INDEX

1. AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL

   ARCHIVAL LISTINGS

   TESTIMONIALS

   HAJKOWSKI DISSERTATION

   BEYOND THE AIRWAVES: A FILM

   INTERVIEWS

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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   ARCHIVAL LISTINGS OF THE FATHER JUSTIN ROSARY HOUR

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   Fr. Justin Figas OFM Conv.
   1886-1959
   Life and Legacy
   

   
   

   In 1793 Poland ceased to exist as a sovereign nation on the maps of Europe when it was "partitioned" between three land-hungry countries: Prussia, Russia,
   and Austria. But the Polish people were proud of their heritage, their language, and their Catholic faith even though the struggle would be great and
   arduous to maintain these throughout a long period systematic suppressions.
   
   Jacob Figas was born in Kruchowo, Mogilno, the Prussian-occupied territory of Poland in 1852. It was a poor and old village that did not offer much
   advancement for a common laborer. Jacob was serving as a guardsman in the 6th infantry brigade of the Prussian army when at the age of 22 he recalls
   that he struck a Prussian soldier who degradingly called him a "polish pig." Charges were not brought against Jacob, and he was released from the army
   in good standing a short time later, in 1875. But Jacob had determined that there would be no real life for him in his homeland. He felt compelled to
   join the masses of Poles immigrating to the Unit-ed States. It was his only chance to make a good life for himself and his future family. Jacob received
   his embarkation documents on February 23, 1880. He arrived in the United States a month later on March 24th. Like so many others who were unskilled he
   headed for the coal mining regions of Pennsylvania where all that was required was a strong back and perseverance. He settled in the small town of McClure,
   presently merged with the town of Everson. At the time McClure was comprised of about 20 families, mostly of Polish and Slovak extractions. It was there
   that Jacob married a Polish immigrant named Maryanna Szymanska four years later in 1884.
   
   The couple's first child was born on June 24, 1886. The boy who would later be known as Justin in religious life, was baptized Michael in St. John the Baptist
   Church in Scottsdale, Pennsylvania. Many other children followed. In 1891 the family had to vacate their tenement house owned by the McClure Coke Company.
   Jacob Figas frequently turned to the parish priest at St. Joseph Church in Scottsdale for aid and support of his growing and now homeless family. The parish
   was always able to provide something. Jacob's faith was further put to the test when, at age seven, Michael contracted infantile paralysis (polio). Jacob vowed
   promise. Many would say later, that Fr. Justin's energy and constant projects were the result of his eternal hymn of gratitude to God for sparing his life.
   
   In 1886, five weeks after the birth of her eighth child, Mar-yanna died. Michael was then 9 years old. Jacob's great concern for his young family compelled him
   to seek help one more time from his parish priest to help him find an up-standing woman with whom he could marry and who would care for his children. Not an
   out of the ordinary situation in those days, it was finally a priest in Pittsburg in 1896 who was able to locate a young woman who would meet his needs. She
   would give birth to five more children to Jacob.
   
   Michael being the oldest child, the weight of many responsibilities fell on his shoulders. But his father also knew that the only way out of poverty was through
   education. Michael was sent to the Polish parochial school in Everson. Michael took interest in all of his studies and was a very avid reader, a habit that
   remained with him the rest of his life. Michael's favorite works were Adam Mickiewicz and Henry Sienkiewicz. The poetry of Mickiewicz and the prose of
   Sienkiewicz provided the young boy with a deep sense of loyalty to his Polish heritage while the keen literary style of these authors helped him to master his
   parents' native tongue and to take great pride in the deeds of his ancestors. Equally proud to be an American, Michael's favorite author was the fabled Mark Twain.
   The stories of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn served as an escape from the harsh realities of life in McClure. One boyhood friend recalled that whenever they
   went hunting together on a spur of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Mike would take along his old single barreled shotgun, and always suggested that he be Huck Finn
   and the other be Tom Sawyer. The boys pretended that the sulfur polluted creek which drained the mine bilge was the Mississippi river. Michael's momentary
   schoolboy pretenses were indeed a respite from reality, but he was also mindful of his obligation to crawl through the coal mines with his father in order to
   help his family financially. Justin later wrote, "We were always poor, however home always wore a congenial air. My father dominated our lives. He was stern,
   but just."
   
   Michael never forgot the vow his father made while he lay afflicted with infantile paralysis. At age 14 Michael met Fr. Benedict Langa, a Conventual Franciscan,
   who had traveled from Pittsburg to Everson to offer a parish mission. Michael was chosen to serve the Mass for the young Franciscan. After the Mass Michael
   spoke about his desire for religious life. The friar encouraged Michael to contact the rector of the Order's minor seminary in Trenton, New Jersey. Michael
   was accepted and entered the seminary in the late summer of 1901. He was providentially welcomed by the rector, Fr. Dominic Reuter, a man who would one day
   be the first American to hold the title of Minister General as the 107th successor of St. Francis. Although Michael's courses in the seminary came quite easily
   to him, and he showed proficiency for languages, Michael also shared his natural anxieties about entering the seminary and about being so far from home. Letters
   back to his family confirmed the reasons for his apprehensions. "In the mornings we are given coffee and bread. For lunch we are given soup and water.
   In the evenings we have bread and water again. We don't even have crackers for a snack. I miss home very much." The 14 year old continued to plead "Please
   send a package of some food and warm clothes." One day he recalled the students stuffed their pockets with apples and he ran after them with a large strap and
   a stick. Michael said the boys laughed the whole time they were being chased but at least they got away with a few apples.
   
   After four years in the high school seminary, Michael petitioned to enter the novitiate, which at time was located in Syracuse, New York. Michael was invested
   in the habit of the Conventual Franciscans and given the name "Justin Maria." The community to which the young Justin was now offering his life was founded by
   St. Francis 700 years earlier. In time the Order divided into various branches, each a legitimate stock of that noble religious tree. The community that became
   known as "Conventual Franciscans," chose to minister in the heart of medieval cities rather than in more remote hermitages. They chose to band together in
   concentrated communities, in large houses, a conventus, from the Latin. The Conventual friars assumed the broadest response of transforming every level of
   society. The friars became preachers and educators, royal administrators of charity and advocates of social justice. They spread the faith far and wide as
   missionaries, and spilled their blood as martyrs. The friars' expanding influences ultimately sacramentalized even the world of culture. As musicians they
   dispelled the dullness of life, as architects they reached beyond the ordinary shapes and forms, and as scientists they explored the mysteries of the universe.
   It was a Conventual Franciscan, Friar Juan Perez, who pleaded Christopher Columbus' case before King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Friar Juan Perez sailed
   with Columbus on his second voyage in 1493. He is credited with celebrating the first Mass in the New World. A year and a day after receiving the habit,
   the young novice professed his first vows in the church of the Assumption on August 15, 1904. After the novitiate, Justin returned to Trenton to continue
   his course of studies in philosophy. Two years later, in 1906, the mother province of the Conventual Franciscans was separated into another province,
   formed mainly for ministry that would focus on Polish immigrants.
   
   On September 25, 1906, Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski was unanimously elected the first provincial of the newly created Province which was to be under the patronage
   of St. Anthony of Padua. Justin's life would now be formed and guided by the new provincial, Fr. Hyacinth, and would continue to be paternally guided by him
   until Hyacinth's death.
   
