Addressing Polish pilgrims during his General Audience, Pope Leo XIV honored the legacy of Blessed Father Władysław Findysz, the first beatified martyr of Poland’s communist persecution. The Pope emphasized that Father Findysz’s life serves as a timeless reminder that a true civilization of love is forged by forgiving others and overcoming evil with good. His story illustrates the intense hostility the Catholic Church faced under communist rule, as well as the heroic endurance of those who refused to abandon their faith.
Born in 1907 in southern Poland, Findysz grew up amidst regional poverty and personal hardship, losing his mother at a young age. Raised during the upheaval of World War I and the rebirth of Poland as a sovereign nation, he entered the Major Seminary in Przemyśl in 1927. Following his ordination, he served in several parishes across the region—including areas in modern-day Ukraine—before being assigned to Nowy Żmigród, where he became known for his deep warmth toward parishioners and strict personal discipline.
Father Findysz’s pastoral devotion was tested repeatedly by war and totalitarian regimes. During World War II, German forces displaced the entire town of Nowy Żmigród, leaving it in ruins. Upon returning in 1945, Father Findysz dedicated himself to rebuilding parish life and supporting war-weary residents, only to face a new wave of state-sponsored atheism and intimidation under the newly installed communist regime.
Targeted by the authorities, Father Findysz was falsely accused of forcing citizens into religious practices and sentenced to two and a half years in prison. During his incarceration, he suffered severe physical and psychological abuse, and officials intentionally denied him access to a critical surgery for esophageal cancer. Though released in a state of terminal exhaustion, he died several months later, remembered as a steadfast shepherd who refused to let prison or the threat of death sever his commitment to Christ and his flock.