Submitted by: Dan Rich

Bishop Joseph C. Zawistowski

April 19, 1918 - Sept. 22, 2001

South Bend Tribune 9/26/2001

Bishop Joseph C. Zawistowski, 83, passed away on Saturday, Sept. 22, after 53 years of service as a priest and bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church. He was born April 19, 1918, in Rochester, N.Y. Prior to ordination, he served in the United States Army Air Corps in the Signal Corps Division during World War II. He attained the rank of staff sergeant in his six years of service to our country.

His first assignment after ordination was assistant pastor of All Saints Cathedral in Chicago, Ill. He later served as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and in 1955 was assigned as pastor of St. Mary Parish in South Bend, Ind. In 1978 he was consecrated as a bishop and served as bishop ordinary of the Western Diocese and pastor of All Saints Cathedral in Chicago until his retirement in 1994. Upon retirement he returned to South Bend and has been an integral part of St. Mary Parish.

In 1952, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, he married Josephine Trelka, who survives. He is also survived by two sons, Rev. Charles (Susan) Zawistowski and Joseph T. Zawistowski, both of South Bend; three grandchildren, Rachel, Andrew and Matthew, all of South Bend; one sister, Severina Gorzela of Lawrence, Mass.; and by two brothers, Carl Zawistowski of Rochester, N.Y., and Theodore Zawistowski of Port Charlotte, Fla.

Family and friends may call from 2 to 7 p.m. today in St. Mary Polish National Catholic Church, where vespers will be held at 7 p.m. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday in St. Mary Polish National Catholic Church, 1601 W. Sample Street, South Bend. On Friday there will be a Mass held at 11 a.m. in the All Saints Cathedral Church, Chicago, with entombment to follow at All Saints Cathedral Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary Polish National Catholic Church, 159 N. Summit Drive, South Bend, IN 46619; or to the Clergy Pension Fund, c/o St. Mary Parish. The ST. JOSEPH FUNERAL HOME, 824 S. Mayflower Road, is handling arrangements.