Rafał Chyliński
Polish presbyter
Feast: 2 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Melchior Chyliński was born at Wysoczka, near Poznań, on 8 January 1694, and after school became an army ensign. At 21, obeying God's call, he entered the Conventual Franciscans in Kraków on 4 April 1715 as Rafał, and was ordained in December 1717.
During the plague in Kraków he visited the sick, caring for them and preparing them for a Christian death. He died at Łagiewniki on 2 December 1741, aged about 47, mourned by all his brothers.
The miracles
The Dicastery's biography does not describe the miracles approved in the cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
A soldier turned friar who nursed the plague-stricken of Kraków.
The cause
Rafał Chyliński has been beatified; the cause continues. Favours received, and offers of help, go to the postulation, the office that carries the cause forward: Conventual Franciscans: Blessed Rafal Chylinski.
- Dicastery for the Causes of Saints - biography: Raffaele Chylinski
- Wikidata Q8276248 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Melchor Chyliński (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.