Kazimierz Świątek

Kazimierz Świątek (; born October 21, 1914 – died July 21, 2011) was a Roman Catholic Cardinal in Belarus. He was sentenced to death by the Soviet Union, but escaped after two months.He later spent nine years in hard labor in the Gulag and survived.

 Early life 
Świątek was born at Valga in the Apostolic Administration of Estonia on October 21, 1914. He graduated from the Major Seminary in Pinsk, Belarus.  Świątek was ordained as a priest on April 8, 1939 He was sent to work in Pruzhany. 

 Death sentence 
In Pruzhany in 1939, Świątek was accused of spying. He was found guilty in a Stalinist show trial, and sentenced to death. A show trial is a highly public trial where the sentence has been decided before the trial starts. When German troops gained control of the territory, Świątek was able to escape from prison and avoid his execution.

 Siberian labor camp 
Świątek was arrested by the KGB on December 18, 1944. He was in  Minsk until July 21, 1945. Świątek   was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in the Gulag concentration camps. He spent two years in Mariinsk, Siberia, and seven years north of the polar circle in Vorkuta and Inta. He was released on June 16, 1954. He returned to Pinsk and his pastoral work in the cathedral parish.

 Leadership in the church 
On April 13, 1991, Pope John Paul II appointed the 77 year old Świątek the first archbishop of the new archdiocese of Minsk-Mohilev. He was also appointed the Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Pinsk.

On November 26, 1994, Pope John Paul II named Świątek Cardinal. On February 11, 1999, Cardinal Świątek was elected the first president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in Belarus. On the 14th of June 2006 Pope Benedict XVI accepted Świątek's resignation from the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Minsk.

 Other websites 
 Roman Catholic Church in Belarue 
 His Eminence Cardinal Kazimierz Świątek 

 References 

Category:Belarusian people
Category:Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church
Category:Roman Catholic archbishops
Category:1914 births
Category:2011 deaths