The Catholic Church is mourning Adam Cardinal Kozlowiecki SJ, the first metropolitan archbishop of Lusaka, who died Friday morning.A statement from the Zambia Episcopal Conference said the Polish Jesuit missionary died at Mina Care Medical Centre in Lusaka of old age related illnesses. He was 85.
Cardinal Kozlowiecki will be buried in Lusaka on Friday after a funeral Mass at the Catholic Cathedral of the Child Jesus starting 0900 hours. There will be a vigil mass on Thursday evening at the cathedral from 2000 hours.
The bishops of Zambia described Cardinal Kozlowiecki as being always jovial and simple. "He made Zambia his home and was a true Zambian at heart."
In a message to Archbishop Telesphore George Mpundu of Lusaka, Pope Benedict XVI said he had learned with sorrow of the death of Cardinal Kozlowiecki, and offered "heartfelt condolences to you and all the clergy, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Lusaka, together with the members of the Society of Jesus."
The Pope recalled "with gratitude the first archbishop of Lusaka's selfless years of zealous episcopal and missionary service, unwavering commitment to the spread of the Gospel and service to the Universal Church."
Benedict XVI said he joined the Church in Zambia "in praying that God our merciful Father will grant him the reward of his labours and welcome his noble soul into the joy and peace of His eternal Kingdom. To all assembled for the solemn Mass of Christian burial I cordially impart my apostolic blessing as a pledge of consolation and strength in the Lord."
Cardinal Kozlowiecki was born on April 1, 1922 in Poland, where he was educated and ordained a Jesuit priest. His first and only priestly appointment in Poland was as administrator of the seminary in Krakow. It lasted 12 days. It was the beginning of the World War II and Father Kozlowiecki was arrested and spent five years in Concentration camps.
In 1945, after his liberation from the Dachau Concentration Camp, he moved to Rome where he made his final vows as a member of the Society of Jesus. He arrived in Zambia on April 14, 1946 and worked at Kasisi until 1950 when he was appointed as Apostolic Administrator of the Prefecture of Lusaka.
Ordained a bishop in 1955, he was later installed as the first Archbishop of Lusaka Archdiocese on July 12, 1959.
Cardinal Kozlowiecki was one of the founding fathers and first chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), previously known as the Inter-Regional Episcopal Board in Eastern Africa (ITEBEA). ITEBEA was founded in 1961.
In 1969, he resigned and was succeeded by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. After retirement, Cardinal Kozlowiecki lived a simple life of ordinary priestly duties among which were as a secondary school chaplain in Kabwe and as assistant parish priest in Ching'ombe.
In 1998, Pope John Paul II conferred on him the title of cardinal.
Even after this, he continued to live and work as an assistant parish priest in Mpunde Parish in rural Kabwe.
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