Francis Dzierozynski (born Franciszek Dzierożyński; January 3, 1779 – September 22, 1850) was a Polish Catholic priest and Jesuit who became a prominent missionary to the United States.
He then studied philosophy during his scholastic years, during which he was assigned to teach French, physics, music, and grammar at the Collegium Nobilum in Saint Petersburg.
[2] Upon the completion of his education, he continued teaching philosophy and mathematics at the Jesuit collegium in Mogilev, where he also engaged in pastoral work.
[4][5] He led a covert escape from the French invasion of 1812, and later returned to the city, resuming his position as a professor of dogmatic theology, apologetics, and homiletics.
[4] When Czar Alexander I expelled the Jesuits from the Russian Empire in 1820, Dzierozynski left for Italy, where he began teaching in Bologna.
[6] He then went to Rome,[7] where he received orders from the Jesuit Superior General, Luigi Fortis, to become a missionary and revive the Society of Jesus in the United States following its worldwide suppression.
[8] Departing with Angelo Secchi from Livorno,[9] the journey took five months, three of which were spent at sea, crossing the Atlantic, and the voyage encountered many perilous storms, before arriving in Philadelphia on November 7, 1821.
[8] At Georgetown, he began learning English, and sought to gain the trust of the young Jesuits by teaching them philosophy in Latin.
The mission's Maryland plantations, which included slave ownership of some 300 people, were barely breaking even, the novitiate had been effectively closed, and one of its largest institutions, Georgetown College, had a dwindling student body.
[17] As ordered by Fortis, he also addressed a fractured administration of the mission, which was divided between the Society of Jesus itself and the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, which was established to hold and administer the Jesuits' property during suppression.
[20] When the Superior General ordered the Washington Seminary closed, Dzierozynski allowed all the students to transfer to Georgetown free of charge.
[14] He was relieved of his office in November 1830, when Peter Kenney arrived as an apostolic visitor to investigate the possibility of elevating the Maryland mission to the full status of a province.
[24] Maréchal sailed to Rome and obtained a brief from Pope Pius VII in 1822, ordering that the Jesuits transfer the property and slaves thereon to the archbishop.
[13] The American Jesuits resisted this proclamation, viewing it as foreign interference with their affairs, which were conducted by the Corporation of Roman Catholic Clergymen, a legally separate entity.
The superiors in Rome decided in favor of the archbishop, and directed a final lump payment to be made to Whitfield's successor, Samuel Eccleston.
[33] Though Dzierozynski effectively acted in the capacity of a provincial superior, Jan Roothaan declined to elevate him to indicate that the province was on probation for previous scandals.
[34] The combination of his old age and the fact that he had fallen ill several days prior to his appointment resulted in a reclusive provincial who left Frederick, Maryland only after being ordered by Roothaan.
[37] Dzierozynski returned to the role of master of novices, but after three years, his health further deteriorated and his disagreements with Roothaan mounted, resulting in the end of his tenure.
In accordance with his request, Dzierzynski's body was carried in front of the Visitation Convent in Frederick, where the cloistered nuns mourned it, before being removed for burial.