Salezjanin z “tramwaju”. Koadiutor Stanisław Żukowski 1913-2009.
A SALESIAN FATHER „ON A TRAM“. THE COADJUTOR ŻUKOWSKI 1913-2009.

Summary/Abstract: A Salesian Frather -the coadjutor Żukowski was born in 1913 in the Vilnius Region. After the border changes in our country in 1945, he lived in the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. He was brought up in a numerous religious family of farmers. From childhood he worked hard on the farm. As a parishioner of the parish Kalwaria near Vilnius he learnt Marian piety there. He was involved in the Catholic Youth Association, where he contributed to the development of education and religious life. He joined the Franciscans in Niepokalanów in 1938 but the outbreak of the Second World War prevented him from becoming a Franciscan monk. In Niepokalanów he met Maksymilian Maria Kolbe, who is already the saint. Stanisław stayed at home during the war and the post-war years of communist rule. Although he did not have any qualifications, he taught religion to the children in the period of communism. He was still, however, thinking of becoming a monk. Unfortunately, he was rejected by some orders in Poland because of his advanced age. When he was accepted by Salesians in Cracow, he felt really happy. After the death of his mother in January 1958 (he looked after her during the last 3 years of her life), he came to the People’s Republic of Poland as a repatriant to join the Salesian Society. He was a man of prayer, hard-working, conscientious and devoted to the congregation. He was always modest and did not like to be in the centre of attention. While being in a monastery, he mainly served as a sacristan and a doorkeeper. The most important things in his life were: prayer, work, devotion and poverty. Plenty of his confreres regarded him as a saint even when he was still alive. He died in 2009 in Oświęcim and was buried in the Salesian tomb in this town.

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