Aleksander Kakowski

His Eminence Aleksander Kakowski
Cardinal, Archbishop of Warsaw
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Church	Roman Catholic
Archdiocese	Warsaw
Appointed	7 May 1913
In office	1913-1938
Predecessor	Wincenty Teofil Popiel
Successor	August Hlond
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Sant’Agostino
Orders
Ordination	30 May 1886
Consecration	22 June 1913 by Stanisław Kazimierz Zdzitowiecki
Created Cardinal	15 December 1919 by Benedict XV
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1862-02-05)February 5, 1862 Dębiny, Płock Governorate, Congress Poland
Died
Nationality	Polish
Coat of arms	Aleksander Kakowski's coat of arms

Aleksander Kakowski (Polish pronunciation: [alɛˈksandɛr kaˈkɔfskʲi]; February 5, 1862 – December 30, 1938) was a Polish politician, diplomat, a member of the Regency Council and, as Cardinal and Archbishop of Warsaw, the last titular Primate of the Kingdom of Poland before Poland fully regained its independence in 1918.

Biography

Aleksander Kakowski was born on February 5, 1862, in Dębiny near Przasnysz, the son of Franciszek Kakowski and Paulina Ossowska. He was ordained a priest on May 30, 1886, in Warsaw, by Cardinal Wincenty Chościak-Popiel. The following year he became one of the professors at the Warsaw Theological Seminary. In 1910 he became Rector of the Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy and on July 22, 1913, he was ordained a bishop by Stanisław Zdzitowiecki. On September 14, 1913, he became the archbishop of Warsaw in St. John's Cathedral, thus becoming the titular primate of the Kingdom of Poland.

Political career

World War I and the Regency Council

After the outbreak of the Great War he remained in Warsaw and in 1917 Kakowski was appointed to be a member of the Regency Council, a semi-independent and temporary highest authority of the Kingdom of Poland, recreated by the Central Powers as part of their Mitteleuropa plan. Kakowski was one of three members of that body, which served as a provisional head of state (hence the word "regency" in its name).

Relations with Rome, death and legacy

Archbishop Kakowski with other members of the Regency Council in 1917

On November 28, 1919, he was the main consecrator of Achille Ratti, the papal nuncio to Poland who later became Pope Pius XI. On December 15 of the same year, Kakowski himself was made a cardinal. During his service as the Archbishop of Warsaw, Kakowski promoted the creation of a strong Catholic press. He was one of the authors of the success of Rycerz Niepokalanej, which was one of the most popular newspapers in pre-war Poland. He was also the main creator of the theological faculty at the Warsaw University and of the Catholic Action movement. For his role in liberating Poland from foreign occupation, in 1925 Kakowski was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish decoration (and in July 1938 he even briefly appeared as the head of that order's chapter). In 1930 he also became a "bailiff of honour and devotion" of the Order of St John of Jerusalem. His successor August Hlond was to reintroduce the title of Primate of Poland after the Second World War, but Kakowski continued to style himself Primate of the Kingdom of Poland until his death on December 30, 1938.

References

Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Wincenty Chościak-Popiel	Archbishop of Warsaw 1913-1938	Succeeded by August Hlond
Preceded by Jan Paweł Woronicz	Primate of Poland 1916-1938	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Sebastiano Martinelli	Cardinal Priest of Sant'Agostino 1919-1938	Succeeded by Agustín Parrado y García