Tadeusz Rakoczy

Tadeusz Rakoczy ( born March 30, 1938 in Gilowice ) is a Polish Roman Catholic priest and was the first bishop of Bielsko- Żywiec.

Life

After graduating from high school in Żywiec he worked for a year in industry. In 1957 he entered the seminary in Krakow. On June 23, 1963 he was consecrated Auxiliary Bishop Karol Wojtyla of Krakow priest. In 1967 he was prefect of the seminary. In 1970 he went to study at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Pope John Paul II appointed him in 1978 to the Curia, where he organized together with Józef Kowalczyk, the Polish Section of the Secretariat of State. He was a member of the papal delegation with many foreign trips of the Pope.

On 25 March 1992, Pope John Paul II appointed the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Bielsko- Żywiec and gave him on 26 April 1992, in St. Peter's Episcopal ordination. Co-consecrators were the Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Franciszek Macharski and Cardinal Angelo Sodano.

The ceremonial enthronement was on 9 May 1992 in Nicholas Cathedral in Bielsko- Biała, tantamount to the acceptance of his diocese.

His motto is In aedificationem Corporis Christi ( " building up the body of Christ," Paul's Letter to the Ephesians ( Eph 4,13 EU) ).

On November 16, 2013 Pope Francis took his age-related withdrawal.