   In 1907, at age 22, Justin was selected to pursue theological studies at the Order's international college in Rome, the Seraphicum. There he continued his
   studies with diligence, always appreciated as an excellent student. Three years later on July 17, 1910 Justin was ordained to the priesthood in St. Agnes
   Church by the saintly Cardinal Raphael Merry del Val, the Secretary of State of Pope Pius X. Afterward, Justin traveled to Assisi where he offered his Mass
   of Thanksgiving at the tomb of St. Francis. Fr. Justin re-mained in Italy another year to complete his studies for a doctorate in Sacred Theology.
   When he returned stateside, Fr. Justin thrived in the infectiously high morale of his homeland and of his new young province. Fr. Justin's first assignment
   was as a curate to St. Josaphat Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The popularity of the new priest with the people soon caught the eye of Fr Hyacinth.
   The career of the young priest would now be determined by the masterful zeal and passionate dreams of Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski, still the Provincial.
   Fr. Hyacinth had an unshakable respect for all things Franciscan and Polish.
   
   Fr. Hyacinth's esteem for the talents and abilities of the young priest was proven when three years later in August 1914, at the age of 28, Fr. Justin was
   chosen as the Secretary of the Province and as Assistant Provincial to Fr. Hyacinth. Fr. Justin was immediately transferred to St. Anthony Friary at Corpus
   Christi Parish in Buffa-lo, New York, the seat of the Provincial administration.
   
   At the turn of the 20th century Buffalo, like other large industrial cities in the United States, had become the haven for a multitude of immigrant Poles
   who fled their mother country in a quest for freedom and livelihood. Cognizant of the small number of Polish priests who could not minister properly to the
   influx, Bishop Quigley appealed to the Conventual Franciscans in Syracuse for help. Fr Hyacinth, a zealous and energetic Pole, responded to the bishop's plea
   immediately. He purchased 10 houses and 29 lots on Clark and Kent streets in Buffalo. In 1896 he transformed what was once a tavern into the original parish
   church. Two years later, in 1898, Fr. Hyacinth was able to build a three story building to house the church, school and parish hall. In 1900 Fr. Hyacinth
   constructed a large convent for the sisters, and nine years later, in 1909, he was finally able to build the splendid and spacious church that is now Corpus
   Christi. Ten years later, by 1919, the parish debt had been completed paid off. Corpus Christi would become the headquarters of the new province for many
   years to come.
   
   Fr. Hyacinth would play a great part in the formation, the attitudes, and the personality of Fr. Justin. Although a forceful man, Fr. Hyacinth was well respected
   for 20 years. It was his fierce determination and love for Franciscanism that Fr. Justin emulated.
   
   Although the young Fr. Justin was never too busy as assist the Provincial, he also did not neglect his double duty as parish curate. He was always in the midst of
   parish activities especially with the youth, as testified by one member of the parish, "I remember him being very kind, he would sometimes wear a very long cape
   and the little children of Corpus Christi School would gather in it. He was always with the children and you would forever see him in the school. When his Name's
   Day came, he would bring in treats for the children. That was always a big day for the parish. In the evenings he would be seen talking with the boys at their
   clubhouse. They really liked him. One of the things we always admired was his ability to work. When some of the girls were helping to scrub the floors of the
   parish hall he was there scrubbing with us, bringing us water." Fr. Justin frequently preached Sunday Mass, heard confessions, and was always ready to help
   the poor, but he especially encouraged the education of youth. One of his favorite activities was leadership in the athletic and fraternal organizations of
   the parish and organizing social events and picnics. A photograph in the Buffalo Times shows the priest in overalls posing with a group of boys in the process
   of repainting the grammar school.
   
   Even his very first year in Buffalo he would gather the young men of Corpus Christi Parish and would personally teach them the Polish language, emphasizing
   the importance of becoming qualified leaders who would be able to represent Polish American citizens in politics, medicine, and law. Education was the way
   out of their cycle of poverty, and once out of poverty, he stressed they should always give back to the community. His was a service-oriented philosophy.
   No accomplishment was for self alone.
   
   In 1922, Fr. Justin attended the General Chapter in Rome. He was actually elected Secretary and Assistant General of the entire Conventual Franciscan Order.
   He respectfully declined the honor, feeling that his abilities could best be used in his home Province.
   
   The following year, 1923, the Province selected him to become their new Minister Provincial. Fr. Cyril Kita was elected as his Secretary and Assistant. During
   his first term as Minister Provincial Fr. Justin devoted himself to implementing many of the plans articulated by Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski for a total and
   comprehensive formation program for the Province. With the consent of the Holy See and the General Definitory in Rome, the Province's canonical novitiate
   was separated from the Immaculate Conception Province and returned to St. Anthony of Padua friary in Buffalo, New York (Corpus Christi Parish). Fr. Aloysius
   Sobus was elected Novice Master. The friary in Athol Springs New York was made into a temporary house of studies for philosophy.
   
   Fr. Justin's immediate interest seemed to be to expand the vocation recruitment of the province. He wanted to provide the best possible situation in which
   candidates for the Province could be formed in that manner most appropriate to the special apostolate which the Province then exercised in the United States,
   ministry among Polish immigrants.
   
   The education of youth always on his mind, it was during the autumn of 1924, Fr Justin met with the Bishop Turner of Buffalo and received the bishop's
   consent to solicit funds from the Polish Catholic community of Western New York State to undertake the construction of St. Francis Minor Seminary
   (High School) in Athol Springs, New York. On January 11, 1925 the friars were sent to all Polish language parishes in the Diocese of Buffalo to make
   an ap-peal on behalf of the new school. He also approached the parish-ioners of Corpus Christi and in one week they raised over $14,000. in cash and
   pledges. He raised $40,000. in the diocese of Buffalo from Polish parishes. Fr. Justin himself worked closely with the business leaders of Buffalo's
   Polish community and created the "The Drivers" (eventually called the "Justin Drivers") to promote a regular source of donations for the new school.
   Construction of St. Francis High School began immediately. Ground was broken on July 12, 1925, and the cornerstone was blessed on Labor Day, September 7, 1925.
   The initial building proved too small to satisfy the students' needs. Two large wings were added in 1928. And in 1950 Fr. Justin directed the expansion
   of the facilities of the school with a spacious gymnasium. A third major building was constructed in 1958 for use as a dormitory for the resident students.
   With the increase of vocations in the Province the necessity of building a novitiate was evident. The present facility, the top floor of Corpus Christi
   friary, was proving inadequate.
   
   In 1928, Fr Benedict Przemielewski, pastor of St. Casimir Parish in Baltimore, and an architect in his own right, informed Fr. Justin that the former
   estate of Charles Carroll in Ellicott City, Maryland had come on the market. Not only would the property and old manor house be adequate, but the link
   of a Polish Ameri-can Province should not miss the opportunity to link itself to such a rich American Catholic heritage. As the Continental representative
   to Maryland, Charles Carroll had been the only Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
   
   Besides directing the efforts of constructing a high school and two seminaries, Fr. Justin personally spear-headed the drive to erect two new structures
   near Corpus Christi Parish to meet the so-cial needs of young people on the East Side of Buffalo. One large clubhouse was built on Clark Street for young
   women and another on Sears Street for young men.
   
