Jan Bernard Szlaga
| Jan Szlaga | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Pelplin | |
Szlaga in 2011
| |
| Appointed | 18 February 1984 |
| Term ended | 15 September 2011 |
| Previous post | Auxiliary Auxiliary Bishop of Chełmno (1988–1992) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 9 March 1963 by Kazimierz Kowalski |
| Consecration | 25 June 1988 by Józef Glemp |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 May 1940 Gdingen, Nazi Germany |
| Died | 25 April 2012 (aged 71) Starogard Gdański, Poland |
| Buried | Pelplin Abbey |
| Education | KUL |
| Alma mater | Pontifical Biblical Institute |
| Motto | Parare vias Domini (transl. Prepare God's Way) |
Jan Bernard Szlaga (24 May 1940 – 25 April 2012) was the Roman Catholic bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pelplin, Poland. He was born the youngest of six children of Jan and Helena (née Sciesińska) Szlaga.
Education and early career
From 1947 to 1953 Szlaga attended elementary school in Gdynia and then went attended Collegium Leoninum in Wejherowo and Collegium Marianum in Pelplin. He studied at the Pelplin Higher Seminary (Polish: Wyższe Seminarium Duchowne w Pelplinie) and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in Chełmno in 1963.[1] From 1965 to 1969 Father Szlaga continued his biblical studies at the Catholic University of Lublin and from 1972 to 1973 at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Upon completing his doctorate in theology, Szlaga took on academic duties in addition to his priestly duties:
- Assistant to Professor of Biblical Studies, Catholic University of Lublin
- Vice-Dean at Catholic University of Lublin
- Dean of the Faculty of Theology 1981-1984
- Lecturer at the Major Seminary in Lublin, Pelplin Seminary and Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.
- Professor at the University of Gdańsk's Faculty of Languages and History 1991-2001
- Member of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas
- Ordinary Member of the Scientific Society of CUL
As bishop
In 1988, Szlaga was named Auxiliary Bishop of Chełmno and Titular Bishop of Mascula.[1] In 1992 he was consecrated as Bishop of Pelplin. While serving as Bishop he received Commander's Cross of the Order of Polish Rebirth.[2] He was named an honorary citizen of Chojnice (1994), Starogard Gdański (2007) and Gdynia (2008),[3] and received the 2010 Award For Services to Pomerania.[4]
Szlaga's health declined just before he was to act as main consecrator of the new Auxiliary Bishop Wiesław Śmigiel and he died on 25 April 2012. He is buried beside the altar at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Pelplin Abbey.
References
- Back to citation occurrence 1.0 Back to citation occurrence 1.1 "Bishop Jan Bernard Szlaga". catholic-hierarchy.org. Archived from the original on 22 June 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- Back to citation "Urząd Miejski - Kronika miasta". miasto.chojnice.pl. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- Back to citation "Szlaga Jan Bernard (1940 - 2012)". Oficjalny serwis internetowy miasta Gdynia (in Polish). Archived from the original on 13 September 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
- Back to citation "Honorowi obywatele miasta". Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2012. (Polish)