Fr. Franciszek Harazim, Polish Salesian Martyr

Fr. Franciszek Harazim, Polish Salesian martyr

(ANS – Krakow – May 18, 2026) – Fr. Franciszek Harazim was born on August 22, 1885, in the village of Osiny in Silesia, the son of Karol and Maria Harazim. They formed a traditional Silesian family, in which they prayed and worked together, tending to their shared domestic life.

“I have become all things to all people, so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor 9:22). from the very beginning of his life, Fr. Franciszek was taught Christian values in his family home. Each day he knelt in prayer with his parents, thereby deepening his relationship with God. Regular reception of the sacraments was for him a sure path to meeting God in eternity. Confession was the last sacrament he received in his life.

Childhood and Youth

The talented Franciszek, in 1901 at the age of 16 was admitted to the Salesian school in Oswiecim. Two of his brothers also studied at the same school. There his spiritual life developed. He was a gifted man sensitive to beauty. On various school occasions, he wrote laudatory speeches (panegyrics), which were appreciated by both students and teachers.

Salesian Path

After completing his schooling, he entered the novitiate in Daszawa and on January 27, 1907, made his first religious vows. He spent one year of practical training in Oswiecim, and another in Turin, where he worked in the editorial office of the Salesian Bulletin. On March 24, 1910, he made his perpetual vows. He completed his theological studies in Foglizzo Canavese, and after their completion, he received priestly ordination on May 29, 1915, in Ivrea.

As a priest, Fr. Franciszek returned to Poland and was assigned to the Salesian school in Oswiecim, where in 1915–1916 he worked as a teacher. Subsequently, in 1916–1918, he served as the director of the secondary school, and from 1918 he was director of studies of the studentate of philosophy at Losiowka in Krakow, becoming its director in 1920.

In 1922–1927, he was the director of the secondary school in Aleksandrow Kujawski. After 16 years, in 1927, he returned to Krakow, again serving as councilor, lecturer, and educator in the Salesian seminary. In 1938, he was appointed professor in the house in Krakow-Losiowka.

He was remembered as a tactful, gentle, and humble superior. He did not place himself above others. He was respected and esteemed by his confreres, and liked and listened to by the young. His opinion was taken seriously. He was a spiritual pillar of the Salesian Congregation in Poland.

His literary talent was manifested, among other things, in the texts he wrote for the Mystery of the Passion, performed by generations of Salesians, for which the music was composed by Fr. Antoni Hlond (Chlondowski), a Salesian. Fr. Franciszek signed his works as Franciscus Silesius.

Martyrdom and Death   

World War II marked the beginning of the path of his martyrdom. He was arrested by the Gestapo on May 23, 1941, and sent to the Montelupich prison in Krakow. Together with other confreres, on  June 26,1941, he was transported to the concentration camp in Auschwitz.

On the 2nd day of his stay there, June 27, as a member of the penal company, he fell into the hands of a ruthless kapo. Prisoners were transporting stones to a ditch. Fr. Franciszek was thrown into it together with a loaded wheelbarrow.

Lying at the bottom with broken arms and legs, he was beaten by the kapo with a heavy stick. The perpetrator allowed only that another prisoner be called—a Salesian, Fr. Jozef Wybraniec—so that he might hear the confession of the dying Fr. Franciszek.

Beaten to death, Fr. Franciszek was dying while hearing blasphemous insults from the merciless kapo. Before his death, he was absolved by his confrere in a place where others thought that God was absent. Thruout his life, he faithfully received the sacraments. In the final hour of his life, he was also granted the grace of confession.

He was killed together with Fr. Kazimierz Wojciechowski, when both were strangled with a beam pressed against their throats. His body was burned in one of the crematoria. His love for his brethren endured until death.

Fr. Harazim died at the age of 56, in the 34th year of his religious profession and after 26 years of priesthood. His camp number was 17375.

Beatification Process  

Re: the process of beatification, see the end of Fr. Karol Golda’s sketch below.

Harazim – Video

Video I: 

EN

https://youtube.com/shorts/8w2undP5COs  

Video II:

EN

https://youtu.be/4RHkNpZFuq8 

 

Homily for 7th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
7th Sunday of Easter

May 17, 2026
John 17: 1-11
The Fountains, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

The Last Supper (by Dagnan-Bouveret)

“This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ” (John 17: 3).

