27 th
Dziękujemy za spotkania z Dobrym Człowiekiem
Thank You for Your Encounters with a Good Man
Dear Friends, Parishioners, and Members of the Polish Community in Houston,
From the bottom of our hearts, we offer a heartfelt “God bless you” to everyone who gathered on October 24th at Our Lady of Częstochowa Parish in Houston for a Holy Mass offered for Fr. Jan Koczy, SVD. Your presence, fervent prayers, and words of support served as a remarkable testament to our sense of community, love, and deep gratitude for the life and work of this extraordinary missionary. Thank you for every encounter you had with this “Good Man” (to borrow the words of M. Kruzel).
The following day, Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 12:40 PM, Fr. Jan completed his earthly journey and returned to the Lord at a hospice in Erkelenz, Germany, following a long and courageous battle with cancer.
We would like to share with you Janek’s final wish: on Thursday, he expressed to our friend Jacek his desire to be laid to rest in his native Poland. Although we—his family and friends—were prepared to cover all costs associated with his transport and burial in Poland, the Society of the Divine Word (the Verbites) explained that their religious rule does not allow for exceptions, as doing so would set a precedent for other missionaries. With his characteristic humility, Janek spoke with the Provincial Superior before his death and accepted Steyl, in the Netherlands—the cradle of the Society of the Divine Word and the final resting place of its founder, St. Arnold Janssen—as the site for his own eternal rest.
The funeral rites will take place on Saturday, October 31, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Divine Word Missionaries’ mission house in Steyl, the Netherlands.
Below, we publish the full text of the official obituary issued by the German Province of the Society of the Divine Word, which recounts the rich and self-sacrificing life journey of Fr. Jan.
„Wieczny odpoczynek racz mu dać, Panie, a światłość wiekuista niechaj mu świeci. Niech odpoczywa w pokoju wiecznym. Amen.”
✝ OBITUARY (Translation from the official announcement of the Society of the Divine Word)
https://www.steyler.de/de/aktuelles/meldungen/2026/PaterJan-Koczy-verstorben.php
Germany, October 26, 2026
Our confrere, Father Jan Koczy SVD, passed away on October 25, 2026, at a hospice in Erkelenz. May the Lord grant him eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon him.
“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15)
Fr. Jan Jerzy Koczy SVD was born on February 17, 1967, in Racibórz. After completing primary education in Chałupki and secondary education at Jan Kasprowicz High School in Racibórz—where he passed his final matriculation examination in 1986—he entered the Society of the Divine Word (Divine Word Missionaries, SVD) in Chludowo on August 28 of that same year.
From 1987 to 1989, he studied philosophy in Nysa, followed by theology at the Missionary Major Seminary in Pieniężno from 1989 to 1994. He made his first religious vows on September 8, 1987, and took perpetual vows, committing himself permanently to the religious congregation, on September 8, 1993. Following his ordination as a deacon on September 19, 1993, he was ordained a priest on May 22, 1994, in Pieniężno.
He served in his first pastoral assignment from 1994 to 1996 in the town of Dolní Poustevna, Czech Republic. From 1997 to 2014, he served as a missionary in Ecuador, South America. There, he initially worked as a parochial vicar at St. Michael’s Parish in Guasmo (Guayaquil) and subsequently as the pastor of the Parish of the Word of God. From 2003 to 2012, he served as a parochial vicar and pastor at the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Ventanas. Furthermore, from 2005 to 2014, he held the position of president of the San José Freinademetz Fu Shen Fu Foundation. Between 2012 and 2014, he ministered at a parish on the island of Muisne.
In 2014, Fr. Koczy returned to Poland and served as a priest in Nysa. During 2017 and 2018, he also provided temporary pastoral coverage during the summer holiday periods in the Archdiocese of Hamburg. From January 2019 to January 2022, he served as the pastor of a Spanish-speaking parish in Offenbach, within the Diocese of Mainz. In November 2022, he transferred from the Polish to the German province of the SVD (Society of the Divine Word). From June 2023, he was a part of the community in Sankt Augustin. Following his pastoral service in Wassenberg, he took on a new pastoral assignment in Hückelhoven, in the Diocese of Aachen, starting in October 2023.
Fr. Jan Koczy was a priest and missionary whose life’s journey spanned various countries and cultures. His many years of work in Ecuador, combined with his pastoral roles in Europe, bear witness to a life dedicated to the service of the Gospel and his fellow human beings.