Poland, Warsaw: On the morning of April 3, 2021, Fr. Ludwik Meyerholz, MIC, passed away at the hospice of the Orionist Fathers in Wołomin near Warsaw.
He lived for 79 years, was a member of our Congregation for 60 years, and a priest for 52.
Ludwik Alfred Meyerholz, son of Alfred and Weronika née Pawlak, was born on November 7, 1941 in Grudziądz – the eldest of seven siblings. He became an altar boy in the parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary even before starting elementary school, and from that time on, he thought about dedicating himself to priestly service.
From 1948-1955 he went to primary school, and then from 1955-1959 completed his high school course in Grudziądz. When he was in high school, his desire to become a priest was joined to his Marian devotion and the wish to join a Marian religious community. Admitted to our Congregation, he made his novitiate in 1959-1960 in Skórzec, followed by his first vows on August 15, 1960. After the novitiate, he was assigned to work in the religious house in Skórzec. He completed the first year of philosophy in Praga, Warsaw district (1961-1962) and then went to the seminary in Włocławek (1962-1967). He made his perpetual vows in Włocławek on February 2, 1967, and on June 18, 1967, he was ordained a priest in the cathedral basilica by Antoni Pawłowski, Bishop of Włocławek.
Father Ludwik’s first post after ordination was in Głuchołazy, where he served as a catechist and assistant in pastoral ministry. From 1971-1972 he performed the same tasks in Licheń. In 1972, he was transferred to Warsaw-Praga to work pastorally and serve on the commission preparing for the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Congregation and was also a member of the editorial team of the Polish Province monthly Immaculata. In 1973 he was sent to study theology at the Academy of Catholic Theology. In 1975 he became an assistant for catechetical matters and a member of the provincial commission for the apostolate.
In 1981 he was transferred from the house in Praga to the house in Stegny as the vicar of St. Catherine Parish and assigned to work at the Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy in Stegny. At that time, he was entrusted with the duties of the provincial assistant for liturgical services of the altar. In 1986, he became the first house councilor in Stegny. In 1987, transferred from Stegny to Marymont (a Warsaw district), he became the house superior and parish priest. He was also reappointed to serve as a member of the provincial commission for the apostolate. In 1989, he was also appointed treasurer of the religious house in Marymont and instructor of catechetics at the Marian Seminary. In 1991, Cardinal Józef Glemp appointed Fr. Ludwik a member of the priestly council for the Archdiocese of Warsaw.
Having completed two terms as the Marymont house superior, Fr. Meyerholz was transferred in 1993, to Augsburg to improve his language skills in German and to assist the local community in pastoral ministry. From the years 1994-2002, he was the superior and treasurer of the religious house in Elbląg and the pastor of All Saints Parish (1994-2005). In 1995, the bishop of Elbląg entrusted Fr. Ludwik with the duties of spiritual director of the deanery Elbląg– City Center, and appointed him a member of the pastoral council for families in the Elbląg diocese, and also the diocesan chaplain of families, and church assistant of the Association of Catholic Families and confessor of the students in the Elbląg diocese. From 2001-2002, he was a deanery inspector for teaching religion in the Elbląg– City Center. In 2000, the provincial superior appointed him once again as a member of the commission for the apostolate.
In 2005, Fr. Ludwik, whose health and physical fitness started to deteriorate, was transferred to the religious house in Warsaw-Praga. For the autumn provincial convention of 2009, he prepared a written statement-testimony entitled My outlook on illness and aging. As long as his health permitted, he pastorally assisted the local religious community.