Don’t most people want to live forever?  Live happily, of course, with sound health of body and mind and peace of heart.

Our Lord Jesus has already attained that eternal life, the life of the resurrection.  We believe that’s true also of his mother, our Blessed Lady, who was so intimately united with Jesus in this earthly life—united not only in a physical sense thru conceiving, birthing, and raising him in Nazareth but united also thru her will and her love, exemplified by her answer to God’s messenger, Archangel Gabriel:  “May it be done to me as you say,” i.e., God’s will be done in me.

That is knowing the only true God and the one whom he sent.  That’s God plan, his hearty desire, for each one of us, that we should attain eternal life with the Father and the Son thru their Holy Spirit.

How can we know God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ?  How can we unite our hearts and minds with them so that we may attain eternal life with them?

Our mother Mary gives us the 1st clue:  submitting our hearts, minds, and will to God.  May all that he wants for us be done!  May we carry out his will in us.

2d, we must come to know Jesus Christ more intimately.  We can’t do that physically like Mary.  But we can know him thru his word in the sacred Scriptures.  Read the Bible, especially the Gospels, where we meet and hear him speak.  We can open our hearts to him.  He tells us, “Knock, and the door will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7).

And that’s our invitation to prayer, the 3d means of knowing Jesus more intimately.  We open our hearts to him thru prayer.  We come to understand his words and knowing his will for us thru prayer—by speaking to him and listening to him.

Our 4th means of knowing Jesus more intimately is the sacraments.  We come to the Holy Eucharist, thru which our physical union with Jesus actually begins.  “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51).  That physical union leads us to spiritual union, the union of our hearts and wills with him.  So he “gives eternal life to all” whom the Father has given to him as his own people (17:2).

The other sacrament so essential for us (after we’ve been baptized and confirmed) is Reconciliation, the confession of our sins and forgiveness by having the grace of God’s Holy Spirit poured out upon us once more—by which we experience Jesus’ “abiding presence among us,” as we prayed in the collect.  His abiding presence in us is our eternal life, to his glory, the glory of God the Father, and our glory too.

Fr. Ignacy Antonowicz, Polish Salesian Martyr

Fr. Ignacy Antonowicz, SDB,
Polish Salesian Martyr

(ANS – Krakow – May 15, 2026) – Ignacy Antonowicz was born on July 14, 1890, in Wieclawice in the parish of Kowal in the Wloclawek district. His parents were Jakub and Jadwiga Valerius.

Childhood and Youth

In 1901 he entered the Salesian secondary school in Oswiecim, where he remained until 1905. He belonged to the 1st group of students of the Oswiecim institution. According to tradition, it was he who saved the Salesian Institute in Oswiecim from collapse by drawing the winning ticket in a lottery organized by Fr. Franciszek Trawinski and donating the prize to the Salesians.

Salesian Path

He completed his novitiate in Daszawa under Fr. Peter Tirone. In August 1909 he made his perpetual vows at Lanzo Torinese, Italy. He pursued philosophical studies in Rome, where he later obtained a doctorate in theology at the Gregorian University (1912–1916). He carried out his practical training in Radna at the studentate of philosophy and spent 2 years in Ljubljana.

He was ordained on April 23, 1916, in Rome by Bishop Capotosti. After ordination, in 1916–1917, he lectured in dogmatic theology in Salesian houses of study in Italy at Foglizzo and later at Cavaglià, attended also by Polish students.

From 1919 he served as a chaplain in General Haller’s army in Italy, France, and Poland.

In 1919–1920 he was a professor at the studentate of Philosophy in Krakow, and later again a military chaplain until 1921, when he was awarded the Cross of Valor. In 1923–1924 he was a professor of theology in Oswiecim and editor of Poklosie Salezjanskie. Later he became a catechist at the Oswiecim institution, then director of the Salesian house and secondary school in Aleksandrow. In subsequent years he served as director in Rozanystok.

On July 1, 1934, he was appointed a provincial councilor of the Krakow Province, a role he held until the end of 1936. In that year he became rector of the theological seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Krakow.

He was exemplary in religious life in every respect, a prudent educator, much sought after as a spiritual director in the confessional, and outstanding as a professor. He enjoyed universal esteem. He was arrested while returning from pastoral ministry as a confessor to religious sisters.

