Adam Stefan Stanisław Bonifacy Józef Sapieha, of the Fox coat of arms, was born at Krasiczyn castle on the 14th May 1867. He was the seventh child and the fifth son of Adam Stanisław Sapieha and Jadwiga née Sanguszko. Initially – in accordance with the custom at magnate homes – he was educated at his family home, then at the IV Junior High School in Lviv. Having received a secondary school-leaving certificate (August 8, 1886), he enrolled at the Faculty of Law at the University of Vienna, and simultaneously, with his brother Jan, attended the Institut Catholique in Lille (October 1886-August 1887). In the autumn of 1887, he continued (from the second year) law studies in Krakow at the Jagiellonian University where – after the second year – he passed the official examinations on the 26th August 1888. He resumed his law studies in Vienna, from which he graduated on the 10th March 1892. Concurrently (autumn 1890) he enrolled in the Faculty of Theology of the University of Innsbruck, from which he graduated in July 1894. Having taken the decision to enter the clergy, he was incardinated into the Archdiocese of L’viv of the Latin rite (1892) and entered onto the list of alumni of the seminary of that archdiocese, where he received lower holy orders. In 1893 he received higher holy orders – subdeaconate in Feldkirch, diaconate (the 15th July 1893), he was then ordained priest on 1st October 1893 by the suffragan of L’viv, Jan Puzyna, in the chapel of the seminary in L’viv. It is worth adding that as a student he was an active participant in many academic meetings, discussion groups, and pastoral activities.

Having completed his theological studies, he began his pastoral work at the parish in Jazłowiec (August 1894-September 1895) upon the decision of the Church authorities; he also served as a chaplain at the local boarding school for girls run by the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. After a year’s work in Jazłowiec, he served as a retreat preacher in Upper Silesia (September-October 1895) soon leaving for Rome, where he took up studies at the Faculty of Canon and Civil Law at the Pontifical Church Academy (Atheneum Lateranense), obtaining there a doctorate in both laws on the 12th June 1896. He combined legal studies with diplomatic studies at the Church Academy of Nobility. Living in the Polish College run by the Resurrectionists, he became acquainted with the Vatican community, some influential Polish clergy and established close contacts with Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) and also with other people who, in later years, held important church functions.

After leaving Rome (July 1896) he stayed for a short time in Krasiczyn and L’viv, he then left for the Polish emigrant communities in Bosnia in order to learn about their living conditions and organise pastoral and charity work there. On returning to the archdiocese (January 1897), he worked as vice-rector of the seminary (23rd September 1897 – 27th October 1901), secretary in the diocesan and metropolitan court, consistory clerk, and as a prosynodal examiner. He also, among other undertakings, engaged in pastoral work as a preacher and confessor of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Boromeo. Discouraged by the rules and educational methods prevailing at the seminary, he resigned from the function of vice-rector and other duties and left L’viv. He spent several months in the United States of America, where he dealt with family matters and became interested in the functioning of the parishes in Polish communities. After returning to L’viv (29th October 1902), he was appointed by the new metropolitan Archbishop, Józef Bilczewski, as vicar of St. Nicholas parish and obtained the canonry of the Cathedral. At that time, Father Sapieha became known as an expert and propagator of Pope Leo’s social encyclicals, with whose content he familiarised the listeners of various milieus in papers and lectures. He performed pastoral duties in many circles, and was, among others, a moderator of merchant, academic, junior high school, youth craft, and men sodalities.

At the end of 1905, thanks to the efforts of Archbishop J. Teodorowicz (1864-1938), Father Sapieha went to Rome as a ‘spokesman’ for the Catholic Church in Polish lands. He was nominated as Papal Chamberlain by Pius X (1835-1914) on 19th February, 1906 and was among his closest associates. He would prepare lists of clergy who the Pope bestowed privileges and dignities upon, as well as lists of candidates for episcopal capitals in Polish lands. He intervened in cases of the repression of Catholics in Polish lands and Russia. He informed the public and sought intervention in the Vatican in connection with school strikes in Greater Poland (1906). Later, together with other clergy and laymen, he organised a Polish press office (1911), whose task it was to inform journalists and, through them, a wide audience about the fate of Poles living under partition and about difficult religious situations in Polish lands. He was interested in the fate of Polish emigrants and organised pastoral care for them.

