His Excellency, The Most Reverend Alfred Leo Abramowicz | |
|---|---|
| Auxiliary Bishop ofChicago | |
| Church | Catholic Church |
| See | Titular See of Pesto |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 1, 1943 by Samuel Alphonsus Stritch |
| Consecration | June 13, 1968 by John Cody |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 27, 1919 |
| Died | September 12, 1999(1999-09-12) (aged 80) Chicago |
| Education | |
| Motto | Caritas Christi urset me (The love of Christ bears me) |
Alfred Leo Abramowicz (January 27, 1919 – September 12, 1999) was an American prelate in the Roman Catholic Church. He served as anauxiliary bishop for theArchdiocese of Chicago in Illinois from 1968 to 1995.
Abramowicz was a strong advocate for Polish-Americans in the United States, the Catholic Church in Poland, and theSolidarity labor movement in Poland.
Abramowicz was born in Chicago on January 27, 1919, the son of Polish immigrants. He first attendedArchbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, then studied at theUniversity of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois.
Abramowicz was ordained a priest by CardinalSamuel Stritch for the Archdiocese of Chicago in Chicago on May 1, 1943. After his ordination, Abramowicz was assigned as assistant pastor to Immaculate Conception Parish inSouth Chicago. In 1948, he was transferred to St. Helens Parish in Chicago. In 1949, he went to Rome to studied at thePontifical Gregorian University, earning aLicentiate of Canon Law in 1952.[1][2]
After returning to Chicago, Abramowicz became the resident priest atHoly Name Cathedral Parish. He was also appointed to the Marriage Tribunal for the archdiocese. In 1960, he was named executive director of the Catholic League for Religious Assistance to Poland, working as a principal US fund-raising and organizational contact for the Catholic Church in Poland and for the PolishSolidarity movement.[3][2] In 1966, Pope Paul VI named him as apapal chamberlain with the title of monsignor. Abramowicz became a consultant to the archdiocese in 1968.
On May 8, 1968, Pope Paul VI appointed Abramowicz as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago and titular bishop of Pesto. He was consecrated on June 13, 1968, by CardinalJohn Cody in the Sacred Heart Chapel at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary South in Chicago.[4] In 1969, Abramowicz arranged the details for the visit of CardinalKarol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II, to the United States.[2] Abramowicz worked with the pontificalCommission for Religious Relations with the Jews and thePolish National Catholic Church, an independent congregation in the United States.[2] He served as judge during thebeatification processes for
When Abramowicz turned age 75, he submitted his letter of resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago to Pope Paul II. The pope accepted his resignation on January 24, 1995.[4] He died of cancer on September 12, 1999, in Chicago.[3]
In 2006, Abramowicz was accused in a lawsuit against the archdiocese of ignoring a sexual abuse accusation against a priest. The plaintiff claimed that he was sexually abused on several occasions as a teenager by Czeslaw Przybylo, a priest at Five Holy Martyrs Parish in Chicago during the late 1980s and early 1990s. When the plaintiff complained to Abramowicz, he dismissed his claims and told the boy to go to confession.[5] In 2008, the archdiocese settled the lawsuit for $1.375 million.[5]
