Alfred Leo Abramowicz
Alfred Leo Abramowicz was a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Chicago who served as Director of the Catholic League for Religious Assistance to Poland from 1960–1995, working as a principal US fund-raising and organizational contact for the Catholic Church in Poland and for the Polish Solidarity movement.
Born in Chicago, Abramowicz attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and University of St. Mary of the Lake, the latter under rector Reynold Henry Hillenbrand, and was ordained a priest in Chicago on May 1, 1943. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from 1949–1952, earning a licentiate in canon law. After service at several parishes and at the Chicago Metropolitan Tribunal, he was consecrated auxiliary bishop of Chicago and titular Bishop of Pesto in 1968, in which capacity he served until his retirement in 1995.
Bishop Abramowicz was a friend and associate of John Paul II, and arranged the details for the visit of then Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to the United States in 1969. For his work for the freedom of Poland, Abramowicz was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
