of the faithful in his diocese, Saint Joseph Palczar took special care of the poorest. Nurseries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, schools for poor country girls, tuition assistance for the education of poor seminarians were but a few of his works. He sympathized with workers who were unjustly treated, and with those who were forced to emigrate because of the difficult economic situation. He emphasized the necessity of implementing the social doctrine of the Church as expressed in the social documents of Pope Leo XIII. He was a huge fan of Pope Leo and tried to bring Pope Leo’s thoughts to life in Poland.
Saint Joseph Palczar’s relics are venerated at Przemysl Cathedral in Poland, continuously reminding believers of his inspiring life and profound impact on the Church and society in Poland. On May 18, 2003, Pope John Paul II canonized this Polish brother a saint.