He died at the age of 33. No. Absolutely not! Please don’t think of it as a “Jesus age.” Please don’t interpret his life using such a simplistic code. His life deserves more than that.
He was born in 1807 into a noble, though poor, family. His parents separated, and the responsibility of supporting himself and his two brothers fell on his young (perhaps even childlike) shoulders. That certainly didn’t help Bogdan believe in love between a man and a woman. It likely also made him critical of his parents. He had a conflicted relationship with his mother. Reportedly, he arrived two days late for her funeral. But when Jański himself was buried in Rome, many years later, sewn into the coat he was wearing was the last letter he had received from his mother... Do you remember Blaise Pascal? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Do you remember?
His studies at the University of Warsaw (two majors: economics and law) were the time when he definitively broke with the Catholic Church. He found neither Christian morality nor the submissiveness of Catholic clergy to the Tsar acceptable.
He declared himself an atheist.
He drank and frequented Warsaw’s brothels. Some of the drinking sessions he and his friends held took place in the basements of Warsaw’s churches. Despite his debauched lifestyle, he graduated with one of the best results.
In 1828, he married Ola Zawadzka, the daughter of a Napoleonic army colonel. It is the most mysterious moment of his story. He himself could never give a clear reason why he married this teenage girl. Love? Pity? Ola was expecting a child from another man who had used and abandoned her. Did he want to save her from disgrace? In a letter to his brothers explaining his decision, he wrote that he had “anticipated” (oh, that language) marital matters with Ola. Many years later, however, he would regret this decision. The marriage, in fact, lasted one day. After the wedding Mass, Jański spent the wedding night with his wife, and the next morning, he left for a professorial internship in Paris, Berlin, and London. They would never meet again! Their marriage was (as we would say today) virtual in nature. In correspondence, he reserved the right to write passionate notes—only for Ola. This did not stop him, however, from visiting brothels in Berlin and Paris. One day, he wrote in his Diary about a humiliation he suffered. He had forgotten his umbrella in one such establishment. And that day, unfortunately, he had visited two. He had to return to those places and ask about the unfortunate umbrella.
We know that at least twice he seriously considered suicide. He wanted to escape the ruin of his life by fleeing to America. Jański seems to have had a depressive personality!
His conversion, in some ways, mirrors the path of St. Augustine. It begins with moral reflection. One cannot live like a swine. The followers of the heretical sect of the Saint-Simonians helped him (just as the Manicheans had influenced St. Augustine). He joined them and tried to regulate his moral life according to their guidance. Before a religious conversion occurred, there was a moral one.
The outbreak of the November Uprising marked a radical shift in Jański’s identity. From someone who thought himself French, he became Polish. This is evident, for example, in how he used his name. No longer “Theodore,” but “Bogdan.” In his notes that have survived, he clearly stated that he wanted to become fully Polish.
He met Adam Mickiewicz, who impressed him with his devotion to the Catholic Church. They lived together for several months. Jański took care of publishing *Pan Tadeusz*. He was also behind the French translation of *Konrad Wallenrod*. Mickiewicz connected him with some of the leading Catholic figures in France at the time. Interestingly, many of them—like Mickiewicz himself—would later find themselves outside the Church.
Bogdan Jański, however, returned to the Church. He returned as he had left—dramatically. He confessed for several months. Only after the fifth meeting with his confessor did he receive absolution. As he himself admitted, it was his first meaningful confession since his First Holy Communion. 
He was deeply affected by the divisions within the Polish emigration. He became aware of the suffering of so many young insurgents who paid the full price for participating in the November Uprising. These young, talented, and idealistic men had been pushed to the provinces by the French authorities. They felt that their life’s purpose had collapsed. Most of them drowned their frustration in alcohol. With the zeal of a convert, Jański sought them out, traversing all the paths of émigré poverty. He formed a special bond with Hieronim Kajsiewicz (who would go down in history as the greatest Polish preacher after Piotr Skarga) and with Piotr Semenenko (who would be recognized as the greatest Polish Catholic thinker of the 19th century). Convinced that it was impossible to live a Christian life alone, they created the first community (the so-called "Jański’s House"), from which, after several years, the present-day Resurrectionist Congregation would emerge.
Jański would not live to see it. His early death was, in some sense, the price he paid for his life. He had been a libertine, which surely affected his health. After his conversion, he spared no effort. He worked to pay off the debts of his friends and to support the mission in which he saw God's design.
He left behind numerous articles published in French journals and his *Diary* (available here: http://biz.xcr.pl/teksty.html)—the raw guts of the life of a man addicted to alcohol and sex, struggling to reclaim the dignity of his existence.
From this experience of grace and struggle arises one of the core principles of Resurrectionist spirituality, which urges Jański’s spiritual sons to profess that we are nothing, that we are drawn to evil, and that without God we can do nothing. And yet—God—never stops loving us.
