✝ BOLESŁAW ZADORA SDS
22/09/2025 - Tokarnia
He was 76 years old and had been professed for 59 years.
Father Bolesław Zadora was born on July 5, 1949, in Tokarnia, in the Mazovian region. He grew up in a large family and served as an altar boy from an early age. In June 1962, he was confirmed by Bishop Karol Wojtyła. He began his education at the elementary school in Tokarnia and later studied at the Minor Seminary of the Bernardine Fathers in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. In 1965, after completing ninth grade, he applied for admission to the novitiate of the Polish Province of the Salvatorians, writing about his desire to serve God and people as a priest until his death.
On August 2, 1965, he entered the novitiate of the Society in Bagno, taking the religious name Terencius. On August 15, 1966, he made his first religious vows, and on August 15, 1973, his perpetual profession. After studying philosophy and theology at the Salvatorian Major Seminary in Bagno he was ordained a priest on May 23, 1974, in Trzebinia by Bishop Stanisław Smoleński. Following his ordination, Fr. Bolesław Zadora began his ministry as a vicar and catechist in Dobroszyce. However, he felt a strong desire to fulfill his true calling as a missionary. And so in 1977 he was sent to do missionary work in the Diocese of Nachingwea in Tanzania, where he served for four years.
In 1981, he left Tanzania for the United States, arriving in Merrillville, Indiana. In October 1983, he began his ministry in Texas as one of the first Polish Salvatorians there. For over thirty years, he held various religious (including superior and treasurer) and pastoral positions. He served as the long-time pastor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in St. Hedwig, in the San Antonio metropolitan area - becoming highly respected by the faithful and recognized by the local clergy for his dedication to serving the local community.
Due to his declining health, in April 2025, he was transferred from the religious community in Texas to the religious house in Więciórka in Poland. Shortly after that Fr. Bolesław passed away on Monday, September 22, 2025, at the age of 76, in his 59th year of religious life and 51st year of priesthood. The funeral ceremony took place on September 27, 2025, at the church in Tokarnia, and thanks to an online broadcast, the parishioners from Texas were also among those who participated. Fr. Bolesław “Bill” Zadora was laid to rest in the family tomb at the local cemetery.
