Michał Rapacz

After his ordination, Father Michał Rapacz exercised his ministry as a vicar in Płoki from 1931 to 1933, then in Rajcza from 1933 to 1937. In 1937, he returned to Płoki as parish administrator. His pastoral zeal was manifested by his dedication to the young, the poor, and the sick. During the German occupation and then under the communist regime, he maintained intense pastoral activity, refusing to abandon his parishioners despite the growing threats.

With the establishment of the communist regime in Poland, Father Rapacz's pastoral activity aroused the hostility of local authorities. Despite warnings and death threats, he refused to flee or abandon his parish. On the night of May 11 to 12, 1946, a group of armed communist activists broke into his rectory in Płoki. They forcibly took him to the nearby forest where he was brutally murdered with a gunshot to the head, dying as a martyr for the faith.

The beatification process for Michał Rapacz opened at the diocesan level in 1992. On January 24, 2024, Pope Francis authorized the promulgation of the decree recognizing his martyrdom in hatred of the faith. The solemn beatification ceremony was celebrated on June 15, 2024, in Krakow by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, representing the Sovereign Pontiff.

Blessed Michał Rapacz leaves behind the memory of a pastor of heroic fidelity to the Gospel and the Church. His spirituality was deeply rooted in prayer, Eucharistic adoration, and Marian devotion. His determination in the face of totalitarian persecution remains a model of courage and Christian witness for the Church in Poland and throughout the world.