Fr. Justin Figas, OFM Conv.
www.rosaryhour.net
1886-1959

     Fr. Justin Figas, (whose baptismal name was Michael) was born June 24, 1886 in McClure, PA, a small mining town near Pittsburgh .  His parents Jacob Figas and Marianna (nee Szymanska), came to with a quest for bread and freedom, but especially to praise God in the Polish language. The use and study of the Polish language in the Prussian partition of from which they came was severely prohibited. Jacob earned meager wages as a coal miner struggling to support his growing family. Though he barely received three months of formal schooling Jacob was proud of the fact that he was able to read and write. He and Marianna instilled in their children a love for their faith, as well as for the Polish language, music, customs and culture.  In their home they spoke, read, prayed and sang in Polish.

   His parents’ faith was tested when at the age of seven Michael contracted polio.  Carrying him to the parish church (Saint Joseph's Everson PA) before Our Lady of Czestochowa, Jacob made a vow that if his son recovered he would foster in him a religious vocation. Within days Michael did recover, and Jacob, and later his son Michael, would never forget this promise.  Tragedy struck again when Marianna died, Michael was only nine years old. 

    Being the oldest child more responsibility fell on Michael. At the age of 11 and he began accompanying his father to work in the coal mines.  He witnessed first hand the hardships of the working class which gave him experiences that later in his life he would continually stand up for the rights of those struggling to earn a just wage.  Jacob however knew that one good way out of poverty was education.  Michael attended the nearest parochial school (Saint Joseph's Everson PA) which was four miles away and was taught by the Sisters of Nazareth. With books borrowed from the parish library, especially the writings of Sienkiewicz, Michael learned the history of the Polish nation and strove to master his parents’ native tongue. Being equally proud of his American heritage one of Michael’s favorite authors was Mark Twain.
   When he was thirteen he met a Conventual Franciscan at a parish mission to whom he expressed his interest in religious life. He was asked to contact the Franciscan minor seminary in Trenton, NJ , where he was accepted in the late summer of 1901.                

    Two years later he entered the novitiate of the Conventual Franciscans located in Syracuse , NY., where he was invested with the Franciscan habit and received the name Justin after an early Christian martyr. One year later on August 15, 1904, he professed his first vows in the church of the Assumption. Following philosophical studies in Trenton Justin was chosen to pursue theological studies at the Order’s international college in Rome .  He was ordained to the priesthood July 17, 1910. One of the first Masses he offered was at the Tomb of St. Francis in Assisi .  He remained in Rome for another year to complete his doctorate in Sacred Theology.

    Returning to the United States in 1911, Fr. Justin’s first assignment was as associate pastor of St. Josaphat Parish in Milwaukee, WI .  His talents and popularity reached the ears of Fr. Hyacinth Fudzinski, his Provincial and pastor of Corpus Christi Church , Buffalo, NY . He was transferred to Buffalo . Fr. Justin’s future would now be shaped the passionate and far-reaching dreams of Fr. Hyacinth, who selected his as his assistant and was elected as secretary of the Province for two terms.

    Although this young priest was busy with administration, he never neglected his duties as parish priest.  Fr. Justin preached, heard confessions and was always ready to help the poor. He was especially interested in the education of youth, and stressed the preservation of their ethnic heritage, language and customs.   

   Buffalo, as many industrial cities in the , had become a haven for a multitude of immigrants who fled their mother country in a quest for freedom and a better life.  He was sensitive to the dire needs of these people who struggled to adjust to a new culture. They were for the most part illiterate and had to take the lowest paying jobs. This led Fr. Justin to establish a variety of social and religious organizations to support their cultural and spiritual development.

    Fr. Justin’s service-oriented philosophy maintained its focus on education, which he saw as the ladder leading out of the cycle of poverty.  And for those having tasted the better life, Fr. Justin stressed that they should always give back to the community.  No accomplishment should be for self alone.

    It was his energy and flourish of activity for good that allowed the young priest to be more and more recognized by his Franciscan peers as a natural leader. Fr. Justin was elected by his brother Franciscans as their Provincial, a position he held until 1939, during which time 24 parishes and other apostolates were entrusted to the care of the friars.

    His zeal and warm personality served well to motivate those around him.  Fr. Justin’s interest in education and vocation recruitment led him to establish “The Drivers,” business leaders of Buffalo ’s Polish community who would be the foundational fund-raisers for a new high school named in honor of St. Francis.  The doors of the school were opened to resident and day students in 1926. 

