At the beginning of the vocation of Pope John Paul II

The following comes from the Salesian News Agency:

Among the Causes entrusted to the Postulator’s Office of the Saints of the Salesian Family there is also that of the Servant of God Jan Tyranowski (1901-1947).

On 23 May 1941 the Rector-Parish Priest of the “Saint Stanislaus Kostka” parish, Fr Jan Swerc, was sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp together with seven other Salesians. All were killed between 1941 and 1942. The diocesan enquiry into their martyrdom is in progress: it is hoped it will be completed by 2010.

In the meantime, the Salesian parish in which the young Karol Wojtyla was living, was trying to reorganise its activities in spite of the shortage of priests. The pastoral care of the young people, boys and girls, was entrusted to the tailor Jan Tyranowski, a young parishioner distinguished by his gifts of good sense, piety and apostolic zeal.

He set up the “living rosary circles” in which Karol also took part, in those dramatic years in which his priestly vocation was maturing.

During his last visit to Poland on 17 August 2002, stopping in front of the church in Debniki, John Paul II publicly declared: “I always remember those Salesians who were taken away from this parish to the concentration camp... I also remember Mr Jan Tyranowski’s `Living Rosary....”

It was precisely in front of the image of Mary Help of Christians venerated in the church in Debniki, that the young Karol came to the decision to devote himself entirely to the service of the Lord and of his Church.

On 16 November 2001 the Congregation for the Causes of Saints confirmed the canonical validity of the acts of the diocesan enquiry into the heroicity of the virtues of the Servant of God Jan Tyranowski.

The Vice-Postulator of the Cause, the Salesian Fr Adam Nyk, is now working on the “Positio”. On 4 September the Postulator General, Fr Enrico dal Covolo, accompanied by the Provincial of Krakow, Fr Marek Chzarn, consigned a part of the “Positio”, the “Summarium”, to Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, Archbishop of Krakow. The work should be completed by 2010.