Studia Paradyskie

On October 28, 2017, in the church of st. John Bosco in Luboń, the beatification process began at the diocesan stage of rev. Stanisław Streich, murdered at the foot of the altar on February 27, 1938 in Luboń by a communist – Wawrzyniec Nowak. Neither the period of World War II, nor the location of post-war Poland under strict control of the Soviet Union, although it actually delayed the efforts towards the beatification process, did not overshadow the belief that the Luboń martyr deserves the glory of the altars. It was for this reason that the opinion of martyrdom, holiness, and signs was the driving force that eventually led to the initiation of the diocesan inquiry. One of the essential elements of this process is the evidence phase, i.e. collecting the appropriate human arguments that will allow us to achieve moral certainty as to the fact of martyrdom, or the heroic virtues of a candidate for altars, a miracle, and the existence of the cult of the Servant of God. Among the evidence taken in canonical trials, apart from the statements of the parties, evidence from documents and expert opinions, as well as on-site inspections and court examinations, evidence from witnesses is of particular importance, as indicated by the instruction of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints Sanctorum Mater on conducting diocesan or eparchial inquiries in matters of canonization, which in Article 29 § 2 it states that in new cases the investigation concerns “primarily” the questioning of witnesses. Thus, the evidence from witnesses was an important element of the diocesan canonization proceedings of the Servant of God, rev. Stanisław Streich.