Recently Departed Marians

Father Andrzej Szostek, MIC
November 9, 1945 – July 21, 2026

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).

Father Richard Drabik, MIC
January 3, 1934 – July 4, 2026

On July 4, 2026—the first Saturday of the month and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America—at approximately 11:30 PM at the religious house on Eden Hill in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, Fr. Richard Drabik, MIC, passed away and received his well-deserved reward in eternity. He lived to be 92 years old, including 73 years in religious life and 66 years in the priesthood.

During his long life, Fr. Richard held many positions of responsibility within the community; superior of the religious house, novice master, director of the Association of Marian Helpers in US, and, from 1981 to 1988, superior of the American Province of St. Stanislaus Kostka.

His whole life, he was a zealous apostle of the message of Divine Mercy and the author of many initiatives related to promoting this devotion in the United States, such as the production of the world’s first feature-length film on the history of the Divine Mercy devotion: Divine Mercy: No Escape, the translation of St. Faustina’s Diary and her biography into English, as well as the preparation in Stockbridge of the first Polish edition of the Diary, which was subsequently printed in Rome with financial support from the Marians and secretly distributed to Poland, hidden from the communist authorities.

The funeral services were held at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, MA, and the deceased was laid to rest at the Marian Fathers’ cemetery on Eden Hill.

Father Mateusz Stanisław Pietrzyk, MIC
April 15, 1952 – February 4, 2026

Poland, Skórzec: On February 4, 2026, Fr. Mateusz Pietrzyk, MIC, died at the religious house in Skórzec. He was 73 years old, had been in the Congregation for 48 years, and had been a priest for 41 years. The funeral will take place on Friday, February 6, 2026, at the Church of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle in Skórzec.

Father Mateusz Stanisław Pietrzyk, son of Józef and Maria née Ptak, was born on April 15, 1952, in Damienice near Bochnia, in the Diocese of Tarnów. After completing primary school in Damienice, he graduated from the Basic Vocational School in Krakow-Prokocim in 1966-69, obtaining the profession of locksmith.

In 1970, as a candidate for our Congregation, he moved to Lublin, residing at 10 Połaniecka Street, and began working at the Lublin Cooperative for the Disabled and studying at the High School for Working Adults. After completing the first year of high school, he did his basic military service, and after completing it in 1973, he continued his education and work. He obtained his high school diploma in 1976 and was then accepted into the novitiate in Skórzec.

He made his first profession on August 15, 1977. In 1977-78, he studied at the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lublin in Lublin, and in 1978-84 at the Higher Theological Seminary in Siedlce; during this period, he was a member of the religious house in Skórzec. He made his perpetual vows on August 15, 1982, in Licheń. He was ordained a deacon in Lublin on December 8, 1983, by Bishop Bolesław Pylak of Lublin. After completing his seminary studies in 1984-85, he was a catechist at the parish of Our Lady of Lourdes in Praga. He was ordained a priest in Lublin in the seminary chapel of the Congregation of Marian Fathers by Jan Śrutwa, Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese of Lublin, on June 15, 1985.