Antoni Julian Nowowiejski was born on 11 February 1858 The following year he obtained a degree in theology from the
Saint Petersburg Roman Catholic Theological Academy. Nowowiejski became a professor and a rector of the Płock Seminary,
canon of Płock and in 1902
vicar general of the
Płock diocese. He was ordained bishop of Płock on 6 December 1908. As the leader of the Płock diocese he carried out an administrative reform, devoting much attention to catholic education and created a junior seminary. During the
First World War, he was active in charity organizations. He oversaw two diocesans (
synods) in 1927 and 1938, and initiated a local chapter of "Akcja Katolicka" (Catholic Action). In November 1930, he became the
titular archbishop of Silyum. In 1931, he was awarded the Commander's Cross with the Star of the Order of Rebirth of Poland by President Mościcki. The
University of Warsaw awarded him the
honorary title of
doctor honoris causa. On 1 September 1939, the
German invasion of Poland marked the beginning of the
Second World War. One of the Nazis' goals was the elimination of Polish
intelligentsia. On 28 February 1940, Bishop Nowowiejski and Płock's
suffragan bishop Leon Wetmański were arrested by the Germans and imprisoned in
Słuck and
Działdowo. He refused the chance to escape, saying, "How can a pastor abandon their sheep?" Although suffering, he imparted his blessing to the tortured and dying. After three months of torture and hunger, he died, at the age of eighty-three, at the Dzialdowo death camp on 28 May 1941. The place of burial of his body is unknown, but it is supposed that it was a forest in Malinowo. He was
beatified by
Pope John Paul II on 13 June 1999 as one of the
108 Martyrs of World War II, and is commemorated on June 12. == Works ==