Michal Figas was born in the vicinity of Pittsburgh in the small mining town of McClure, PA. Young Michal was raised in a large immigrant family with strong national and religious pride. He lost his mother when he was eight years of age, a loss he carried with him always. His first feeling of a call to the priesthood came when Michal was twelve and attending the local parochial school taught by the Sisters of Nazareth.

In 1904 Michal professed his first vows for the Franciscan Order and was given the name of Justyn. He subsequently studied in Trenton, NJ, Syracuse, NY, and Rome, Italy. It was in Rome that he was ordained to the priesthood on July 7, 1910. In 1914, Ojciec Justyn was sent to the provincial house in Buffalo, NY and was elected secretary of the order at the chapter held that year. While at Corpus Christi Parish, he worked in close association with the provincial, Ojciec Jacek Fudzinski.

Nine years later, Ojciec Justyn was elected the next provincial of St. Anthony Province, a position he held for 18 years.

Many events occurred during Figas' tenure as provincial. Under his direction, a combination high school/dormitory for young men was founded in Athol Springs, NY in 1926. The increase in religious vocations made it necessary for the order to open its own seminary. St. Hyacinth's Seminary was established in Granby, MA in late 1927; the following year, a new novitiate opened in Ellicott City, MD. The once small order was growing both in numbers and responsibilities. In the 1930s, the Franciscans crossed the border and began ministering to the Polish population in Canada.

Ojciec Justyn is most remembered for the radio program named in his honor – the Father Justyn Rosary Hour. As early as 1926, he was using the radio to communicate with his fellow Poles. Having begun as a comedy sketch and featuring a question and answer program sponsored by a local Polish furniture store, his presentation was received very favorably. By 1928, the letters that most interested him were the abusive ones. From them, Ojciec Justyn saw a real need for his radio ministry to educate those who were misinformed or had fallen away from the Church. He also saw the need to broadcast his message not only locally but to wherever there were Polish people, especially those who lived great distances from their parishes and were isolated from their church and native language.

The Father Justyn Rosary Hour came into being on December 6, 1931, first broadcasting to Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh and Scranton. Figas directed the nationwide, Polish-language radio program for the next 28 years.

Ojciec Justyn's accomplishments must be viewed in the proper perspective. Those were lean years because of the Great Depression and the Second World War. His work for both Poland and the American Polonia was never-failing.

A lasting monument to Figas' dedication to his fellow human beings in St. Joseph Hospital on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga, NY run by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph. He was the driving force behind efforts to fund the establishment of this institution.

This great spiritual leader entered his eternal reward on October 23, 1959. His remains were laid to rest in Cheektowaga's St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

Sixty-four years later, Ojciec Justyn's Polish Language radio apostolate still broadcasts the good news to Poles across the United States and Canada.