Władysław Gurgacz [SEP] religious order
Władysław Gurgacz
Władysław Gurgacz (2 April 1914 – 14 September 1949) was a Polish Catholic priest, member of the Society of Jesus, and chaplain of the anti-communist underground.
Biography.
In 1931, he entered the Society of Jesus in Stara Wieś, and in 1942 he was ordained as chaplain.
After World War II, he strongly criticized communist order in Poland. It brought him immense popularity among believers. Between 1945 and 1947, he worked as hospital chaplain in Gorlice and from 1947 to
. Memorial plaques to Władysław Gurgacz and fallen soldiers of PPAN are located in churches in Nowy Sącz and Krynica. In June 2008, he was posthumously awarded Commander's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta.
In the 2008 citation letter accompanying the Commander's Cross, president Lech Kaczyński wrote:
"Father Gurgacz knew, that by joining the ranks of the Polska Podziemna Armia Niepodległościowa [abr. PPAN], he closed the door to any possibility of return to normal life. In the name of God's love,