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Kardynat Adam Stefan Sapieha. By Jacek Czajowski. (Wroclaw: Ossolineum. 1997. Pp. 225. Paperback.)
Although Cardinal Prince Adam Stefan Sapieha (1867-1951) belonged to the highest Polish aristocracy, and though he permanently inscribed himself in the Polish national pantheon, little was written about him in the past. Yet forty-six years after his demise, Dr. Jacek Czajowski, a junior faculty member at Jagiellonian University in Cracow, came out with a full-scale biography of him.
According to the author, the cardinal disliked all pomp and magnificent religious services. He was reserved and self-effacing. On occasions, however, he could be quick-tempered, ready to reprove and proverbially stubborn, a feature inherited from his Sapieha ancestors. The prelate was a Polish patriot and cared for the national heritage, and he most enthusiastically greeted the birth of the Second Polish Republic in November, 1918. Then, he got actively involved in Poland's struggle for its frontiers in 1918-1921.
Czajowski claims that the archbishop of Cracow was neither a prominent theologian nor a charismatic orator. But he was a born organizer. He decided to divide large parishes (30,000 faithful or more) into smaller ones. He aimed at providing the congregation with an easy access to the clergy. Sapieha particularly cared for close links between the laity and clergy. To facilitate such a close association, he fully supported the founding of lay communities at the parish level.
The prelate was open to liturgical and other novelties inaugurated by Pope Leo XIII, the Benedictines (the cardinal particularly favored them), and others. Furthermore, he wanted each rural community to have a...