Blessed
Blessed Ladislaus Findysz
Priest, parish priest of Nowy Żmigród, died after imprisonment by the communist authorities, 1907-1964
Early life
Ladislaus Findysz was born at Krościenko Niżne near Krosno, in Poland, on 13 December 1907, to Stanislao Findysz and Apollonia Rachwał, farmers, and was baptised the next day in the parish church of the SS.ma Trinità at Krosno.[1] In the autumn of 1927 he entered the major seminary at Przemyśl, and was ordained priest in the cathedral there on 19 June 1932 by Mons. Anatol Nowak.[1]
Ministry
After posts as vicar at Borysław, Drohobycz, Strzyżów and Jasło, he was named administrator of the parish of the SS. Apostoli Pietro e Paolo at Nowy Żmigród on 8 July 1941, and its parish priest on 13 August 1942.[1] On 3 October 1944 he was expelled with all the inhabitants; on his return on 23 January 1945 he set about reorganising the parish.[1] Under the communist government he worked to protect the faithful, especially the young, from the programme of atheisation, and helped all the inhabitants regardless of nationality or confession.[1] From 1946 he was watched by the secret services, and in 1952 the school authorities suspended him from teaching catechism in the lyceum.[1]
Persecution
In 1963 he sent letters to parishioners in irregular religious and moral situations urging them to set their lives in order; the communist authorities accused him of forcing the faithful to religious practices.[1] On 25 November 1963 he was arrested, and at a trial on 16 and 17 December 1963 at the voivodeship court in Rzeszów he was sentenced to two years and six months in prison; on 25 January 1964 he was moved to the prison in Via Montelupich in Cracow.[1] Shortly before his arrest, in September 1963, he had undergone the removal of his thyroid, and a second operation for a carcinoma of the oesophagus was planned; in prison the illness advanced for lack of treatment.[1] After repeated appeals, at the end of February 1964 the supreme court in Warsaw granted the suspension of his imprisonment.[1] On 29 February 1964 he returned from prison to Nowy Żmigród; in April, at the hospital in Breslavia, the carcinoma was confirmed as inoperable.[1]
Death and recognition
On the morning of 21 August 1964, after receiving the sacraments, he died in the parish house at Nowy Żmigród, and on 24 August he was buried in the parish cemetery.[1] On 20 December 2004 the decree recognising him as a martyr for the faith was promulgated in the presence of Pope John Paul II.[1] He was beatified on 19 June 2005 by Pope Benedict XVI.[1]
Follow the evidence
Sources and notes
- Władysław Findysz
Dicastery for the Causes of Saints · Italian
Accessed 2026-09-05
Editorial notes
Translated and condensed from the Dicastery's official Italian profile by an automated pass on 2026-09-09; identity matched on the death date and name; editorial review pending.
This is an AI-assisted draft prepared from the sources above. Its citations identify its evidence; they do not replace a historical review.
The inherited biography
The earlier biography for this record.
Read the inherited biography
Blessed Ladislaus Findysz, born to pious peasant parents Stanislaus and Apollonia Rachwal in Poland, dedicated his life to the service of God and his people. Educated initially by the Felician Sisters, he joined the Marian Solidarity as a young student and entered the major seminary in Przemysł in the autumn of 1927, where he was spiritually
Know of a grace or miracle attributed to Blessed Ladislaus Findysz?
Report a Grace or Miracle