Archbishop of Lublin, Poland dies suddenly in Rome

Rome, Italy, Feb 14, 2011 / 22:33 pm

Archbishop Jozef Zycinski of Lublin died of a sudden heart attack in Rome on Feb. 10 at the age of 62. The philosopher, theologian and teacher was remembered as a leading voice in the Polish Church.

“Zycinski's sparkling intellect was always in high demand,” Polskie Radio reported.

He was a regular speaker across Poland who also lectured abroad at universities like Oxford and Berkeley. He also wrote for the daily newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza.

Fr. Adam Boniecki, editor-in-chief of the Catholic weekly Tygodnik Powszcechny, said the archbishop was “a face of the Polish Church.”

“Listening to him, many people breathed a sigh of relief that one can think in this way,” he said.

Zycinski had served as Archbishop of Lublin since 1997. Lublin remains an important see in the Catholic Church in Poland, as the Catholic University of Lublin enjoys considerable prestige.

The archbishop will be buried in the cathedral in Lublin. The likely date of his funeral is Feb. 19

Auxiliary Bishop of Lublin Mieczyslaw Cislo told Tygodnik Powszcechny that the archbishop died of a heart attack, and not a brain hemorrhage or stroke as earlier reported.

Bishop Cislo will head the archdiocese until a new archbishop is appointed by Pope Benedict XVI.