Father Idzi Benedykt Radziszewski – Worshipper of The Sacred Heart of Jesus

Abstract

The idea of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, present in the Church for a long time, began to take the form of a cult in the 17th century. The turning point in promoting this kind of devotion came with the revelations to St Margaret Alacoque. Additionally, the Polish Church made a significant contribution to this matter. In the 1760s, Polish bishops submitted a memorandum to Pope Clement XIII regarding the approval of the cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Holy See’s response was positive and the cult was approved in Poland. The 19th century was a period of the consecration of individual countries to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and these processes culminated in Leo XIII’s encyclical Annum sacrum, in which the Pope consecrated the human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During the interwar period in Poland a great number of families entrusted themselves to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Rev. Idzi Radziszewski was born, grew up, was educated and worked in the atmosphere described above. Imbued with reverence for the Sacred Heart of Jesus, he shaped his personality referring to the ideals which stemmed from this devotion. These ideals guided him in his relations with others and inspired him to establish a Catholic university in Lublin. This institution aimed to serve God and country and to educate the Catholic elite who would devote themselves to Polish society and the Church, in the spirit of love whose source is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.