   In the final year of his first term as Minister Provincial, Fr. Justin accepted the newly formed parishes of Sacred Heart in Danbury, Connecticut, and
   St. Anthony of Padua in Willimansett, Massachusetts. By the time the new Province Chapter opened on June 16, 1926, Fr Justin had compiled a most impressive
   string of first term achievements, equally notable was the new spirit and morale of the friars as they gratefully elected Fr. Justin to a second term
   of office. Fr Justin's second term of office proved to be every bit as stunning as his first three years as Minister Provincial had been. In 1926 he secured
   for the Province the parochial ministry of St. Hyacinth Parish in Auburn, New York, and St. Teresa Parish in Rochester, New York. When Fr. Justin traveled
   to Rome in 1926 he carried with him a large report on the ministry of the Province that he presented to the Minister General and his Definitory (Council)
   and received from them permission to establish and con-struct a theological seminary for the Province. Almost as soon as he retuned to the United States
   Fr. Justin met with the Most Rev. Thomas O'Leary, Bishop of Springfield, Massachusetts and received his consent to build a seminary for the Province
   in Granby.
   
   It had been second dream of Fr. Hyacinth to build a major seminary for the spiritual and educational formation of young men aspiring to be priests and brothers.
   In 1914, Fr. Hyacinth had purchased 470 acres of land in Granby, Massachusetts through the generosity of Rev. Charles Crevier, pastor of Precious Blood
   Parish in Holyoke, Massachusetts. In time Fr. Hyacinth transferred all of the Preaching Friars, the Mission band, to reside in the farm house in Granby and
   in between their travels with parish missions they were instructed to help chop trees and clear the land for an eventual seminary. Fr. Justin purchased
   the remainder of the Crevier estate and laid the cornerstone on August 8, 1926. On Sunday, June 26, 1927, Fr. Justin along with Bishop Thomas O'Leary
   lessed the debt free building which was placed under the patronage of St. Hyacinth in honor of Fr. Justin's mentor and the founder of the Province.
   The program of formation was placed in the capable hands of Fr Giles Kaczmarek as rector, and Fr George Roskwitalski as his assistant.
   
   Even a brief survey of the remaining achievements of Fr Justin's second term of office as Minister Provincial gives us a sense of the driving pace that
   the ministry of the Province was being expanded in these years. In May 1927 the Province accepted the pastoral ministry and administration of the new
   St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Fairfield, Connecticut and St. Bronislava Parish in Chi-cago, Illinois.
   
   In 1928 Fr. Justin's dream of a province publication became a reality when he entrusted Fr. Joseph Kordas with launching the of the publication of
   a Polish language religious magazine, The Se-raphic Cronicle, first being published in Athol Springs New York, later in Heartland Wisconsin, and
   then finally in Detroit Michigan. Also in 1928 Fr. Justin further strengthened the Province ties with the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph,
   a community co-founded by the late Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski, when the friars became the first chaplains to the Sisters' newly constructed Motherhouse
   in Ham-burg, New York.
   
   The year 1929 saw the organization of St. Joseph Parish in Peabody Massachusetts, as well as the acquisition of the parishes of Peter and Paul
   in St. Joseph, Missouri.
   
   That same year the entire Province was thrilled with the news that St. Josephat's Parish in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had been a debt-ridden and dying
   institution when the friars were given its care, had been elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica by His Holiness Pope Pius XI in recognition of the
   magnificence, beauty and ministries of the church.
   
   In the summer of 1929 Fr. Justin came to the Province Chapter again presenting the Province with a distinguished tract record of his ministry.
   The Chapter signified the approval of Fr Justin's policies by electing him to his third term as Minister Provincial. Within months after entering his
   third term, he accepted the administration of St Stanislaus Parish in St Joseph Missouri, and he also received word from the Diocese of Buffalo
   that a parish dedicated to the honor of St. Francis of Assisi was to be established in Athol Springs, New York.
   
   Then came the great Crash of October 1929. The collapse the of the New York Stock Exchange created almost as many problems to the Province and
   the parishes and institutions it administered as the Crash did in disrupting the economic system of the Western world. A considerable portion
   of the assets of the Province had been invested in the stock market. A precipitous decline in the value of these holdings meant that a large
   part of the funds that the Province depended on to help maintain the charities and educational activities of the Province had been wiped out.
   As the industrial and commercial activity of the United States passed into the Depression with its massive unemployment so also passed many
   jobs that were the livelihood of the thousands of families of the parishes the Province served. Many of these same parishes had embarked
   on large scale construction projects in the 1920s and now were saddled with mortgage payments that formed nightmare proportions for all
   the friars involved in the parochial ministry. In many dioceses of the United States local bishops saw parishes collapsing as parishioners
   lost their jobs and could no longer donate to their church or else entirely moved out of the region in search of further employment opportunities.
   All the parishes accepted by the Province during Fr. Justin's third term as Minister Provincial were parishes facing critical financial problems.
   
   In 1931 the Province accepted the pastoral ministry of St Stanislaus Koska Parish in Rockford, Illinois as well as the ailing Queen of
   the Most Holy Rosary in Buffalo, New York. This latter parish presented a particularly difficult problem because of the presence virtually
   directly across the street of the very hostile Polish National Church which was in the process of conducting a civil law suit against the
   Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. Fr. Simeon Kaczmarek was the first friar to become guardian and pastor and it was through his prudent
   and charitable ministry that a parish and its people were saved from schism.
   
   Fr. Justin Figas' optimism and trust in the Lord were very much in evidence during his third term as Minister Provincial. In a move that
   might have seemed most foolhardy at the time, Fr. Justin approved Fr. Benedict Przemielewski's breathtaking design for the new novitiate
   building in Ellicott City, Maryland. This building would contribute to the United States and the Order one of the most beautiful
   ecclesiastical buildings constructed during the 20th century. But the new novitiate carried a price tag of almost a half million dollars.
   The cornerstone of the novitiate was laid and the finished building was given a solemn dedication on May 6, 1931.
   
   Two years later, on May 6, 1930, the cornerstone of a new no-vitiate building was laid by the Archbishop of Baltimore, Michael Curley. Fr. Benedict
   was responsible for the design of this architectural gem at the beginning of the Depression, a lasting tribute to both him and Fr Justin
   especially in such trying times to meet all their financial obligations.
   
   During the months the novitiate was rising on the gentle hills of Maryland, the grim situation for the Conventual Franciscans around the
   world brightened somewhat for Fr Justin when the General Chapter elected Fr. Dominic Tavani as Minister General. This was Fr. Dominic's
   second but non-consecutive term in office as Minister General. In the years between holding the highest office in the Order, Fr. Dominic
   had resided in the United States and had worked with Fr. Justin. Old friends discussed a rather unusual event that had happened to
   Fr Justin a year before in Buffalo.
   
   A local radio station had been carrying a Polish language comedy program on one of its broadcasts. Edmund and Leon Kolipinski, dealers
   in furniture and electrical applieances sponsered a radio program on WKEN, Buffalo. One of the most favorite programs first broadcast
   in 1926 was a Polish language comedy skit featuring an argumentative married couple named "Podeszwa and Kordula." When the couple
   had begun talking about divorce on one of their shows, the husband character said he would have to speak with Fr. Justin about the
   Church's position on divorce. There was such a humorous reaction to the mention of Fr. Justin's name, the best known Polish priest
   in Western New York that the sponsor of the program decided to invite Fr. Justin to appear on the following show to offer a brief
   talk about divorce. With the reaction measured by the mail received, it was easy to see how Fr. Justin's down to earth message was
   appreciated. The sponsor was quick to see an opportunity to increase his audience and got Fr. Justin to speak at the end of each
   broadcast for the remainder of the season. But the effects of the Depression were forcing an end to most of these broadcasts.
   But the letters constantly being received from the listeners urged Fr. Justin to continue. He managed to return to the air in late
   summer 1930 with a contract signed by H. H. Howell on August 25, 1930, which comprised a halfhour show between 6-6:30 on Sunday nights.
   He would be paid $25.00 dollars per program.
   
