Welcome Jan Deskur!
Portrait of Jan Deskur (Photo by Totus Tuus Apostolate)
Background
Jan Deskur is a Polish native from Kraków, Poland, and is currently in his fifth year of a Master’s programme in Systematic Theology at the Pontifical University of John Paul II. He is deeply engaged in the life of the Church and his local parish, serving actively on the Parish Pastoral Council and participating in several Catholic organisations, including Catholic Action, the Community of the Living Rosary, the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, the Knighthood of the Immaculate, and St Anne's Confraternity. He is also a member of the editorial board of Miesięcznik Salwatorski, the parish magazine.
Jan comes from a family deeply rooted in the Catholic faith. His parents, Stanisław Maria and Helena Keszycka-Deskur, were married in 1969 in a ceremony personally officiated by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła — later Pope Saint John Paul II.
Vatican during the Christmas greetings ceremony, December 22, 1998. John Paul II in conversation with his friend Cardinal Andrzej Maria Deskur (in a wheelchair). Photo: PAP/EPA
Jan is also the nephew of the late Andrzej Maria Cardinal Deskur, a close and trusted friend of Pope Saint John Paul II. Just days before the 1978 conclave, then-Bishop Deskur suffered a heart attack that left him partially paralysed on his left side. In a deeply moving gesture of friendship and fraternal love, Pope John Paul II — on the day following his election — visited the unconscious Deskur at the Gemelli Clinic in Rome, underscoring the profound bond they shared as Polish brothers in Christ.
Burial Place of the Deskur Family
Today, the remains of Jan Deskur’s family rest with great dignity in the Sanctuary of Saint John Paul II, located in the Łagiewniki district of Kraków. (Photos above)
Tireless Service to the Church
Jan Deskur passionately gave members of the Totus Tuus Apostolate a guided tour of the St. John Paul II sanctuary. (Photo by Totus Tuus Apostolate)
Since April 2016, Jan Deskur has served faithfully as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at the Parish of the Most Holy Salvator in Kraków. In this role, he has zealously brought the Blessed Sacrament to the sick and homebound within the parish whenever needed — a ministry that has deeply touched those he visits, allowing them to receive our Lord Jesus in the midst of their suffering.
In the absence of lectors or altar servers, Jan readily steps in to fulfil their liturgical duties, including proclaiming the Liturgy of the Word, offering the Prayer of the Faithful, and assisting the priest during Holy Mass. He also serves as sacristan at the historic Corpus Christi Basilica (photo below), where he ensures the reverent preparation of the sacred liturgy. Additionally, he is a regular participant in the Friday Divine Mercy devotions, reflecting his ongoing dedication to prayer and service.
Corpus Christi Basilica (Bazylika Bożego Ciała), located in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, Poland, is a Gothic church founded by King Casimir III the Great in 1335. (Photo by Totus Tuus Apostolate)
Member of the Militia Immaculatae
Statue of St. Maximilian Kolbe in All Saints Church, Warsaw, Poland. (Photo by Totus Tuus Apostolate)
Jan Deskur is also a member of the Militia of the Immaculata (MI), founded in Rome by Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan, at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of St. Bonaventure (now the International College of the Conventual Franciscans). What began as a small initiative quickly grew into a global movement. On October 16, 1997, the Pontifical Council for the Laity officially recognized the Milizia dell'Immacolata as an international association of the faithful of pontifical right. Today, the MI claims over 3 million members across 48 countries, united in their mission of consecration to the Immaculate Virgin Mary and evangelisation through her.
The Totus Tuus Apostolate warmly welcomes Jan Deskur as our latest contributor!