Thanks to Jański’s daily writings, we come to understand that God’s love reaches us in the struggles of everyday life. This love of God transformed Jański and made him one of the most luminous figures of the Polish Church.
(compiled by Fr. Adam P. Błyszcz CR, “Bogdan Jański is ‘haunting’ me”)
Co-founder of the Resurrectionists, Servant of God Fr. Piotr Semenenko, CR (1814–1886)
He was one of the most outstanding Church figures of the 19th century. Co-founder and Superior General of the Congregation of the Resurrection. A philosopher and theologian. A participant in the November Uprising. He was the architect of the congregation’s spiritual foundations (Resurrectionist school of spirituality) and author of numerous philosophical and theological works. He left behind an extensive body of correspondence and spiritual journals. From 1865, he served as the first rector of the Pontifical Polish College in Rome. Many of its alumni embraced Resurrectionist spirituality and became eminent priests (W. Granat, J. Czuj, J. Dąbrowski), bishops and archbishops (22 in total), cardinals (A. Kakowski, E. Dalbor, A. Sapieha), and even saints and blesseds (St. J.S. Pelczar, St. J. Bilczewski, Bl. J. Balicki).
Piotr Semenenko was born on June 29, 1814, in Dzięciołów (Białystok region). He studied in places such as Tykocin and Vilnius. However, his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of the November Uprising. In 1832, he found himself in France, where he met Bogdan Jański, who invited him into his community. After a period of intense political activism and grappling with numerous ideological errors, he wrote to Jański that his mind had finally found peace and joy in the truth of the Catholic Church.
Following Jański’s death, he became the first superior of the newly founded congregation. Fr. Semenenko demanded the dedication of all efforts and resources toward deepening the nation’s religiosity. He inspired the members of the congregation, and after Jański’s early death in 1840, he was appointed superior and spiritual leader. After completing his theological studies, he was ordained a priest on December 5, 1841—despite opposition from Russian authorities. As a principal co-founder of the religious community, Semenenko authored a provisional rule in 1842. He served as the Superior General for many years (1842–1845, 1873–1886). He died in Paris on November 18, 1886.
He collaborated closely with the Holy See. Regarded as one of the most learned men of the Church in the second half of the 19th century, he enjoyed considerable theological esteem among the Popes. He was also a sought-after confessor and spiritual director to many, including Bl. Celina Borzęcka, Bl. Franciszka Siedliska, Bl. Marcelina Darowska, Bl. Karolina Białecka, and Bl. Angela Truszkowska. He co-founded or assisted in the establishment of numerous women’s religious congregations (e.g., the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Sisters of the Resurrection, the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Felician Sisters, Dominican Sisters, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Adoration Réparatrice Sisters).
He devoted great attention to the formation of youth, desiring to awaken in them a love for both learning and holiness. In his view, only faith could inspire sacrifice, order, harmony, and adherence to moral law. He laid the foundation for the Resurrectionist educational system. For Fr. Piotr Semenenko, CR, the pursuit of a perfect Christian life by the Polish people was both a religious and patriotic goal.
Co-founder of the Resurrectionists, Fr. Hieronim Kajsiewicz, CR (1812–1873)
He was one of the most charismatic figures of the 19th century: open to the world around him, an outstanding preacher (referred to as a second Piotr Skarga), a spiritual guide, religious writer and poet, Superior General, and co-founder of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. He was first and foremost a pastor, the initiator of numerous apostolic endeavors, often involving both large and small groups of the faithful. Together with Fr. Piotr Semenenko, CR, he laid the foundations for the philosophy and theology of the nation.
Hieronim Kajsiewicz was born in Słowiki, on the Niemen River in Lithuania, on December 7, 1812. He came from a poor noble family striving to secure property, yet his parents prioritized the education of their children. He studied in Rosienie and Sejny, and later law and literature at the University of Warsaw.
After the fall of the November Uprising, he emigrated to France, where he underwent a multi-stage conversion under the influence of Adam Mickiewicz and a fervent Catholic community led by Bogdan Jański. Upon completing his theological studies in Rome, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1841 (together with Fr. Semenenko) and began zealous pastoral ministry in France. He was a confessor and friend of Polish Romantic figures, such as Z. Krasiński, C.K. Norwid, and E. Sczaniecka. His deep spirituality and organizational talents led to his election as Superior General of the Resurrectionists in 1855, a role he held until his death in 1873.
Kajsiewicz was called to lead the congregation during a turbulent era in revolutionary Europe, which shaped his leadership style. Faithful to the Rule and courageous in its implementation, he succeeded in expanding the apostolic work of the congregation to new countries across Europe and North America. There, he developed parish ministry alongside educational, publishing, and ecumenical initiatives. Tirelessly committed to the Catholic Church in partitioned Poland, he delivered hundreds of sermons and conferences to various groups of the faithful. He contributed significantly to the increase in vocations and to the internationalization of the congregation. He embraced the advances of his time and utilized contemporary pastoral methods. His apostolic zeal was impressive, and his energy inexhaustible.