Father Sapieha’s energetic activity in Church matters in Rome was quickly noticed, and after the death of cardinal Jan Puzyna (1842-1911), emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) presented his candidature (8th November 1911) and nominated him as the Ordinary bishop of Krakow, which was subsequently accepted by Pope Pius X (preconisation on the 27th November 1911), who personally bestowed upon him Episcopal consecration in the Sistine Chapel (December 17, 1911). It was an extraordinary honour and also a papal gesture directed towards the Polish Church. Several weeks later (3rd February 1912), the newly appointed Ordinary took ingress into the Wawel cathedral, as is stipulated by canon law. To the clergy and the faithful of the diocese, he addressed his letters, written in the spirit of the teachings of the popes Leo XIII and Pius X, in which he presented his pastoral programme. It is worth emphasising that on the day of the ingress, he had a dinner given to 300 poor residents of Krakow and the vicinity. The extraordinary concern for the poor and the desire to alleviate their lot was the basic principle throughout his whole episcopal pastoral ministry. He had manifested this concern before – as a priest in Jazłowiec and L’viv as well as a member of the Curia and collaborator of the Holy See. The princely titles, which he held due to birth, and inheritance – as Ordinary of the diocese of Krakow (the title of prince of Siewierz) did not prevent him from selflessly inclining towards those in need of material and spiritual help. He proved himself a patriot, social and charitable activist and, above all, a zealous shepherd of the faithful and guardian of the clergy. He reorganised the parish network in the diocese and sought to raise the level of both the education of the clergy and pastoral activity of religious orders. He supported the movement for the formation of religious orders and willingly agreed for the establishment of new houses in the diocese. These orders which carried out charitable, educational and social activities in the spirit of patriotic and national revival could count on his special support. He carried out his pastoral duties in the diocese very actively, paying regular visits to parishes, ordaining priests and striving for the appropriate functioning of the seminary. He took great care of the clergy, their decent living conditions and moral standards.
The diocesan synods convened at his initiative (September 25-27, 1923; September 20-21, 1938) were very important for the Archdiocese of Krakow. He supported the initiatives of organising Catholic youth associations, trade unions, as well as caring and charitable institutions. As one of the first Ordinaries in Poland, he highlighted the need to organise regular pastoral care for university students.

Beside pastoral activity in the diocese (since 1925 – archdiocese), he voiced his opinion in matters important for the Catholic Church in Poland: the signing of a concordat with the Holy See, creation of new metropolies and dioceses, and in discussions concerning the relationship between the primate and the Warsaw episcopal capital. He was an advocate of the independence of the Catholic Church in Poland from external influences, entering into controversy with the then papal nuncio Achilles Ratti – later pope Pius XI (1857-1939) whom, during the congress of Polish bishops in Gniezno (26-30 August 1919), he requested to leave the meeting room, saying that the Polish Church wanted to settle its own affairs without external influences.

The establishment of the Krakow metropolitan archdiocese in 1925 was a new challenge, having gained the Tarnów, Częstochowa, and Katowice bishoprics as suffragan dioceses. At the end of that year, the Krakow Ordinary was raised to the rank of metropolitan archbishop.

Archbishop Sapieha participated in political discussions and expressed his opinion in difficult social matters both during World War I and in the post-war period; so difficult for the reborn Poland. In November 1922, he was elected as senator from the list of the Christian Union of National Unity. However, in the following year (the 9th March), when Pius XI forbade the hierarchs to accept public dignities, he resigned from the senatorial seat. In order to reach out to wider masses, he ordered the creation of a weekly “Dzwon Kościelny” (Church Bell) in 1925, which was carried on until the outbreak of World War II. In 1930, he condemned the brutality in dealing with the political opposition and the imprisonment of political opponents in the prison of Brześć. Seven years later (1937), on his own responsibility, he had the coffin of Józef Piłsudski moved from the crypt of St. Leonardo to the Silver Bells Tower, which led to the so-called Wawel conflict. During World War II, he was associated with resistance activities, maintained close contacts with the underground and cooperated with the Polish government in exile.

