Rev. Andrzej Fedukowicz (1875-1925) – the Parish Priest in the Zytomierz Cathedral in Ukraine

Abstract

Rev. Andrzej Fedukowicz (1875-1925) is one of the most tragic figures in the 20th century history of the Church. Born in Dzienisowo, a village in the Vilnius region, after attending the St Catherine School in St Petersburg, the Zytomierz Seminary and the Imperial Spiritual Academy, in 1903 he received the sacrament of ordinations and started pastoral work in Zytomierz. He taught religion in many schools in that town, he was an ardent priest, he worked in Polish educational and social organizations, he performed important functions in the Church. In 1917 he became the parish priest in St Sophie Cathedral. After the Bolshevik Revolution he remained with his congregation giving them an example of faith, giving help to the ones who needed it, supporting all those who were in danger – Jews, Polish prisoners of war, the Polish Military Organization couriers. In 1923 he was arrested on a charge of conducting anti-Soviet activities. For the price of being released he agreed to be a GPU agent, and when he failed to carry out this responsibilities he was arrested again and forced to sign a letter to Pius XI in which he „confessed” that Catholic priests in Ukraine conduct spy activities for Poland. The letter was published in all the national newspapers, which caused a wave of anti-Polish and anti-Church protests, that were directed by the authorities. Rev. Fedukowicz could not bear what he had done and on 4 March 1925 he committed self-immolation. The inhabitants of Zytomierz remember him as a good priest who gave his life for his congregation, as a martyr and a hero.