At the age of 76, Friar Zenon PIĘTA, OFM Conv. achieved his goal in Christ, on May 14, 2019, in Rome.
Friar Zenon’s funeral Mass was presided over by the Most Reverend Gianfranco GIROTTI, OFM Conv., Titular Bishop of Meta. Those concelebrating included the Minister General, Friar Marco TASCA, along with members of the General Definitory and the Vicar of the Province of the Immaculate Mother of God in Poland (Warsaw), Friar Piotr SZCZEPAŃSKI. Among the many friars in attendance were those from the friary of St. Anthony at the Baths (Vigna), including its Guardian, Friar Franklin Antonio DURÁN ZAMBRANO. There were additional friars participating from the General Curia, the friary of the Twelve Holy Apostles and other General Houses in Rome. Some religious sisters who had known Friar Zenon for decades were there as well.
In his homily, the Minister General gave some biographical highlights about our late brother. Friar Zenon was born on October 2, 1942, in Teresin, Poland. He heard the call to become a friar and a priest while he was a child and at age sixteen, asked to enter the novitiate in Gniezno. His request was accepted. He began his novitiate year on October 15, 1958, and professed his temporary vows on October 16, 1959.
After his novitiate, Friar Zenon continued formation at the minor seminary in Niepokalanów. In 1961, he studied philosophy at the major seminary in Łódź-Łagiewniki, and in 1963, studied theology at the major seminary in Cracow. In 1965, he professed his solemn vows on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, in Cracow. On June 24, 1967 he was ordained to the priesthood, again, in Cracow.
After priestly ordination, he began an internship period of teaching and pastoral ministry. In September of 1968, he started working as a parochial vicar and a catechist in Gdynia. A year later he went to the Catholic University of Lublin to study Church History, earning a licentiate in 1972. Also that year, he was sent to Warsaw to serve as Provincial Archivist and to work on his doctorate, which he earned on May 25, 1975.
Starting in 1977, Friar Zenon served in Italy, first in Assisi then in Santa Severa (Province of Rome). Finally, on October 27, 1979, he began service at the friary of St. Anthony at the Baths in Rome.
From the beginning, his main occupation was working in the archives and in the Vatican Library on the ninth volume of Hierarchia Catholica (which would be completed in 2002). Friar Jan M. OLSZEWSKI, the Archivist of the Province of Warsaw, wrote in his broader biography of Friar Zenon that the friar’s work was a “gift” and that his research in the field of Church History was carried out with the efficiency and dedication of a real “bookworm”. On November 13, 2002, the periodical Osservatore Romano reviewed his volume, stating: “This work has been carried out in a spirit of firmness, foresight, Franciscan courage and youthful enthusiasm”.
Friar Zenon also began work on the tenth volume and wanted so much to complete it. In a letter to his Minister Provincial dated July 14, 2017, he wrote, “I want to work as long as I can.” Unfortunately, he was not able to complete this great historical work. He was afflicted with an illness that not only interfered with the completion of the book but also led to his death.
The Minister General pointed out that Friar Zenon was an example of zeal and diligence for generations of students, particularly those who stayed at the “Vigna” General House in Rome. He showed exemplary diligence, not only in the field of science and history, but also in the daily diligence of tending the friary’s large garden. He was a friar who was really passionate about his work. We shall always remember his joyous and fraternal spirit.
May the Lord reward him abundantly for his many years of faithful service.
photo: fra Robert LEŻOHUPSKI