Until the end of his life, he maintained close contacts with outstanding personalities within Church life and the Roman community, maintaining friendships he had made during the years of his Roman studies and later. He would go to Italy almost every year, visiting the Vatican dicasteries and it was thanks to such contacts, both during the inter-war and post-war period, that the Holy See was kept informed about the situation of the Catholic Church in Polish lands. It should be added, that particularly Pius XII took Archbishop Sapieha’s opinions into careful consideration. It was this pope who bestowed the cardinal’s red hat on him (18th February, 1946).

Cardinal Sapieha is remembered as a great charity activist, his flagship activity being the Princely-Episcopal Committee for the Help of War Victims (KBK), established by him in 1915. The hospitals founded by Archbishop Sapieha (among others, the hospital for children in Zakopane-Bystre and in Witkowice near Krakow) were passed on into the society by him after the end of hostilities. He personally supported all initiatives aimed at improving the living conditions of the poorest and had great esteem for the activities of Brother Albert – Adam Chmielowski (1845-1916), whom he visited on his deathbed, thus expressing appreciation for the charitable works initiated by Father Chmielowski and for the Orders of Albertine Sisters and Brothers founded by him. After the outbreak of World War II, Cardinal Sapieha contributed to the creation of the Central Welfare Council, based on the pre-war Caritas.

The social and charity activity of Archbishop Adam Stefan Sapieha was really appreciated by both the intelligentsia and larger society. He was honoured with the diploma of Knight of the Order of Polonia Restituta, 2nd class (1922) which, however, he did not accept. He also received the Great Ribbon of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1924) and was awarded the Order of the White Eagle (1936). He received a honoris causa doctorate from the Faculty of Theology of the Jagiellonian University (1926) and, similarly, from the Faculty of Theology of the Catholic University of Lublin (1949). Additionally, he received numerous eulogistic diplomas, distinctions and laudations as well as honorary citizenships.

During the interwar period, he continued his pastoral activity, personally visiting parishes. Those visits allowed him to learn about the life of the faithful and the conditions the clergy functioned in, which gave the Metropolitan bishop many pastoral ideas and suggestions. He cared for the working class environment, organising religious retreats in the workplace, as well as promoting appropriate and decent living conditions. He founded a number of new parishes, encouraged the construction of new churches and strived for the proper renovation and conservation work on historical church buildings, beginning work on the restoration of the Wawel cathedral and archaeological research on the Wawel Hill. He also cared for the historical legacy of his family, placing some of the historical monuments from Krasiczyn castle and its valuable library in the palace of the bishops of Krakow, after the war.

World War II and the subsequent post-war years set new challenges before the already aged Metropolitan. It should be noted that in February 1939, Archbishop Adam S. Sapieha made the request to Pope Pius XI to release him from pastoral functions in the diocese because of his age and health. After the pope’s death, he renewed his request in a personal audience with Pius XII (1876-1958) on the 19th June 1939. In the weeks that followed, due to the danger of the outbreak of war, he withdrew this request, and sent a letter to the clergy of the Archdiocese of Krakow in which he recommended that in the event of war, priests should remain in their parishes, take care of parishioners and parish churches. It is worth adding that when World War II broke out, Archbishop Sapieha was in Switzerland, where upon hearing of the start of hostilities, he immediately set off for Krakow to be among the faithful of the diocese. He drew severe consequences against those priests who, after the outbreak of World War II, succumbing to general panic, had left their parishes.

In the absence of Primate August Hlond (1881-1948) who was abroad, he became the leader of the Catholic Church and one of the leaders of the nation. He enjoyed great authority and was dubbed the “Unshaken”. He interceded with the Nazi Germans for the release of the professors of the Jagiellonian University, who had been insidiously arrested and deported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He helped the prisoners of concentration camps and those under German arrest and strove for the due pastoral care for them. He organised secret religious care over the forced labourers in Germany by sending priests there as volunteer workers. Despite the insistence of German authorities, he did not agree, especially in the last years of the war, to cooperate with the Nazi Germans in the face of the alleged communist danger from the USSR, that threatened Poland. He repeatedly refused to meet Governor Hans Frank, however a meeting eventually took place during which the Metropolitan presented the Governor the plight of the Polish population under German occupation, and the slaughter carried out on Poles in the Eastern Borderlands by Ukrainian nationalists cooperating with the Germans. He sought for fugitives and refugees from war to be accepted by the inhabitants of the diocese. Several times (November 1940, May 1941, August 1941, May 1942, June 1943) he convened a conference of the Episcopate of the General Government to Krakow.