Arrest

On the tragic day of May 23, 1941, on the eve of the feast of Mary Help of Christians, he shared the fate of a group of Salesians from Krakow. As the director of the house at 39 Tyniecka Street, he was arrested and imprisoned together with others in the Montelupich prison in Krakow. There, mock trials, blasphemies, and brutal abuse inflicted upon completely defenseless and innocent Salesians exhausted Fr. Antonowicz.

After a short time in the Krakow prison, he was transferred with others to the concentration camp at Auschwitz. He returned to the city where 40 years earlier he had first crossed the threshold of the Salesian house—then as a young boy, now as a mature man, full of spiritual strength, a courageous son of Don Bosco.

Beatification Process

Concerning the beatification process, see the last section of the sketch on Fr. Karol Golda below.

Antonowicz – Videos in English

Ist video: https://youtu.be/KBS0_ICB7_o  

2d video: https://youtube.com/shorts/NA_tlFess5o  

 

Cooperators Celebrate 150 Years

Cooperators Celebrate 150 Years

The Association of Salesian Cooperators was approved by Pope Pius IX on May 9, 1876.  The whole Salesian Family has been celebrating their 150th anniversary.

The ASC’s Eastern U.S. Province held a province-wide festival on May 9 at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. It was organized by the Long Island Cooperators, with one part held both in person and by Zoom and a second part held in the various local centers.

A little over 40 people assembled in person at Ramsey, coming from 7 of the U.S. East Province’s 20 centers. (The Ramsey Cooperators hosted the event.)  Others participated online from at least 5 province centers plus 1 from the Canadian Province.

Provincial councilor Bernie Pontillo opened the event by leading everyone in the ASC’s sesquicentennial prayer.  Then all the participants prayed the Rosary, alternating decades in English and Spanish.

Joanne Fusaro, another provincial councilor, gave a powerful witness talk on prayer in her own life, particularly in relation to a serious surgery she had in November, on her surrender to God and the peace that brought her, on the blessing that our vocation is, and on the power of the witness to Christ that we can give.

A brief period of group discussion followed Joanne’s talk. Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB provincial, offered a few words, linking the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition last year to the ASC’s anniversary, to the 2026 Strenna, and to the roles of the different characters at the wedding feast in Cana.

Fr. Tom Dunne, SDB provincial delegate for the Cooperators, led everyone (in person and online) in renewing their Cooperator promise.  Bernie gave a “good night” (although it was noon) on how each of the province’s centers fulfills Don Bosco’s dream of helping the young in its own way.

With the digital portion of the program concluded, each center was free to continue the celebration locally.  In Ramsey, everyone moved to the school’s main chapel for Mass, at which Fr. Dominic presided and preached, and six SDBs concelebrated.

Fr. Dominic’s homily compared St. Paul’s inclusion of his companions in his missionary activity to Don Bosco’s inclusion of many others in his mission to preach the Gospel to the young and to ordinary people.  That includes 27,000+ Cooperators now.  As Christ sent his apostles, aided by the Holy Spirit, into a hostile world, so he now sends Salesians (lay and consecrated) whom he has chosen and appointed for his mission.

After Mass, the Cooperators, SDBs, and some youths who accompanied Cooperators from Port Chester continued to enjoy the day and the good company over a simple lunch (sandwiches, salad, and pastries) in Don Bosco Prep’s cafeteria.

42 photos: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/8wnKsr

Homily for Solemnity of the Ascension

Homily for the Solemnity of the
Ascension of the Lord

May 14, 2026
Collect
Acts 1: 1-11
Eph 1: 17-23
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

by John Singleton Copley

“The ascension of Christ your Son is our exaltation, and where the Head has gone before in glory, the Body is called to follow in hope” (Collect).

This is our hope:  that we belong to Christ—members of his Body, “baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:5)—and therefore we are empowered (1:8) to follow him and join him in the glory of heaven.

Having assumed our flesh and blood, our whole human nature, thru his incarnation, Jesus brings our humanity to heaven.  Bestowing his Holy Spirit upon us, he divinizes us and makes us worthy of divine sonship and of accompanying him into eternity.  What a glorious hope!

Paul reminds us:  “You may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones” (Eph 1:18), among the saints sanctified by the forgiveness of our sins and a firm union with our Lord Jesus.