   Fr. Justin Figas had an almost uncanny ability to see more than other people saw even when they looked at the same thing. The local radio
   broadcast of 1930 which might have remained no more than a minor curiosity in Western New York conjured in the mind of Fr. Justin the dream
   of a much larger ministry. He knew of the publishing work of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe, and would finally meet him in person in Poland in 1936,
   a few years later. Fr. Justin thought why not a magazine of the airwaves in the United States? This novel idea got a kind of approval
   from Fr. Dominic Tavani, the Minister General, who had much experience in seeing some of Fr. Justin's pipe dreams turn into beautiful and
   fruitful realities. In 1931 with many Americans moving into Hoovervilles and standing in breadlines, and with the best economic
   brains of the West buckling under useless schemes for getting the Depression licked, the first broadcast of the National Network
   of radio stations carried the voice of Fr. Justin to virtually every part of the United States and Eastern Canada where there were
   Polish speaking people to hearhim and be comforted by his message.
   
   A year later, in 1931, Justin formed an independent radio net-work known as the Great Lakes Network, the first radio chain in the Polish
   language in the United States. This chain of linking peple together in prayer through use of the radio is where the idea originated
   in calling the program The Rosary Hour, and later, The Father Justin Rosary Hour.
   
   Initially his radio shows were broadcast from the radio station itself, it was then moved to Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo, the site
   of the Provincial headquarters. Shortly after it was broadcast from the chapel of St. Francis High School, and on certain special
   occasions from the chapel of St. Hyacinth Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts. They would all serve as studios for Fr Justin's lively
   broadcasts. Fr. Justin chose to the name his broadcasts "The Rosary Hour" in honor of the patroness of Poland and Patroness
   Franciscan Order. The first program of his own network aired on December 6, 1931, between 6-7 pm. The format began with a musical
   rendition of the rosary, written by Ethelbert Nevins, a Buffalo native, a brief identifying message, an introduction, a selection
   sung by a choir, and then Fr. Justin was introduced. His talks varied in length between 20-30 minutes.
   
   In 1931 Fr. Justin was delivering his weekly talks over a net-work of radio stations in Buffalo, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland,
   Pittsburg and Scranton, places were large Polish speaking popula-tions could be found.
   
   After the first six broadcasts in the 1931-32 season, the Rosary Hour was forced to leave the air because of debt. But the value
   of this evangelical service was so appreciated by the listening audience that a group of parishioners at Corpus Christi Parish
   organized a special parish bazaar to liquidate the debts of the Rosary Hour and to restore it to the airwaves. The men and women
   who worked for this special event organized themselves into the Rosary Hour League, branches of which would later be established
   in many American cites to provide financial support for Fr. Justin's programs.
   
   The Rosary Hour almost went out of business again in 1940 with the outbreak of the Second World War in Europe. Activists in the
   isolation movement tried to legislate an end to all foreign language broadcasts on the grounds that they were potentially subversive.
   The radio station management of WBNY in Buffalo defended the Rosary Hour saying that such a broadcast was a secure guarantee of patriotic
   support for the cause of democracy. During the dark years of the Nazi occupation of Poland the broadcasts of the Rosary Hour served as
   a living rosary uniting the people of Polish ancestry all of the North American continent in love of their religion, their homeland,
   and the new nation that had contributed so much to their freedom and human dignity.
   
   Fr. Justin made more than 750 broadcasts in the 30 years he was associated with the Rosary Hour. By the end of his life Fr. Justin
   had a weekly program from the first Sunday of November until the last Sunday of April the following year. Fr Justin's last broadcast
   season, 1958-1959, was carried by 73 stations across the country and reached a weekly audience estimated at five million people.
   Each program consisted of a hymn, a talk by Fr. Justin on a range of topics, as well as his salty and succinct answers to questions
   sent to him by the audience, and finally benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, often times give by a visiting pastor. Fr. Justin
   ended his programs with the gentle reminder that his radio audience could help the work of the friars with their prayers and
   contributions, and help they did. Donations sent to Fr. Justin's Rosary Hour kept the program operating at full strength and
   supported the entire formation program of the Province. Not only had the morgages on the houses of formation in Granby and
   Ellicott City been paid for in full by the time Fr. Justin left office in 1939 but the Province was even in a position to help
   other Provinces of the Conventual Franciscan Order during the Depression.
   
   Fr. Justin spoke on many topics besides those which focused on Catholic doctrine; he spoke on alcoholism, adolescent behavior, and
   even economic problems. He believed that religion was the greatest force that we have. It is the greatest force for morality
   and ethical living. The only real effective motive for the continuance of civilization. Fr. Justin also had great faith in the
   youth of the nation. He always encouraged parents to have trust and faith in youth whom he felt were better than previous
   generations. And even as he spoke about morality, he frequently turned his attention to those who did not live up to the
   standards, especially remembering those incarcerated for some grievous against moral and ethical values.
   
   The most famous instances of his charity for a prisoner are the case of a Buffalonian, Frank Palka, who was accused of killing
   two police officers in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Fr. Justin was asked by Julia Palka, mother of the accused, to intercede
   console her son. Justin complied. The first meeting was strained, but soon Frank let down his guard and said to Fr. Justin,
   that it he lost his appeal he would like the priest to walk with him to the chair. The prisoner wrote to the priest to make
   arrangements to be with him on the night of the execution. Frank Palka was electrocuted at Wethersfield Station Prison,
   Connecticut on April 12, 1938. Justin heard his confession beforehand. Justin was the only person re-quested by the prisoner
   to be with him during the execution. Two radio programs were dedicated to the memory of Frank Palka, in the hopes that other
   young men would be deterred from the same fate.
   
   Today the Rosary Hour has remained faithful to its original character, consisting of teaching in the faith, and treatments
   drawn from current events in the life of the Church, Polish America and Poland. Each year the Rosary Hour receives over 80,000 letters.
   
   When the delegates of the Province assembled in Chapter in Granby in August 1932, in the presence of the Minister General Dominic Tavani,
   
   the friars elected Fr. Justin to a fourth term as Minister Provincial. During this fourth term the Province continued to expand the range
   of its ministry and service to the Church. New parishes added were St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Rockford, Illinois and St. Francis
   Parish in Kewaunee, Illinois. In addition to these parochial ventures the Province gave its Mission Band a permanent home in the
   house of Ellicott City, Maryland, on the grounds of the novitiate. A residence and headquarters was purchased for the Kronika Seraficka
   in Hartland, Wisconsin, and in 1933 in response to the urgent plea of Archbishop Stritch of Mil-waukee, the Province assumed the ministry
   of a Polish language daily newspaper, the Nowiny Polski. Fr. George Roskwitalski was dispatched to be its manager. The
   feared the demise of this newspaper feeling that it was a bulwark against the anti-Roman Catholic sentiment being stirred up by break-off
   groups of Polish Catholics.
   
