Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki
Encyclopedia
Stephen Stanislaus Woznicki (August 17, 1894—December 10, 1968) was an American
prelate
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Bishop of Saginaw
from 1950 to 1968.
, near Wilkes-Barre
, to Stephen and Michalina (née Jablonski) Woznicki. He began his studies for the priesthood
at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary
in Orchard Lake, Michigan
. He completed his studies at St. Paul Seminary
in St. Paul
, Minnesota
.
On December 22, 1917, Woznicki was ordained
a priest at the Cathedral of St. Paul. His first assignment was in his native Pennsylvania, as a curate
at St. Joseph Church in Danville
. From 1919 to 1937, he served as secretary to Bishop Michael Gallagher
of Detroit
. He was named a domestic prelate
in 1926, and became pastor
of St. Hyacinth Church, a Polish
parish in Detroit, in December 1936. At St. Hyacinth, he appealed to parishioners to not to Anglicize
their family name and to not to flee to the suburbs.
On December 13, 1937, Woznicki was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Detroit and Titular Bishop
of Peltae by Pope Pius XI
. He received his episcopal
consecration
on January 25, 1938 from Archbishop Edward Mooney, with Bishop Joseph C. Plagens
and William J. Hafey
serving as co-consecrators
. He selected as his episcopal motto
: Veritatem In Caritate (Latin
: "Truth in Charity"). As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Hyacinth until 1950.
Woznicki was appointed the second Bishop of Saginaw
by Pope Pius XII
on April 15, 1950. His installation took place at St. Mary Cathedral
on May 24 of that year. Known as a "great builder," he established 21 new parishes and missions, permitted the building of 30 schools, and led a nearly $4 million campaign to open the doors of St. Paul Seminary, which currently houses Nouvel Catholic Central High School
and the main diocesan offices. He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference from 1956 to 1957. He also attended the Second Vatican Council
(1962-65).
Due to his advancing age, Woznicki resigned as Bishop of Saginaw on October 30, 1968; he was appointed Titular Bishop of Thiava on the same date. He died shortly afterwards, at age 74.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
prelate
Prelate
A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Bishop of Saginaw
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is a Roman Catholic diocese covering eleven counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bishop was William Francis Murphy....
from 1950 to 1968.
Biography
Woznicki was born in Miners Mills, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, near Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, the county seat of Luzerne County. It is at the center of the Wyoming Valley area and is one of the principal cities in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area, which had a population of 563,631 as of the 2010 Census...
, to Stephen and Michalina (née Jablonski) Woznicki. He began his studies for the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary
SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary
SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary is a four-year private Polish seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. The seminary, taking its name from Saints Cyril and Methodius, was founded in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan, to prepare candidates for the Roman Catholic priesthood primarily to serve Polish American...
in Orchard Lake, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He completed his studies at St. Paul Seminary
Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity
The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Archbishop John Ireland in 1894, to provide ordained priests for the ever-increasing Catholic population of the Upper Midwest. The seminary now sits on the south campus of the University of St. Thomas,...
in St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
On December 22, 1917, Woznicki was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
a priest at the Cathedral of St. Paul. His first assignment was in his native Pennsylvania, as a curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at St. Joseph Church in Danville
Danville, Pennsylvania
Danville is a borough in Montour County, Pennsylvania, USA, of which it is the county seat, on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. Danville was home to 8,042 people in 1900, 7,517 people in 1910, and 7,122 people in 1940. The population was 4,897 at the 2000 census...
. From 1919 to 1937, he served as secretary to Bishop Michael Gallagher
Michael Gallagher (bishop)
Michael James Gallagher was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Detroit from 1918 to 1937. He was ordained a priest for the diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan on March 19, 1893. On July 5, 1915, he was appointed titular archbishop of Tipasa in Mauritania...
of Detroit
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church covering the Michigan counties of Lapeer, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne...
. He was named a domestic prelate
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
in 1926, and became pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
of St. Hyacinth Church, a Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
parish in Detroit, in December 1936. At St. Hyacinth, he appealed to parishioners to not to Anglicize
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
their family name and to not to flee to the suburbs.
On December 13, 1937, Woznicki was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Detroit and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Peltae by Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
. He received his episcopal
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
consecration
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word "consecration" literally means "to associate with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups...
on January 25, 1938 from Archbishop Edward Mooney, with Bishop Joseph C. Plagens
Joseph C. Plagens
Joseph Casimir Plagens was a Polish-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Sault Sainte Marie-Marquette and then Bishop of Grand Rapids .-Biography:...
and William J. Hafey
William Joseph Hafey
William Joseph Hafey was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Raleigh and Bishop of Scranton .-Biography:...
serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
. He selected as his episcopal motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
: Veritatem In Caritate (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
: "Truth in Charity"). As an auxiliary bishop, he continued to serve as pastor of St. Hyacinth until 1950.
Woznicki was appointed the second Bishop of Saginaw
Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saginaw is a Roman Catholic diocese covering eleven counties in Michigan. It was founded on February 26, 1938; the first bishop was William Francis Murphy....
by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
on April 15, 1950. His installation took place at St. Mary Cathedral
Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption (Saginaw, Michigan)
The Cathedral of Mary the Assumption, also known as St. Mary’s Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral located in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Saginaw. The parish was founded on 1853 and the church was re-dedicated on August 1, 1978. St...
on May 24 of that year. Known as a "great builder," he established 21 new parishes and missions, permitted the building of 30 schools, and led a nearly $4 million campaign to open the doors of St. Paul Seminary, which currently houses Nouvel Catholic Central High School
Nouvel Catholic Central High School
Nouvel Catholic Central High School is a private, Catholic high school located in Saginaw Charter Township, Michigan and serving the Saginaw region. Nouvel is a high school that enrolls approximately 360 students...
and the main diocesan offices. He served as president of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference from 1956 to 1957. He also attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
(1962-65).
Due to his advancing age, Woznicki resigned as Bishop of Saginaw on October 30, 1968; he was appointed Titular Bishop of Thiava on the same date. He died shortly afterwards, at age 74.