Biskup Wilhelm Pluta. Biografia

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Bishop Wilhelm Pluta – Biography

The book presents a well-documented biography of Bishop Wilhelm Pluta (1910–86) and the characteristics of his pastoral ministry and personality. It also describes the course of his beatification process.

Wilhelm Pluta was born on 9.01.1910 in Kochłowice in Silesia. He graduated from the Silesian Seminary and was ordained a priest in Katowice in 1934, after which he worked in various parishes in Silesia.

In 1958 Pope Pius XII appointed him Bishop of Gorzow. Fr Pluta accepted the papal nomination from the hands of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński at the same time as Fr Karol Wojtyła. From then on, they shared a lifelong friendship and close collaboration. On 7.09.1958, he was ordained bishop in the cathedral in Gorzów Wielkopolski.

Bishop Pluta took part in the Second Vatican Council and actively participated in the work of the Polish Episcopal Conference. He also took part in the Fifth Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1980.

When, on 28 June 1972, Pope Paul VI divided the great administration of Gorzów into three dioceses, Bishop Pluta became the first Bishop of the Diocese of Gorzów.

His priority was to care for the priests, whom he gave a truly paternal love. He cared for their spirituality, formation and way of life. He also cared for the formation of candidates to the priesthood with great regularity.

Central to his pastoral vision was the work of renewing God’s life in families. He developed modern ways of preparing for marriage. He was a forerunner in this sphere, which was soon recognised when he became chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Families.

In the post-Conciliar period, he was a promoter of lay involvement in the apostolate and the formation of small communities, groups and ecclesial movements in parishes.

His pastoral activities and defence of the rights of the Church were viewed very negatively by the communist authorities of the time, which gave rise to much harassment. He was, however, a man for whom supernatural matters were more important and more real than the affairs of this world. He was known as a man of prayer and great spirituality.

He was an prominent theologian and polyglot, which made him an outstanding teacher of the faith. He left a significant literary legacy. At the same time, he was a person with a delicate conscience, sensitive to every human being. He was particularly concerned about the poor. Despite his many worries and problems, he was known for his sense of humour.

Bishop Wilhelm Pluta died on 22.01.1986 in a car accident. He was buried in the Cathedral of Gorzow. After more than 27 years of episcopal ministry, he went down in the memory of his diocese as a holy and extremely zealous pastor.

On 21.01.2002, the process for the beatification of the Servant of God Bishop Wilhelm Pluta began. The diocesan stage of the investigation was closed on 9.09.2015, after which the Roman stage began.