August Czartoryski

August Franciszek Maria Anna Józef Kajetan Czartoryski, SDB, (2 August 1858 – 8 April 1893) was a Polish prince who was born in Paris during his family's exile, his constant frail health saw much of his childhood being shuttled to various health spas. Raphael Kalinowski tutored him; the prince turned to the priesthood instead of pursuing the aristocratic life.

However, his path into the Salesians was not set in stone, because Don Bosco believed his frail health would become an impediment to his ecclesial studies. Nevertheless, Bosco allowed him to undergo the novitiate after Pope Leo XIII intervened.

To his parents and other relatives he was known as "Gucio"; he was often frail having contracted tuberculosis from his mother in 1864 and he inherited his mother's title upon her death from the disease in 1864 and he held this until 1876 when it was made a dukedom and until his death as the first duke. Much of his life was spent being shuttled to different health spas in the mountains and along beaches that had "good air" for the afflicted and he was moved to places such as Switzerland and Spain before being sent to doctors on the Italian peninsula and later in Egypt. who whispered words of encouragement to him.

He died from tuberculosis during the evening on 8 April 1893 in Savona. His remains were interred in his house's mausoleum in Sieniawa after being transported to Poland though were later buried at a Salesian church in Przemyśl. The formal introduction to the cause came on 23 March 1941 under Pope Pius XII and he became titled as a Servant of God as a result. An apostolic process was held from 1943 to 1948 while the results of both processes were sent to the Congregation for Rites who validated the aforementioned processes on 4 November 1951. The antepreparatory committee assigned to investigate the cause approved it on 11 October 1966 as did the officials and consultants of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on 24 January 1978; the Congregation alone gave their positive verdict as well on 25 April 1978. On 1 December 1978 he became titled as venerable after Pope John Paul II confirmed that Czartoryski had lived a life of heroic virtue.

His beatification depended on the investigation and approval of a miraculous healing attributed to his intercession; one such case was investigated and sent to the Congregation who validated this process on 22 June 2001. The medical experts approved this healing on 23 January 2003 as did the consulting theologians on 2 May 2003 and the Congregation on 7 October 2003. John Paul II approved this miracle on 20 December 2003 and beatified Czartoyski on 25 April 2004 in Saint Peter's Square. The postulator for this cause is Pierluigi Cameroni SDB.

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