   The number of vocations entering the Province during these years was most impressive. It was a time when people felt much despair.
   Being an era less sophisticated in the ways of the world with fewer distractions than the present affluent times have to offer youth,
   the young men in those times grew into manhood in a Christian society structured around the life of their parish community.
   They were educated in the parochial school. Their sports were played on teams sponsored by the parish; they joined with their parents in all
   the social and religious activities provided by their parish. But most of all they knew the friars. It was the close and almost
   daily contact with the friars that drew them into the Conventual Franciscan Order. Jesus Christ can only remain an abstraction
   when he is encountered solely on the levels of the scriptures and sacraments. But he comes alive in the hearts of people when
   they see a Franciscan living the Gospel life and revealing in his own personal being and intimate relationship with God.
   Amid the huge work load he carried on as a radio preacher, Fr. Justin, as spiritual father of so many friars, would take time
   out time to meet with some of the boys of Corpus Christi Parish to teach them Latin and to organize and to share in picnics and sports
   activities that brought him into contact with the future of the Province in the person of these young people. Fr. Justin and
   Minister General Tavani opened the Province's 10th Provincial Chapter at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, New York
   on July 23, 1935. This Chapter marks a special moment. It elected Fr Justin to a fifth term as Minister Provincial, establishing
   a record that has never been equaled by subsequent Minister Provincials.
   
   He was also a father to the poor. I was common to see throughout the years Fr. Justin labored at Corpus Christi to have lines
   of men waiting at the friary entrance to being given food and other charitable assistance.
   None could see that an era was passing away, however. By the time of the next Province Chapter in 1939 the world would stand
   on the brink of another major war and the Province of St. Anthony would itself be split into two, with a the birth of a new
   Province in the Midwest. The record of Fr Justin's fifth term is also a repeat of all of his earlier years in office. Some new
   parishes assumed were St. John Kanty in Clifton, New Jersey in 1935, and St. Casimir in Riverside, New Jersey in 1936.
   
   During his terms in office his Province had become one of the largest Provinces in the Conventual Franciscan Order and
   the largest in the United States. The Province had become a complex and diverse organizations, its members formed one
   of the most im-portant elements in the pastoral care of Polish American Catholics in Canada through New England and extending
   into the Great Plains of the United States. Even those parts of the nation where the ministry of the friars did not extend
   in person the presence of the friars could be felt among Polish Americans through the words of Fr. Justin and the Rosary
   Hour and the Polish language publica-tions of the Province and through the travels and preaching of the Province's Mission Band.
   The 1939 Province Chapter delegates gathered in Ellicott City on July 24, 1939. They had not been told what was to happen.
   On the opening day of the Chapter, Fr. Bede Hess, an American who had been elected Minister General in 1936, three years earlier,
   read the degree of the Sacred Congregation of Religious announcing the creation of the St. Bonaventure Province. Fr Bede
   immediately divided the Chapter delegates into two separate groups according to the territorial division of the Provinces.
   
   Following the Nazi invasion of Poland, Fr. Justin was sent to Romania with a committee organized by the American Red Cross
   to get a first hand account of how Polish refugees were living in the Balkans. The six week tour brought him into contact with
   war refugees in 22 relocation camps. He wrote a book 1940 entitled "Wantonness in Hell." This first book describes the trip
   with candor. The first pages describe the problems he encountered with the German and Soviet Councils in Washington D.C.
   Trying to visit Poland he was given a cold shoulder by both the Germans and the Soviets, so he decided to travel to Italy
   and then to Romania. There he spoke to thousands who gave him eyewitness accounts of what he called the "rape of Poland."
   After his return to the United States he broadcast to millions of listeners not only a description of the utter tragedies
   he encountered but stressed the glory and thankfulness he had for America. The trip had personal effects on him. After he
   went to Europe, after seeing the problems of the Poles in Romania, his eating habits were never the same. He was always
   on the thin side, but after he saw the poverty abroad during the war no one would ever get him to eat a good meal. That's
   why he remained so thin. His attention would be drawn to it, but he would answer I know whet I am doing, one day he said
   how can I eat when I think of the poor people. He was as close to starvation as anyone was. After the trip to Romania he
   had aged, and it was sadd that his hair turned completely white. You could not believe he was the same man who left just
   two months prior.
   
   A second wartime mission was a trip to England to inspect the efforts of the Polish refugee armies. He wrote a second book
   in 1943 entitled "From Canada to Great Britain by Bomber." In this work he poignantly includes the brave efforts of the
   Poles and their struggles to aid the Allies to free Europe from the Nazis. Fr. Justin's literary style has been described
   as replete with metaphors scenes in nature as a great admirer of all that God has created. Fr Justin's style is particularly
   descriptive. Although Justin had great facility in writing he was more famous as an orator, thousands would flock to hear
   him speak, frequently called upon to deliver speeches and sermons at ecclesiastical gatherings of American Poles in the
   United States and Canada. His radio talks were gener-ally moderate in tone, his sermons and speeches were always full
   of fire and thunder. His oratory style was simply direct and conversational but never shouting. His mannerisms were
   dynamic, impul-sive, and emotional.
   
   Fr. Justin was no longer provincial after 16 years, but he still had 20 more fruitful years of his life to live. The work
   at the Rosary Hour would continue until his death in 1959. During the final two decades of Fr. Justin's life his attention
   turned more and more to the formation of youth. He provided for the construction of a new dormitory and gymnasium for
   St. Francis High School. The boys who studied there in his later years remembered Fr. Justin working in the flower beds
   around the campus. He was usually wearing an old pair of army kakis that he adopted after rendering some services to
   the Polish army in exile in the United States dur-ing the Second World War.
   
   Honors and tributes were offered to him in abundance. President Roosevelt dispatched Fr. Justin during the war as
   a personal envoy of the president. President Truman received Fr. Justin as a guest at the White House in May 1945,
   when Fr. Justin came to ask for assistance for the rebuilding of Poland.
   
   During the Second World War Fr Justin sent packages and religious goods to Polish American soldiers fighting around
   the globe. The Polish government decorated him. And even 16 years after his death the administration of the city
   of Buffalo, New York honored the name and memory of Justin Figas by dedicating a branch of the city's new library
   system for him in recognition for his pioneering work as an educator in Western New York. Fr Justin wore all of his
   honors well. They were there in the background. But one remembers more the plain clothes and the sparkling diminutive
   man who wore them with such dignity and Christ likeness.
   
   One dream of Fr Justin did not live to see was St. Joseph Inter-Community Hospital in Cheektowaga, New York. Knowing
   that such a hospital was envisioned by Fr Hyacinth, he purchased 27 acres of land in 1947. Progress proceeded very slowly.
   He organized many fund raising drives and gathered professionals to his side. Eventually ground was broken for the new
   hospital on May 22, 1957, 40 years after the first thoughts of building such an edifice was mentioned by Fr. Hyacinth.
   The new facility named the St. Joseph Intercommunity Hospital was dedicated by Bishop Joseph Burke of Buffalo
   on August 25, 1960, 10 months after the death of Fr Justin. However, Fr. Justin was chiefly responsible in convincing
   the bishop of Buffalo that the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph should administer the new hospital. Although he never
   lived to see the hospital built his smiling effigy is in its lobby as a testimony from the sisters to make all aware
   of what this friar had helped them to do. The Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph had early been placed in charge of
   St. Anthony Home for the Aged in Hamburg, New York. That institution received much helped from Fr. Justin who in 1939
   turned the first spayed of earth for the new complex.
   
   He reached the heart before he reached the mind, many said about his down to earth preaching style. He spoke in many
   places in the United States as diverse as the all women's school Smith College in Massachusetts and Soldier Field
   in Chicago (the 1926 Eucharistic congress?) and even at the University of Notre Dame.
   
