Saint Who?
Saints Who Promoted Marian Devotion
Blessed Stefan Wyszyński
Bishop († 1981) Feast: May 28
Born in 1901, Stefan Wyszyński lost his mother when he was nine years old. “On the same day,” he recalled, “I transferred all my love from a mother to a Mother.” When he was ordained at twenty-three, he fell extremely ill, apparently with typhoid fever. But he celebrated his first solemn Mass at the shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa, and would later credit his survival and continued energy to Mary’s intercession.
He became Archbishop of Gniezo and Warsaw and Primate of Poland in 1948 and was named a cardinal in 1953. For decades he maintained Poland’s Catholic identity in the face of the relentless attacks of Communism. He was imprisoned by the communists for three years, during which he was somehow able to orchestrate the celebration of the three-hundredth anniversary of Poland’s dedication to Mary as its queen. “I gambled everything on Mary,” he said.
Cardinal Wyszyński drew fire for such things as celebrating the millennial anniversary of Poland’s “baptism” in 1966 with a total consecration of Poland to Mary, after a nine-year novena of preparation, but he was vindicated as the iron cardinal who outlasted his enemies and kept the faith strong in his homeland. Some thought he was too Marian. “I did not invent this path; God created it for man,” he replied. He died in 1981 and was beatified by Pope Francis on September 12, 2021.
O Holy Spirit, through the prayers of Blessed Stefan Wyszyński, may we “gamble everything on Mary.”
