Father Wacław Szuniewicz (1891-1963) was an accomplished ophthalmic surgeon, missionary of the Congregation of the Mission, and teacher who worked in China, the United States, and Brazil. He gained international recognition as a pioneer in corneal refractive surgery. In early October 2019, Monsignor Sergio Arthur Braschi, Bishop of the Diocese of Ponta Grossa in Brazil, announced the beginning of his beatification process. Once the process began, Szuniewicz received the title “Servant of God,” marking the first step toward potential sainthood. The Vatican must now investigate his life and verify miracles attributed to him before he can be beatified and ultimately canonized.

Rev. Dr. Waclaw Szuniewicz (1931). Source: Jagiellonian Digital Library / “Światowid” R. 8, no. 13 (1931-03-28), p. 15. Digitally retouched image.

Rev. Dr. Waclaw Szuniewicz (born December 28, 1892 in Glebok in the then Vilnius Governorate, died October 16, 1963 in Irati, Brazil) was a Polish missionary from the Congregation of the Mission of St. Vincent de Paul, ophthalmologist, pediatrician, and pioneer of surgical treatment of corneal astigmatism.

Waclaw was the youngest child in the family of Romuald Szuniewicz and Paulina (née Cybulska). Waclaw’s grandfather was Florian, while his great-grandfather in the male line was Augustyn. The Szuniewicz family belonged to the Polish nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and from the 16th century they lived in large numbers in the area between Vilnius and Polotsk.

Waclaw’s parents married young. Romuald was 19 years old, while Paulina was 21, and they lived in harmony. Waclaw’s father was a craftsman — an enterprising, gentle, and kind-hearted man — while his mother was energetic and resolute. They had six children. The first, Paulin, died shortly after birth in 1879. The second, Leopold, born in 1881, was a talented child but died of typhoid fever in 1894. Waclaw’s three older sisters — Jadwiga, Waclawa, and Konstancja — grew up and started families.

In 1898, the family moved to Smolensk for better educational opportunities. Waclaw graduated from the Classical Gymnasium with a high school diploma. It was in Smolensk where he first felt a calling to God’s service. One day he disappeared for three days, wandering in the forests. Upon returning, exhausted, he told his parents: “I took advice from God and nature.” Though he initially set aside this calling, he later pursued medicine, enrolling at I. M. Sechenov State Medical University in Moscow, graduating in 1916 or 1917.

After his studies, Waclaw moved to Vernyy (now Almaty) to stay with his sister. Soon after, he was conscripted into the tsarist army, serving as a doctor on the Minsk front. He endured a gas attack, leading to partial intoxication, yet continued serving. In 1920, he was transferred to Smolensk, caring for typhoid patients. He himself contracted spotted typhoid, suffered severe complications, and miraculously survived. This profound experience ended his period of spiritual indifference.

Evacuated to Voronezh, he worked as an ophthalmologist, also tending to cholera patients. He brought his widowed mother to live with him. After the war, he returned to Poland in 1922, settling in Vilnius. He worked at the Department of Pediatric Diseases at Stefan Batory University, eventually becoming a senior assistant. He organized a nursery for poor children, “Kropla Mleka,” and established the “Milk Kitchen” to provide fortified milk mixtures. He personally managed four Infant Care Stations without pay. His mother died during this period and was buried in Vilnius.

A pivotal moment occurred when he was called to care for a sick priest from the Congregation of the Mission. Deep conversations with the priest inspired Waclaw to change his life. He joined the congregation in Krakow on April 23, 1927, took his vows on May 3, 1929, and was ordained a priest on September 8, 1930. He celebrated his first mass on September 14 and departed for China on November 12.

Father Wacław Szuniewicz (1891-1963) during his service in China in the 1930’s.

He arrived in Xingtai in January 1931, where he established a small 19-bed hospital, later expanded to 100 beds, and founded 18 clinics across the region. He traveled between clinics on a bicycle, personally overseeing operations. He performed 35 ophthalmic surgeries daily, including 800 cataract operations yearly. By 1934, his facilities provided over 154,000 ophthalmic consultations annually. He was appointed director-general of all Catholic hospitals in northern China, earning the nickname 宣尉仁, “Xuan Weiren” — “the man with the silver beard.”

Father Szuniewicz with one of his scholars and a patient.

In 1938, he established an ophthalmology department at the General Hospital of Catholic University in Beijing. The outbreak of war disrupted his plans to visit Poland. Despite the Japanese occupation, he continued his medical and pastoral work. After World War II, he served in hospitals in Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai. When the Chinese Government closed the mission, he fled to the U.S., settling near Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He lectured on his experiences and continued his research.

In 1951, he received a Brazilian visa and moved to Mafra, Santa Catarina. He celebrated his silver jubilee of priesthood in 1955. In 1956, he relocated to Irati, Paraná, where he served at St. Michael’s Church for seven years. He remained an active ophthalmologist, founded libraries, and engaged in youth work. He spoke seven languages: Polish, Russian, Latin, Chinese, English, French, and Portuguese.

He continued his research on corneal astigmatism with Dr. Rocko M. Fasanelli from New Haven. Though his early manuscripts were never published, their joint work appeared in medical journals in 1981.

Waclaw died of a heart attack on October 16, 1963, after a brief hospitalization. He was posthumously awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland for his contributions to medicine, research, and missionary work. He is remembered through a museum and monument in Xingtai, a street and school in Irati, and his enduring legacy of compassionate service.

In his medical-pastoral work, Father Wacław Szuniewicz embodied the virtues characteristic of a Vincentian missionary. He showed simplicity in his closeness to the sick, humility in acknowledging that his gifts came from God, meekness in his calm and joyful demeanor, mortification in his tireless search for those in need in the most remote and hidden places, and an ardent zeal for the salvation of both the body and soul of his patients. He lived the Gospel through the Beatitudes, rejoicing when he helped a sick person regain their sight, allowing them to discover the wonders of creation that God has bestowed upon us.

Fr. Wacław Szuniewicz, CM, circa 1960.