On the afternoon of July 21, 2026, Fr. Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Szostek, MIC, passed away at a hospital in Lublin after a long battle with a serious illness. He was a longtime faculty member at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (1970–2018), vice-rector and rector of that university, and a faculty member at the University of Warsaw within the “Artes Liberales” Faculty and at Marie Curie-Skłodowska University. He lived to be 81 years old, including 56 years in religious life and 52 years in the priesthood.

Fr. Andrzej Ryszard Szostek, son of Ryszard and Irena (née Zielińska), was born on November 9, 1945, in Grudziądz. In Grudziądz, he completed elementary school (1952–59) and high school at the Bolesław Chrobry High School (1959–63). In addition, in 1963, he graduated from the seven-year Elementary Music School in Grudziądz, specializing in piano. During the 1963–64 academic year, he studied history at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

After completing his first year, he joined the Congregation. As a postulant, he was sent to Lublin for seminary studies. After completing his first year at the seminary, recognizing his exceptional talent, he transferred to the Faculty of Philosophy at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) at the suggestion of his superiors. Under the supervision of Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, in 1969 he wrote his master’s thesis on: Ethics as an Empirical Science According to T. Czeżowski and T. Kotarbiński. In 1969, he began his novitiate in Skórzec, and on August 15, 1970, he made his first profession. After his vows, he returned to Lublin to study theology and, with the permission of his superiors, began working at the Department of Ethics first as a research assistant and, after a year, as an assistant professor. He made his perpetual vows on August 15, 1973, in Góra Kalwaria at Marianki. There, he was also ordained a priest on June 23, 1974, by Bishop Bronisław Dąbrowski, FDP, Secretary of the Polish Episcopal Conference.

After his ordination, he remained in Lublin as a doctoral candidate and a research and teaching staff member at the Department of Ethics at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL). In 1978, he defended his doctoral dissertation titled Philosophical Aspects of the Discussion on Universally Valid Norms in Contemporary Theology, written under the supervision of Rev. Assoc. Prof. Tadeusz Styczeń. The Congregation entrusted him with the duties of Second House Councilor and member of the Formation Committee. In 1978–79, he served as prefect of the postulants. In 1980–81, he received a research fellowship at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In 1981, he became superior and rector of our House of Studies in Lublin, as well as the coordinator of priestly studies for the Polish Province. At the end of 1983, he was relieved of his duties as superior of the house; however, he was simultaneously requested to continue serving in that capacity until a new superior was appointed, which took place on August 28, 1984.

From 1987 to 1993, he served as the third councilor of the Polish Province. From 1987 to 2000, he was a member of the Program and Academic Council at the Marian Fathers’ Publishing House in Warsaw. He also served as a censor of philosophical publications for members of our Congregation. In 1988, he became again rector and professor at the Marian House of Studies in Lublin, which was formally transformed in 1989 into the Major Seminary of the Congregation of Marian Fathers.

Also, in 1988, he was appointed a member of the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein. He presented his habilitation dissertation in 1989 on the topic Nature-Reason-Freedom. A Philosophical Analysis of the Concept of Creative Reason in Contemporary Moral Theology. He was awarded the title of habilitated doctor of the human sciences in the fields of philosophy and sociology.

In 1990, he delivered a series of lectures at the Institute for Family Studies at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. That same year, he was approved by the Minister of National Education for the position of associate professor at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL).

In 1992, he became a member of the committee for the beatification of Fr. Stanisław Papczyński. That same year, he was appointed associate professor and vice-rector at the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL); from 1992 to 1997, he served as a member of the International Theological Commission of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1993, he became Head of the Department of Specific Ethics at KUL. In 1997, he became a titular professor of the human sciences, and in 2000, a regular professor at KUL. From 1998 to 2004, he served as rector of KUL. In 2001, he was appointed by John Paul II as a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.

From 2005 to 2011, he served as the Fourth General Councilor of the Congregation. In 2007, he was appointed by the Secretariat of the Polish Bishops’ Conference to serve on the Team for the Ethical and Legal Assessment of Documents Concerning Catholic Clergy Held by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN). In 2011, Fr. Szostek began collaborating with the “Artes Liberales” Institute for Interdisciplinary Research and continued his work as an academic lecturer after the institute was transformed into an independent faculty at the University of Warsaw. After retiring from the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), in 2019 he also began teaching at the Department of Ethics within the Institute of Philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology of the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin.

Prof. Szostek’s research interests focused on such topics as: argumentation in ethics, ethics and anthropology, the structure of conscience, applied ethics (especially the value of human life and social ethics), and the philosophical thought of Karol Wojtyła.

He published approximately 200 works, including the following books:

  • “Der Stein um den Menschen” (with Karol Wojtyła and Tadeusz Styczeń) (Kevelser 1979),
  • “Norms and Exceptions” (Lublin 1980),
  • “Love, Where Are You?” Retreat Meditations (with Tadeusz Styczeń) (Lublin 1986),
  • “Nature – Reason – Freedom” (Lublin 1989; the book has been translated into German and Italian),
  • “Talks on Ethics” (Częstochowa 1993),
  • “On the Dignity of Truth and Love” (Lublin 1995).

He is the editor of the commemorative volume published on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of KUL—”Science and Faith: 80 Years of KUL” (Lublin 1999)—and co-editor of “Antigone’s Daily Questions”, a commemorative volume in honor of Father Professor Tadeusz Styczeń (Lublin 2001).

He has collaborated with the editorial boards of: “Ethos: Quarterly of the John Paul II Institute at KUL”, “KUL Philosophical Yearbooks,” “KUL Scientific Journals”, “Aletheia: An International Journal of Philosophy”, and “Rivista di studi sulla persona e la famiglia Anthropotes”.

He was a member of the Philosophy Section of the KUL Scientific Society, the Lublin Branch of the Philosophical Society, the Board of the John Paul II Institute, and vice president of the Lublin Scientific Society (since 2003). From 1992 to 1997, he was a member of the International Theological Commission.

He was awarded the Order of the Palmes Académiques (2001), the Medal of the National Education Commission (2001), the Premium Honorificum of the Lublin Scientific Society (2003), the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2005), and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2013). In 2008, he received the Medal of Merit from the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL), and in 2021, he was named an Honorary Citizen of Lublin.

He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Award “For Promoting Christian Values in Polish Culture,” the “Rev. Prof. Janusz Pasierb Award” from the Mayor of Grudziądz (2001), the “W. Pietrzak Scientific Award” (2003), the “First-Class Award of the Rector of KUL” (2005), and the “Resolutio pro Laude Academica” Distinction from the Lublin Scientific Society (2005).

The funeral liturgy will take place on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the Marian Fathers’ parish church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lublin, located at 85 Bazylianówka Street. It will be presided over by Archbishop Stanisław Budzik, Metropolitan of Lublin and Grand Chancellor of the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL). After the Mass, Fr. Andrzej’s body will be laid to rest in the Marian Fathers section of the cemetery on Unicka Street.