Father Mirosław Drozdek S.A.C. was the one who, in the evening of May 13, 1981, vowed to Our Lady of Fatima that he would build a votive church in Zakopane, if the life of John Paul II was spared. Not only did he overcome all the obstacles to build a great Marian shrine at the foot of the Cross at Mount Giewont – founding it on the cornerstones which came from the tomb of St. Peter in Rome and from the place of Mary’s apparitions in Fatima – but he also turned this place into the world’s largest centre of prayer for the Holy Father John Paul II, as well as the second largest locus of the Fatima apostolate after Fatima. It is primarily thanks to Father Drozdek’s commitment that the Church has more fully apprehended the many links connecting John Paul II with the message of Fatima, and understood that the message of Fatima is perhaps the most significant heavenly voice for the modern world.
Father Mirosław Drozdek was one of five the biggest Fatima apostols.
Biographical sketch
Father Mirosław Drozdek, S.A.C., was born on August 14, 1942, in Zakrzew (Masovian Voivodship) to Antoni and Natalia Drozdek. He joined the Society of the Catholic Apostolate in September 1962 and on September 8, 1962, he adopted the habit of the Society in Ołtarzew, from the hands of Father Józef Dąbrowski S.A.C. He made his first vows of profession on September 8, 1964, in Ząbkowice Śląskie, in the presence of Father Eugeniusz Verona S.A.C., the then provincial. On November 3, 1964, as a seminarian he was appointed to serve a period of military service, which lasted until 1966. He made further professions in the Society in Ołtarzew in 1966, 1967 and 1968, and on September 8, 1969, he made his solemn profession. He was ordained a priest on June 14, 1970, in Ołtarzew, by Archbishop Bronisław Dąbrowski.
Father Drozdek’s priesthood commenced in Gdańsk, and after that he served as a priest in Poznań. In 1979 he was appointed a priest in Zakopane, where he performed his duties for four years. On August 25, 1983, he was assigned to become the pastor of the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Zakopane. At that time, he initiated the construction of a new church, laying the foundations for the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Krzeptówki.
On September 15, 1988, he was appointed the curator of the newly emerged Shrine. Between 1993 and 2002, he held the position of the rector of the Society’s House in Zakopane. In 1996, Father Drozdek became a member of the Commission for Retreat House Programs at the Pallottine Provincial Board. On April 8, 1999, he was appointed Director of the Fatima Secretariat at the Provincial Board of the Province of Christ the King. In 2000 he became a chaplain of Regional Fire Brigades.
Father Drozdek took special care with developing the activity of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima. He was consequent in setting as its special purpose the thanksgiving prayer for saving the life of the Holy Father John Paul II in the assassination attempt on May 13, 1981. Pope John Paul II personally consecrated the church in Zakopane-Krzeptówki on June 7, 1997.
In January, 2007, Father Drozdek began his fight against cancer. He died in Zakopane on May 25, 2007. He was buried in the crypt, close to the church of Our Lady of Fatima.
Additional activities: “Solidarity” chaplain of Teachers and Health Service in Zakopane, chaplain of the Fire Brigades and the Podhale Association; organizer and host of the visit of the Holy Father John Paul II at Krzeptówki on June 7, 1997.
Special achievements: founder and main interior designer of the church of Our Lady of Fatima, as well as draftsperson of the remaining facilities at the Shrine’s territory (including the Fatima Park, which exhibits the famous papal altar from the Mass at Wielka Krokiew); regular participant of the numerous Fatima Congresses – in Hungary, Germany, Austria, Italy, the US and Mexico, among others.
Publications: creator and main editor of the editorial series “Biblioteka Fatimska”, encompassing over 20 titles; author of many television programs and radio shows devoted to Pope John Paul II and Fatima apparitions, in cooperation with the Catholic Editorial Office of TV Krakow, Niepokalanów TV and Public Television; co-founder of Radio ALEX in Zakopane and collaborator of Radio Maryja; collaborator of the following publishing houses: Pallottinum, Apostolicum, Wydawnictwo Sióstr Loretanek, Marian Institute in Regensburg (Germany) and Father Benedictines’ St. Ottilien (Germany), as well as magazines and newspapers (such as “Słowo Powszechne”, “Niedziela”, “Różaniec”, „Źródło”, „Miejsca Święte”, „Naszy Dziennik”) which amounted to over 300 publications on the subjects related to the Pope and the events of Fatima.
Awards and prizes:
• Zasłużony Działacz Kultury (Meritorious Culture Activist title) – for cultural activities during the state of martial law in Poland (1995),
• medal of the Polish Senate for participating in the defense of the life of the unborn (1999),
• medal for special merits for the “Solidarity” Movement of the Lesser Poland Region, on the 20th anniversary of the founding of NSZZ “Solidarność”.
Źródło: www.sekretariatfatimski.pl