   One notable sermon was delivered May 3, 1939 in St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City at the request
   of the Ambassador of Poland to the United States. The occasion was the Mass celebrated in honor of the dedication
   of the Polish pavilion of the 1939 World's Fair. Preaching in English and Polish he said, "Although Poland
   is threatened with fears of war, she has still found ways of contributing their share in the making of the World's Fair.
   The Polish Pavilion portrays the character of a nation which has suffered during 146 years at the cruel hands
   of oppressors. And yet has risen from the ashes like the phoenix of old only to soar high above them.
   In the field of social justice Justin frequently reminded his audience of the labor conditions he first met
   as a young boy in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Justin always fired back with his personal concern for the laborer.
   "As a mine boy in Pennsylvania my father was slaving for 80 cents a day. I made up my mind to denounce the
   system under which the poor laborer is exploited, under which the laborer is unjustly deprived of the fruits
   of his labor. Every chance I get I shall raise my voice in defense of the laborer and his family. Constantly
   reminding the laborer of their right to a just wage he also cautioned them to be aware of agitators who taking
   advantage of extreme need would incite them to acts of violence. He exposed his audience to the tactics
   of communists, promoted unions, but also denounced the intimidation, deception and force of some union groups.
   Fr. Justin's social philosophy revolved around the principal that even though all men were created equal there
   must be a certain hierarchy of classes in the labor field. In this vain he reminded his listeners about the dignity
   of manual labor. He also struck out against labor management who abused the rights of employees. "Those not called
   to intellectual pursuits," he said, "must be deserving of everything good and noble. All persons, whatever their
   situation, must work for the common good. A balance is destroyed through selfishness and dishonesty. There results
   strife, chaos, and mutual discontent." Justin reminded laborers that although it is true that the palaces of the rich
   are indeed built upon the bones of the poor, he also cautioned that the less fortunate must never be the cause
   for social upheaval. Mutual understanding and mutual cooperation between the classes must be founded narrowly
   upon the Commandments of God and the social teachings of the popes. (Especially during a time of growing communism).
   He encouraged the formation of unions as long as those unions would be founded upon honesty, and legitimate
   complaints would be resolved peacefully. He struck out against the violence that was in evidence across
   the country in the 1930s.
   
   While proud of his Polish ancestry, he fully appreciated and honored his American citizenship. His credo
   of Americanism can be described "There are between 4-5 million Americans of Polish decent in the United States.
   Our radio program reaches approximately 3 million of these. Many wonder why I deliver my Sunday message
   in the Polish language. This is no secret, because the Americans of Polish parentage are specially noted
   for three virtues, they love their faith, they love America, and they love the language of their forefathers."
   A casual glance at his work as a priest, scholar, social leader, or religious superior, that we have before us
   is an achievement in the annuals of American Catholicism. Fr. Justin is a national figure and his work is
   a national institution. It matters little that his activities were focused in a foreign language. What is
   important is that he did utilize every known means so effectively, to reach the hearts of millions
   of Americans to look to him for leadership, counsel and direction at a time in history when such direction
   was desperately needed. The testimony of his work is amazing. In this time of political and religious
   struggle, when the Poles coming to America often felt persecuted, even at times by clergy. If it were not
   for Fr. Justin's stern determination and demanding absolute alliance to the Roman Catholic Church, many
   more would have joined movements disassociating themselves from the Church. His leadership enriched
   the human spirit, and consoled those in the agony of doubt and wisely promoted the observance of law
   and justice all in accordance with the Christian religion and his American ideals. In the last decade
   of his life he suffered from a chronic emphysema.
   
   During the last broadcasts in 1959 he was urged to sit during the broadcast (something he never did),
   and he was also forced to use an oxygen respirator machine. His health continued to fail during the summer.
   He was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, on October 10, 1959. He died there Friday morning,
   October 23, 1959 at 3:30 am, 13 days later. The official cause of death was congestive heart failure.
   Fr. Justin died in the 73rd year of his early pilgrimage, and in his 55th year as a son of St. Francis of Assisi.
   
   He exemplified the qualities of goodness and charity that all aspire. Justin was a pioneer in foreign
   language radio programming in the United States. Justin was 5' 8" and completely grey in his later years.
   He appeared as a mild and unimposing man. He always dressed in old and torn clothing, even his hat had holes.
   He wore an overcoat obtained in Milwaukee in 1912. His shoes were usually torn and tattered. He was personable
   and yet also had a stern temper, which softened in his last years. Some admired him, some were cautions around him.
   Perhaps Fr. Justin expressed his own epitaph best when he said, "I am an average priest, a poor Franciscan,
   a much misunderstood individual. People expect me to have no faults. But keep on searching for them. When
   I have not prepared my speeches and my mind is chaotic, people say I am too deep. But when I have labored
   zealously to memorize my sermons, then I am called superficial. When I feel physically ill some days and mentally
   to tell the world that my Roman collar does not change my human nature. I am quite the same as other men, and
   I enjoy a good time just as they do, but a long time ago I got sick of eating applesauce. I have grown immune
   to knocks and criticism but I appreciate honest praise. I try to give the best that is in me, and believe that
   God will reward me in the end. I ask no favors and seek only the opportunity to be a real man and a real priest.
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN FIGAS

   Interviewer: Br. Daniel Geary.

   
   INTERVIEW 1 ON LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN
   INTERVIEW 2 ON LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN
   INTERVIEW 3 ON LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN
   INTERVIEW 4 ON LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN
   INTERVIEW 5 ON LIFE OF FR. JUSTIN
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   LESS THAN ONE MINUTE DOWNLOAD

   BEYOND THE AIRWAVES: A FILM

   THIS FILM IS AVAILABLE IN DVD or VHS.
   TO ORDER COPIES: 1.716.627.3861

   
   

   SLIDE SHOW: LIFE PHOTOS

   
   
   
   

   POLISH VERSION OF "BEYOND THE AIRWAVES"

   POLSKA VERSIA

   PONAD FALAMI ETERU

   
   
   
   
   

   TESTIMONIALS

   
   
   
   

   FAVORS RECEIVED THROUGH THE INTERCESSION OF FR. JUSTIN FIGAS

   July 26, 1997
   Mary Ann Leonard
   Scottsdale, PA 15683
   Dear Cause of Father Justin,
   I have received special favors through the intercession of Father Justin Figas. My husband was about to be laid off from his job, I began saying
   the prayer to Father Justin Figas and my husband was transferred to another job instead of being laid off. I also prayed for my sister to either
   get a new job or get a raise at her current job that she has had for over 10 years, but hasn't had a raise in over five years. Not only did she
   get a raise, but she began to get a commission. She has also prayed to Father Justin for this same request.
   
   Respectfully,
   Mary Ann Leonard
   
   
   
   
   October 20, 1997
   Catherine Hanusovski
   Jeanette, PA 15644
   My name is Catherine Hanusovski, I live in Jeanette, Pennsylvania. My request was to find a different job or to get a pay raise in my present job.
   I received my request of a pay raise about two weeks after my prayer to Father Justin. My brother also has problems with his leg, I also prayed
   for him, he is getting around a little better than he was before. I received my prayer card from St. Joseph Church in Everson, Pennsylvania.
   I will continue to pray to God and Father Justin for guidance and health.
   
