Blessed Bronisław Markiewicz

Bronisław Markiewicz, SDB (13 July 1842 – 29 January 1912) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest and a professed member of the Salesians of Don Bosco. Markiewicz established the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel that devoted itself to the principles and teachings of John Bosco under the patronage of Saint Michael the Archangel. His beatification was held in Poland on 19 June 2005 after Pope John Paul II acknowledged a miracle credited to him in 2004. Cardinal Józef Glemp presided over it on the behalf of Pope Benedict XVI. Bronisław Markiewicz was born in Poland in 1842 as the sixth of eleven children to John Markiewicz and Marianna Grysziecka. Although he received religious training at home, but his faith wavered temporarily in his youth, during high school. Of that he wrote: "I wanted to adapt to my teachers' views" and also wrote "Along with faith in God, I lost the peace in my soul and my sense of interior harmony. I was overcome by sadness". Markiewicz began his studies for the priesthood in 1863 in Przemyśl and was ordained as a priest on 15 September 1867. After his ordination he was appointed as a parish priest at Harta and at the Cathedral of Przemyśl and remained there from 1867 until 1873. He later studied at the Jagiellonian University from 1873 to 1875. In addition, he served as a parish priest at Gac from 1875 until his next appointment in Blazowa in 1877. He taught theological studies at Przemyśl in 1882. Through his parish work, he developed an interest in working with marginalized youth, particularly as a teacher. Markiewicz decided that he wanted to join the Salesians of Don Bosco and embarked for Turin in November 1885 where he commenced his period of formation with the Salesians. He became attracted to the spirituality of Don Bosco and made his final vows in the order on 25 March 1887 to Bosco himself. Markiewicz contracted aggressive tuberculosis in 1889 and almost died.