    The following year a new seminary was blessed in the small town of Granby , MA, for those aspiring to be Franciscan brothers and priests. It was placed under the patronage of St. Hyacinth, in honor of Fr. Justin’s mentor.

    In 1928 the Province purchased the former Carroll estate in Ellicott City, MD , of the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.  This friary which would be the Province’s novitiate would become one the Order’s most architecturally beautiful buildings.

    During the height of the depression people took solace in the new and inexpensive form of entertainment, the radio.  One of the most listened to programs being broadcast in Buffalo was a Polish language comedy skit featuring a argumentative couple named “Podeszwa and Kordula.” 

   During one of their arguments mention was made that maybe they should get a divorce. Someone suggested asking Fr. Justin’s opinion on the matter.  Fr. Justin was asked to offer a brief talk about divorce.  The results were unexpected and overwhelming.  Thousands of listeners swamped the station with mail wanting to hear more of Fr. Justin’s talks.

    Fr. Justin was quick to see the opportunity to reach numerous souls instantaneously through this modern means of communication.  In December of 1931, Fr. Justin was determined to create a “network of the airwaves”, which he named the “Rosary Hour”, symbolically linking listeners together in prayer as a living rosary.  Before long his voice would reach millions throughout the Great lakes Region of the and .  The programs were broadcast from Corpus Christi Church in Buffalo, radio stations, parish halls, and eventually from the chapel of St. Francis High School . 

   Each program consisted of topics focusing on pertinent issues effecting families: parental authority, alcoholism, adolescent behavior respect for life and economic problems.  He was known for his frankness and humor.  As many as 10,000 letters a month were sent to Fr. Justin. Donations sent to the Rosary Hour began to support an incredible number of ministries and missions of the Franciscans throughout the world.  When the opportunity arose he established a monthly periodical, The Seraphic Chronicle, and soon after a daily newspaper, The Polish News.  He personally wrote for both publications.

    Despite his heavy schedule of broadcasting and administration, Fr. Justin never missed an opportunity to minister to the needy.  He was known to accompany children to visit their parents in prison, and was a companion to those on “death row”.  Fr. Justin was requested to negotiate labor disputes.  In 1934 he was awarded the Polonia Resitituta medal by the Polish government for his untiring labors for Poles in and abroad. With the invasion of in 1939, Fr. Justin labored to bring attention to the atrocities taking place there.  He joined a delegation to report on the plight of refugees.  This trip took its toll on him, so much so that his hair had grayed and his appetite would never be the same.

    In the fall of 1942 he was invited by ’s Premier to confer with the Polish government-in-exile in and the Polish Underground, and would be asked by President Roosevelt to be his representative on this delicate mission.          

   In 1947, seeing local needs for a health care facility he established the “Ambassador’s Club,” and an institution of mercy began to materialize. Ten years later work began on new haven for the sick which would provide a 300 bed hospital, placed under the patronage of St. Joseph . 

    Fr. Justin’s health had been failing.  He was admitted to Mercy Hospital in Buffalo .  Thirteen days later, he died of congestive heart failure.  It was October 23, 1959.  Those standing around his bed heard Fr. Justin say, “God is calling me.  He is opening the gates of heaven for me” While the poor Franciscan was praying the rosary he breathed his last.  Fr. Justin died in the 73rd year of his earthly pilgrimage.  A great light had been extinguished.  Millions mourned the passing of this simple-hearted crusader who was known to say “I’m a soldier on duty, and my post is the radio.”  An estimated 15,000 people paid their respects to him at Corpus Christi Church .  On Tuesday, October 27, after a solemn Mass, Fr. Justin was interred in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

   Perhaps Fr. Justin expressed his own epitaph best when he said, “I am an average priest, a poor Franciscan, a much misunderstood individual.  People expect me to have no faults.  I want to tell the whole world that my roman collar does not change my human nature.  I am quite the same as other men, and I enjoy a good time just as they do.  I try to give the best that is in me, and believe that God will reward me in the end.  I ask no favors and seek only the opportunity to be a real man and a real priest.” 

   The ministry of Fr. Justin continues through the various ministries of the Franciscans, and particularly through the broadcast of the Rosary Hour.