The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-03-22
Father John III. CieSZynSI1i
SuccumbS to Cancer.
GOOD MAN HAS PASSED AWAY
An Interesting Personality and Man
Who Was DearIey Loved BY
All Classes.
From Thursdays Daily.


Last evening there passed away at ST.
Joseph's hospital one of the most in
teresting personalities in the annals of
the Catholic church in southern Mime
sofa.
Rev. John H. Cieszynski was born in
Prussan Poland some fifty years ago
and came to this country when boy of
eighteen years. Friendless and alone
without knowledge of the language
he of his own effort carved out of the
new country career rarely surpassed
III usefulness.
He acquired a good education and had
a working knowledge of English, Ger
man, French, Bohemian, Polish and Lat
in. He worked at anything and every
thing that was honest labor to earn
money that he might attend school. He
was a student at Pillsbury academy in
Owatonna for several years. Even in
these early days he was strong tenn
perance advocate and great admirer of
the work of Frances B. Willard, with
whom he often appeared on the public
platform. He worked in eighteen differ
ent states, sometimes teaching school,
sometimes engaged in manual labor. I'm
1882 he entered st. Thomas college as a
candidate for the priesthood and seven
years later was ordained from st. Paul
seminary by Bishop COtter, for the Wi
mona diocese. 1t was now his life work
really began. Though fulfilling his du-
ties zealously as a priest to all national
tiles and as a citizen to the state, his
heart and soul was with his own Polish
people. He wished the rising generation
to know the language and customs of
their adopted country without forget
ting the glorious history of the land of
their fathers. No matter what obstacles
he met his faith in the people, that gave
Stanislaus and Sobieski to the
world, never wavered. He served as pas
tor in FairmOnt and East Chair, later
at Minnesota Lake and at Wells, where
he was pastor at his untimely taking
off. The magnificent church in Wells
represents not only his zeal and energy
but Il large portion of the building eX-
penses were paid out of his own private
purse.
Not a winter has passed since his
coming to Wells but he selected some
bright boys from the parish, kept them
at his own house and sent them to the
public school there, and part of his
evenings We're spent i'll assisting them
with their studies.
With splendid knowledge of finance
learned in the days of his early strug-
giles, he invested largely and advan-
tageously in land. The bulk of his prop
erty goes to home for aged and help
less Polish people and for destitute chill
dren.
About q year dgo his health became
seriously affected but with his uncon-
querable will he continued in his pastor
al duties until about week ago when
he came to st. Josephs hospital. A
diagnosis of cancer of the stomach was
made, and Sunday an operation was
performed with the hope of giving him
some temporary relief, but he never
coin pletely rallied and passed peacefully
away. Bishop Cotter and many of his
brother priests visited him on his sick
bed His remains robed in the church
vestments was placed in the sisters
chapel from whence they will be re-
moved to his own church in Wells this
afternoon The funeral will be held
Saturday morning at ten o'clock.