Poland – Fr Jan Świerc and his eight companions, Polish Salesian martyrs, have been proclaimed Blessed

Greetings from the Metropolitan of Kraków

At the start of the beatification ceremony – presided over by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, representing Pope Leo XIV – Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Krakow and host of the event, welcomed all those present, greeting the ecclesiastical, political and Salesian representatives, and offering a special thought to the young people, whom he urged to befriend the youngest of the new blesseds: Fr Karol Golda, who, at the outbreak of the war, was a newly ordained priest and was arrested and killed at Auschwitz because he heard the confessions of German soldiers, including members of the concentration camp staff: “Dear young people, I trust that you too would like to love in this way and experience a love so intense that it transcends all boundaries, overcomes evil with good, and is unstoppable.”

The biographies of the Blesseds and the apostolic letter

Fr Dariusz Bartocha SDB, Provincial of the Kraków Province, presented a brief biography of the priests. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro then read the Pope’s apostolic letter, in which the Holy Father, in response to the request of the Metropolitan of Krakow, as well as other bishops and the faithful, granted the elevation to the honours of the altars of the Venerable Servants of God Jan Świerc and his eight companions – “fervent proclaimers of the Gospel, who, out of love for their brothers, did not fear to bear witness to Christ the Lord even unto the shedding of their blood”. According to the document, they may henceforth be called blessed and venerated every year on 23 May, in accordance with the procedures and in the places established by canon law. Following the reading of the letter, a long and thunderous round of applause rang out throughout the sanctuary.

The unveiling of the painting and the procession with the relics

Following the unveiling of the portrait of the blessed martyrs, created by the Salesian brothers Fr Robert and Fr Leszek Kruczek, the priests from the parish where the priests were baptised and representatives of their families carried a number of relics associated with the lives of the new blesseds during a solemn procession. During the procession, everyone sang the beatification hymn “Jak złoto w ogniu” (Like gold in the fire).

The Holy Father’s representative paid homage to the relics, after which the Metropolitan of Kraków and the postulator of the cause expressed their gratitude for the beatification.

Cardinal Semeraro’s homily

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro emphasised that the newly beatified join the “immense multitude” of martyrs and saints mentioned in the Book of Revelation. He recalled Saint John Paul II, Saint Faustina Kowalska and the Venerable Servant of God Jan Tyranowski. He also mentioned the parish of St Stanislaus Kostka in Dębniki, run by the Salesians, which played an important role in shaping Karol Wojtyła’s vocation.

“The martyrs whose beatification we celebrate today expressed to the very end, usque ad effusionem sanguinis, the preciousness of the Salesian charism. Jan Świerc and his companions were practical guides in the education of young people, caring for the poor and the suffering. Like St John Bosco, they saw in every young person they met in the parish fields, in the courtyards of the oratories or in the school classrooms, a beloved lamb, precious in the eyes of the Lord. And if Don Bosco used to say to the young people: ‘I study for you, I work for you, I live for you, and I am even willing to give my life for you’, they truly gave their lives as martyrs of Christ and of the Church: when anti-religious hatred, when violence and injustice, which raged in the last century, sought to scatter the flock, they did not flee,” said the cardinal.

Drawing on the witness of the martyrs, Cardinal Semeraro addressed a special message to the Salesians: “Today, in a certain sense, the legacy of these new Blesseds is placed in your hands: be shepherds of the flock with the same zeal that distinguished them”, and he also quoted the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te, in which Pope Leo speaks of “the great Salesian work, based on the three principles of the ‘preventive method’ – reason, religion and charity” (no. 70).

Words from the Rector Major of the Salesians

Before the blessing, Fr Fabio Attard, Rector Major of the Salesians, also offered a few words of thanks, emphasising that the newly beatified, in a world full of violence and fear, had remained faithful to Christ and to their Salesian vocation. For this reason, he paid tribute to their perseverance and their witness to holiness. “May it inspire us today, young and old alike, to profess our faith and remain faithful to our vocation, in hope and joy,” he said.

The young people’s thanksgiving

Following the ceremony in Kraków, which concluded with a message from the President of the Republic of Poland, a thanksgiving celebration organised by the young people was held in the evening in Oświęcim. This included a concert by Magda Anioł, a time of communal praise to God for the gift of beatification, and a joyful moment of fellowship among the participants. It was a time of gathering, prayer and community-building in an atmosphere of gratitude for the new Salesian blesseds.

The full text, in Italian, of Cardinal Semeraro’s homily is available at the bottom of the page.