   Thank you,
   Catherine Hanusovski
   
   
   
   
   October 30, 1997
   Stanislawa L. Guzik
   Hemet, CA 92543
   To Whom it may concern,
   Happy to announce that through the intercession of Fr. Justin a favor I requested was granted. My daughter Anne finally was able to adopt a child "Rita"
   and we all are grateful. Also my niece Ania Drabik received a favor through Father Justin's intercession, she got the job she was praying for.
   Do you have any pictures of Father Justin in Polish? If not at least could you send me a few pictures with a prayer to Father Justin.
   God bless you all.
   Sincerely,
   Stanislawa L. Guzik
   
   
   
   
   November 12, 1997
   Mrs. Margaret Debo
   Tonawanda, NY 14150
   
   Dear Mr. Bauer,
   I want to acknowledge a favor granted in part through the intercession of Father Justin Figas.
   It was last April that my husband's bout with lung cancer started. Devastated by the diagnosis, I begged relatives, friends, acquaintances to help me
   storm heaven seeking a cure. At this time I came upon your prayer card. I added the prayer to Father Justin Figas to the ones I said daily to the Lord -
   His Blessed Mother, St. Peregrine, St. Therese, Blessed Albert, St. Anne and the Angel of Peace. After two months of chemo therapy the doctors decided
   to operate. Insisted on removing one lobe of the lung. Through the power of prayer my husband survived the operation and is making a remarkable recovery.
   The doctors are amazed! Last week my husband had his four month check-up. The surgeon said the CAT scan showed that all is going well. No restrictions
   or medication is necessary. I know that the intercession of our friends in the Body of Christ is the only reason my beloved husband is here today.
   Thank you for making the prayer card available.
   God bless,
   Margaret Debo
   
   
   
   
   December 23, 1998
   Mrs. Charles Witte
   Baltimore, MD 21231
   Rev. Father,
   Enclosed please find a check to further the cause of Father Justin Figas.
   I received this prayer from a relative and have been praying daily. I feel that my prayers are being answered since praying them. My husband who has been
   unable to walk is now using a walker and getting around nicely. All thanks and praise to God and Father Justin.
   Father, I hope you can read this as my sight is not too good.
   Thank you,
   Gertrude Witte
   
   
   
   
   February 16, 1999
   Maria J. Siwula
   Everson, PA 15631
   I prayer to Fr. Justin daily since I received the prayer card in my parish church, St. Joseph R.C. Church, Everson, PA.
   I prayed for Fr. Justin to intercede to our Lord to help find my son a new job. He received notice of a new position recently. His title will be
   a Jr. Production Engineer. My prayers were answered and I feel only through prayer did this happen. His education also played a role. But prayer
   really does work. It took some time coming, but we never gave up. I am praying for another cause along with lighting a vigil candle every week
   that lasts seven days. I am still waiting for my prayer for this cause to be answered. I will not give up. I believe in prayer.
   Thank you,
   Maria J. Suwila
   
   
   
   
   February 22, 1999
   Ann Makowski
   Curtis, MI 49820
   I want to publicly thank God through the intercession of Father Justin Figas for my brother's two successful surgeries. One was a triple by pass in August.
   That went better than expected. The end of January he had surgery on a neck artery that was 90% blocked. The surgeon told him someone was watching over him,
   because he was expecting him to have a stroke. He has to go again for surgery to have the other neck artery cleaned because it is almost all blocked.
   I know through Father Justin's intercession, this one will be alright too.
   Ann Makowski
   
   
   
   
   March16, 1999
   Richard Kraszewski
   Jersey City, NJ 07307
   The Cause of Father Justin
   I must apologize!
   There have been two events in the past year that the prayer to Father Justin Figas has granted me the favors I was requesting. The first event
   I did not reveal to your organization but I will give a brief description of the two events that did occur. I was seeking employment last spring
   because of some moves I made in my career did not seem to work out for the best. I was working for a company when I graduated from St. Peter's
   College in New Jersey for quite some time and was looking for a change. I had an offer outside of the organization and I decided to take it.
   It was a huge mistake, I worked there for six weeks and searched for employment elsewhere however in the same industry (International Shipping).
   I was offered a job and accepted it in desperation to get out of the bad situation to get into a worse situation, yes another bad move on my part,
   but you live and learn. I was asked by the new employer if I had worked for anyone else except the company I had documented on my resume, I
   replied no, because I felt six weeks of work was not worth mentioning. I was there for approximately eight weeks and the topic was mentioned
   at a dinner that our Regional Manager was attending and it was brought to his attention that I worked for a company prior to coming aboard and
   that was it!! I was terminated instantly, which I thought was unfair but that is another issue. I was out of work and somewhere, somehow, I found
   this prayer card of Father Justin Figas, I don't even recall where I found it to be honest. I was seeking work praying for opportunities that
   I was interviewing for to come through I wanted out of the industry and I finally found an opportunity in the technology industry and my prayers
   were answered about three months into my job search. Now here is the second request that was granted for my prayers very recently.. I have been
   at this company for approximately ten months and tried to get as much experience as possible so I can move on to a higher paying position, better
   opportunity. In the interim I got myself into some difficulties in the earlier stages of my employment at this company. However, since December
   I have tried to succeed by working my fingers to the bone bit that turned out to be insignificant because I began to be treated unfairly.
   The issue was that my first impression was not in good standing and I was reprimanded for it. My work environment there was becoming
   intolerable and it was the people I worked with in my branch, I was not the only one to notice it many of my friends in corporate headquarters
   have asked numerous times how I deal with my co-workers because nobody internally liked dealing with them either. I would say I was treated
   unfairly but I was the cause of it, I left myself open and vulnerable by screwing up in the beginning. I began to look for an opportunity, not
   a desperate, hasty decision to get out of my current situation, but to use this as a spring board to move onward but was looking for a better
   opportunity, salary, work environment, things that I have been looking for in an opportunity for the past few years. I began praying to Father
   Justin Figas approximately the end of April. An opportunity came out of nowhere, I interviewed Mach 3, 1999, liked what I saw and then was called
   back for a second interview two weeks ago, then I was made an offer for the position this past Friday, March 12, 1999. During these few weeks
   I read the prayer off the back of the prayer card each day and sometimes throughout the day and here it is only a few weeks later and I feel I
   was definitely assisted by someone with a higher power and I will continue to pray to Father Justin Figas to help me excel in my career and show me
   the ways to become successful in career, love, spirit and life. I'm instrumental to getting me closer to those goals.
   
   Sincerely,
   Richard Kraszewski
   
   
   
   
   July 31, 2000
   Daniel & Monica Ivory
   BethlehemPA 18017
   Dear Friends for the Cause of Fr. Justin,
   My name is Monica Ivory, and my husband Dan and I are the parents of seven children. We believe that our sixth child, Mark Daniel, has been the benefactor
   of a miraculous healing due to the intervention of Fr. Justin. Mark was born on January 3, 1996, several weeks early, in very serious condition. Sometime
   before the sixth month of pregnancy, Mark suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage. The results of this hemorrhage were devastating. Mark has undergone five
   brain surgeries, four additional surgical procedures for other abnormalities and complications, and many other hospitalizations. At nine months of age we
   were told yet of another condition from which Mark was suffering. Mark was diagnosed with epilepsy. At this time, we were told that Mark was experiencing
   seizures as often as every twenty seconds. He was placed on anti-seizure medication and thus began our struggle with seizure management. The next three
   years we lived with seizures, status epilepticus (continual seizure requiring hospitalization), changes in anti-seizure meds, near constant blood tests to
   check levels and liver enzymes, and the ever present threat of liver damage and disease due to the medication. Although Mark suffers from many impairments,
   including hydrocephalus, cerebral palsey, severe visual impairments, and developmental delays, the epilepsy was most discouraging. Sometime between
   April and May 1999, Mark's seizures abruptly ceased. The doctors explained that we had finally reached the sought after therapeutic level of depahate,
   due to a seven and eight pill a day regimen. At the same time, however, Mark's liver began to show signs of wear or break down. This resulted in a need to
   reduce the amounts of the depahate he was receiving, assuming that we would need to intervene in another way to continue seizure management. However, as we
   decreased his dose, Mark remained seizure free! In July 1999, a dear friend was visiting, when I mentioned the abrupt ceasing of the seizures, she immediately
   told of her plea and novena to Fr. Justin. She asked specifically for his help in obtaining a cure for Mark's seizures! Although she is unsure of the exact
   date of the novena, she knows that it was sometime in April or May 1999. It has been one year since Mrs. Betty Caffrey revealed to us her prayer to Fr. Justin.
   Mark remains seizure free, being maintained on just two pills a day. The doctors state that he must be seizure free for tow years beforediscontinuing medication
   completely. I submit this for your review and prayers that it will help to further the cause of this Holy Priest, whom I have come to love.
   
