On November 9, 2025, the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica, we will commemorate, for the first time, various local witnesses of the faith. The late Pope Francis wanted the local churches to commemorate their own saints, blesseds, and servants of God on this day. It is an opportunity to remember the phenomenon that is Friar Wenanty KATARZYNIEC.
Friar Wenanty lived at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and was a native of Obydów, near Lviv [in today’s Ukraine]. He was a formator for clerical students, a preacher, a confessor, a spiritual director, and a friend of St. Maximilian Kolbe. Kolbe said of him: “He never tried hard to do extraordinary things, but he did all common things in an extraordinary manner. He loved the Order and yearned for all things to be good in it. Therefore he committed himself to the care of his religious brothers: he was their teacher and spoke of the possible shortcomings that could happen or that had already happened.” Maximilian wrote about Wenanty’s holy life in the first issue of the Knight of the Immaculate magazine. Wenanty spent the last years of his life in Kalwaria Pacławska, where he died of tuberculosis. The 105th anniversary of his death will be in 2026. Nicknamed the “Polish St. Charbel,” Friar Wenanty has touched the hearts of many people, as evidenced by the many visits to his tomb and shrine. The 11th volume of the “Book of Supplication and Thanksgiving” is currently available [a book that features selected prayers and thank-you notes from the faithful] Almost 2,500 prayers of petition and about 1,100 prayers of thanksgiving are printed in this year’s volume. The faithful also leave notes with their prayer intentions. In 2024 there were about 40,000 of these and in 2025, so far, 26,136. On the wenanty.pl website, 181,350 petitions and approximately 1,000 testimonies of graces received have been submitted, with approximately fifty more sent by post each year. Literature on the life and ministry of Friar Wenanty is being disseminated. Several institutions bear his name, radio broadcasts about him are being produced, and a third volume of graces received through his intercession is already being prepared. The spiritual retreats “Silent Weekends with Friar Wenanty” are very popular—about seven of them are held each year. Participants come from all over Poland and abroad, and participate in Eucharistic adoration, reflections, and conferences. Many of them return again the next year. A particularly important initiative is the Friar Wenanty KATARZYNIEC Assistance Center in Kalwaria, which offers therapeutic support. Sixteen specialists from various fields offer help, both in person and by telephone. About a thousand people have already taken advantage of this service. The Center has a website: https://pomoc.kalwariapaclawska.pl/, and a Facebook profile as well. The faithful create devotional paintings as a sign of gratitude for the graces they have received. Last year, a chapel dedicated to daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was inaugurated. It was financed by devotees of Friar Wenanty. The Words of Friar Wenanty online newsletter is published once a month. It features his writings and updates. In conclusion, here is a word from Friar Wenanty for each of us:
“Remember that the holiness of our life consists in ordinary actions; that doing ordinary things perfectly brings us closer to our goal, while doing them imperfectly distances us from it. Following the example of Christ the Lord, learn to do them well, whatever you do.” This is how Wenanty lived. Let us pray for the gift of his beatification; let us pray for all those who invoke his intercession.
Friar Wenanty KATARZYNIEC, intercede for us!
Friars of Kalwaria Pacławska
