- Kazimierz Świątek
infobox cardinalstyles
cardinal name=Kazimierz Świątek
dipstyle=His Eminence
offstyle=Your Eminence
See=Minsk-Mahiloŭ |Kazimierz Świątek (Polish spelling; Belarusian Kazimier Śviontak, "Казімер Сьвёнтак"; b. birth date and age|1914|10|14 in
Walga ,Estonia ) is a Cardinal of theRoman Catholic Church , formerArchbishop of Minsk-Mohilev, andApostolic Administrator ofPinsk .After completing
seminary in Pinsk, he was ordained a priest in1939 and sent to the parish ofPrużany in thediocese of Pinsk.He was arrested by the
NKVD in April1941 , and imprisoned ondeath row in Brest. Świątek escaped from prison taking advantage of the confusion caused by the Nazi German invasion of theSoviet Union on22 June 1941 ("Operation Barbarossa "), and returned to Pružany.In December
1944 , the NKVD arrested him for a second time. The following year he was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in theGulag , and spent nine years inSiberia and the north of the Soviet Union, working in thetaiga and mines. After his release in June1954 , he returned to Pinsk.In
1988 he was named achaplain ofPope John Paul II . In 1991, he was appointed Archbishop of Minsk-Mahiloŭ and Apostolic Administrator of Pinsk. John Paul II proclaimed Świątek cardinal in1994 .External links
* [http://www.catholic.by The Catholic Church of Belarus]
* [http://www.apostle1.com/09-30-2004-rc-cardinal_survived-siberian-labor-camp1.htm Pope Pays Homage to Unitate (Roman Catholic) Cardinal Who Survived Siberian Labor Camp]
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