   Thank you Fr. Justin Figas!
   God bless you all, Monica H. Ivory
   Mark's mother
   
   
   
   
   September 14, 2000
   Frank and Julia Karcz
   Hollister, CA 95023-9015
   (with $100 donation)
   Dear Father Marion,
   Actually I do not know how to begin writing this letter, because I do know what to think. I shall start at the beginning. Well, now a few weeks ago I received
   a severe pain in my head, so much so that I was not able to bow toward the ground no able to move my head to the side. I drove to the doctor, who after examining
   me had not idea about it and how to help me. He sent me to a specialist to X-ray the head. I was to report in a week for the result; I determined not to worry
   myself, but that was not easy. Passing by a desk on which there was a calendar with a picture of Father Justin on it. I paused for a moment and thought: maybe
   I should ask for his help. Standing there for a while, I made this plea: Father Justin, if you would help me, I will send $100.00 with a thank you to Father Marion.
   All this drastically changed me. In some two days I began to feel better. I went again to the doctor for the results. The doctor told me: that all is in order,
   everything looks good, the head, brain, they had examined all is well. Rejoicing, I thank God, and from that moment I offer thanks to Father Justin and I fulfill
   my promise. Therefore I am sending a check for $100.00 for the Rosary Hour (which we always heard in Chicago, but unfortunately is not available here [in California].
   This is worth more, but I live at my son's with my husband, we are on a small pension, so that Father Justin will forgive us but hear my pleas and I shall never
   forget this, as long as God allows me to live.
   Please accept this small offering.
   Grateful to Father Justin
   Julia Karcz and husband Frank
   California January 14, 2000
   P.S. I still do not feel entirely well, but there is no comparison to when I felt bad. I take one aspirin daily as the doctor prescribed and no other medicine, because there
   is such a great improvement.
   
   
   
   
   January 9, 2001
   W. F. Janik
   Chicago, IL 60618
   (with $10 donation)
   Podziekowanie za zdrowie dla moich dzieci.
   "In thanksgiving for the health of my children"
   
   
   
   
   February 17, 2001
   Harriett Urban
   Buffalo, NY 14210
   Dear Father Justin,
   
   I won a little at bingo with your help. I am a widow and retired. I pray for you everyday. My 2 nephews are fighting against me, it's my sisters' estate. I took care of her
   over one year at home, changing her three times a day, feeding her, washing her and her clothes. They never helped me. When I called for help, too busy doing nothing.
   I loved my sister. I was the one and only with her.I didn't steal her money, I have all the receipts. I paid her bills on time, etc. She would have been 91 years, a widow 40
   years, no children, like me, I don't have any. My brother Frank and sister-in-law always send you a lot. Their last name is like mine Urban. I will send you more money as soon
   as it's settled. Please pray for me. I thank you from my whole heart.
   
   Harriett Urban
   
   
   
   
   
   August 13, 2004
   Genowefa Kulawska
   West Hartford, CT 06119
   Father Justin
   A testimony of a miracle, as I can relate, for the cause of Father Justin Figas!
   At the beginning of the year 2004 I received a small holy card of Father Justin Figas and on its reverse side a prayer for the intercession of Father Justin Figas.
   And so continually from this first moment I planned to daily pray or recite that prayer for the intentions of my daughter Beata Lasota, who was pregnant. She gave
   birth twice a daughter and a son, both births were by caesarian operation and now she would have her third child by caesarian. Consequently I begged the most high
   God through the intercession of Father Justin Figas for health and God's blessing for her and a successful childbirth. I recited that prayer daily. My daughter
   Beata was in her seventh month of pregnancy when she was driving an automobile with her aunt Jane and her four year old son, Daniel. Just as she was about to drive
   into the backyard of her home, suddenly on the street behind her car they all heard a strange noise-fire-an electric pole for the telephone lines fell down on the
   street right behind the trunk of the automobile. It was April 29, 2004. Everyone was greatly frightened- they began to scream, to cry because at that first moment
   they did not know what had happened. For a long time after this happened, my daughter had difficulty being herself. If she had been a minute later in driving by
   the telephone pole, none of them would be alive. I am convinced that a miracle occurred through the intercession of Father Justin Figas - that God protected them
   and spared their lives. On July 8, 2004, my daughter gave birth to a son by caesarian operation. She is doing well. Her son is healthy and will be named
   James Justin.
   
   
   
   
   
   Genowefa Kulawska
   
   
   
   
   December 2, 2005
   Ewa Kliza
   Poland
   Reverend Father,
   My child, six year old Victor, was constantly sick. An antibiogram was taken, which indicated the presence of staphylococcus and pneumococcus
   (streptococcus). After some time elapsed another antibiogram was taken indicating the presence of those two types of bacteria. At that time my
   father, the grandfather of the child, Bogdan, prayed through the intercession of Father Justin Figas for the grace of a cure, especially since
   presently for this type of pneumococcus which my son has there was no medicine in Poland. The third antibiogram (swab) did not show the presence
   of the pneumococci. The examination was repeated and likewise indicated the absence of the pneumococci in the child's organism although the
   staphylococcus still remained, but with that one is able to live normally, but for the pneumococcus there was no medicine which was frightful
   because it could lead to great damage of the organism and even the death of the child. I am grateful for this grace received through the
   intercession of Father Justin.
   
   Ewa Kliza
   
   
   
   
   December 18, 2011
   Carl L. Morris
   241 Auburn Avenue
   Buffalo, NY 14213
   Thenk you Father Justin Figas
   A friend gave me this card of Father Justin Figas in 2007. He said if I needed money to ask him. But if it came, to write a letter on his behalf.
   I did win twice money from the lottery that year. One week before my birthday and then another on my birthday. I was amazed! I didn't ever write
   a letter. I ame across his card and remembered these things. My heart was stricken with pain. Even though the amount of my winning was not millions,
   they did help me in great time of need. So I'm writing a Thank You for the Blessings that I had received.
   Sincerely
   Cal L. Morris
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   A DISSERTATION BY STANISLAUS HAJKOWSKI

   The following dissertation was written by Stanislaus Hajkowski at the Catholic University in Washington D.C. It is entitled, "The Cultural Transition and the Attitudes of Polish Immigrant Families Towards Divorce and Parental Authority in the United States 1931-1940. It was partly researched among other sources at the Father Justin Rosary Hour Archives.

   NOTE: TO FIND A SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO A TERM OR PHRASE IN THIS DOCUMENT, TYPE Ctrl-f ON YOUR KEYBOARD AND ENTER THE TERM OR PHRASE OF YOUR CHOICE AND HIT THE ENTER KEY.
   
   

   HAJKOWSKI DOCUMENT

   

   JUSTIN PHOTO SLIDESHOW