Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (d. 1981)
Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948, archbishop of Warsaw and archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He was created a cardinal on 12 January 1953 by Pope Pius XII. He assumed the title of Primate of Poland.
The case for his beatification and canonization opened in 1989 (he had the title of Servant of God when the cause commenced) and has many proponents in the Vatican and in his native Poland, where he is well known for his heroic and principled stand against National Socialism and Communism, and because of his connections to Pope John Paul II (he played a key role in urging Cardinal Wojtyła to accept his election as pope). Pope Francis named him as Venerable on 18 December 2017 upon confirming his heroic virtue. He was scheduled to be beatified in Warsaw on 7 June 2020 but the beatification was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled and celebrated on 12 September 2021.To many he was the unquestionable spiritual leader of the Polish nation, in opposition to the totalitarian communist government. He is also credited for the survival of Polish Christianity in the face of its repression and persecution during the reign of the 1945–1989 Communist regime. He himself was imprisoned for three years, and is considered by many to be one of Poland's national heroes.