Therefore, as the preface states, “We, his members, might be confident of following where he, our Head and Founder, has gone before.”  He is “head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way” (Eph 1:23).  Without us, Christ is incomplete; with us, he is full, or fulfilled.  This is our hope!

St. Augustine preaches, “We are already in heaven with him, even tho what is promised us hasn’t yet been fulfilled in our bodies.”[1]  We are already with him spiritually, as he is with us.  He has gone before us into glory; he calls us to follow him also in our bodies, for he is our exaltation, the one who lifts us up.  We follow him in hope.

[1] Sermon on the Lord’s Ascension, LOH 2:921.

Fr. Karol Golda, Polish Salesian Martyr

Fr. Karol Golda, Polish Salesian Martyr

(ANS – Krakow – May 13, 2026) – Fr. Karol Golda was born in Tychy in Upper Silesia on December 23, 1914, the son of Ludwik and Anna Golda. He spent his early school years in his hometown and attended secondary school in Pszczyna.

From his earliest years, one characteristic saying has been remembered. He loved being in elevated places. When asked what drew him there, he replied: “I must strive upward.” He was distinguished by a deep and edifying piety. He frequently received Holy Communion and gladly adored the Blessed Sacrament.

When he was 13, he came into contact with Salesian students from Oswiecim, their stories about life in the boarding school and community captivated him. He resolved to be admitted to Oswiecim.

Those responsible for the boarding school initially rejected his request. He went personally to the director and was accepted conditionally. That was enuf for him. His parents tried to dissuade him, explaining that life in such an institution might be too difficult; they presented him with prospects of a comfortable future in the world.

Yet they already sensed that in the heart of their young son there had arisen a desire to dedicate his life entirely to God. At that time, young Karol repeated the words of St. Stanislaus Kostka: “I was born for greater things.”

From that moment, God led him along a path not always easy, but certain—a path of truth and salvation. His school years were marked by diligent study and steady moral growth. He was characterized by conscientiousness in fulfilling his duties and by a warm attitude toward his superiors and fellow students. He was also a good athlete, showing agility, strength, and grace.

Salesian Path

In 1931, at the age of only 16, he was admitted to the Salesian novitiate in Czerwinsk. One of his companions wrote of him: “Despite his very young age, he showed that he took the formation of his spirit very seriously.” On July 23, 1932, he completed the novitiate and made temporary vows.

He continued his formation in Marszalki, where he finished secondary school and then undertook studies in philosophy and the sciences. He was exceptionally helpful toward his fellow students, assisting the weaker ones not only in their studies but also in various practical matters. It is no surprise that he received a very favorable evaluation from his superiors: “Cleric Karol Golda—distinguished by a good spirit, very talented, fond of mathematics and philosophy, ready for any work.”

This opinion enabled him later to be sent to Rome to study at the Gregorian University.

After completing his secondary education, he was sent for practical training to Daszawa, where he worked with boys. There he had the opportunity to demonstrate his educational abilities. He made full use of all the pedagogical knowledge he had acquired. His love for sports attracted dozens of boys to him. He was able to organize them, energize even the slowest and most reluctant, and was present everywhere, attentive to everything. He encouraged the less active, calmed the more impetuous, and did all this with such kindness and fairness that no one protested—everyone accepted his guidance with good will.

Given such remarkable abilities, his superiors shortened his practical training and, in 1935, sent him to Rome for theological studies.

There, the deepening of theological knowledge became his principal occupation. He did not distract himself with secondary interests, which allowed him to grasp many complex issues. His favorite subjects were dogmatic theology and Sacred Scripture.

On January 15, 1937, he made his perpetual profession in Rome, and on December 18, 1938, he was ordained by in the Salesian basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome. The following day he celebrated his first Holy Mass in the Catacombs of St. Callistus. After obtaining a licentiate in theology, he returned to Poland in July 1939.

The outbreak of World War II found Fr. Golda in Poznan. With others, he went to the Salesian house in Lad. He remained remarkably calm, doing good to everyone around him. In October, he returned to Poznan, where he assisted in pastoral ministry at the Salesian church on Wroniecka Street.

He wished to continue his biblical studies, but the German authorities refused permission. His superiors then appointed him director of studies for a group of theology students in Oswiecim. He carried out this responsibility with seriousness and dedication. At the same time, he willingly engaged in all forms of priestly ministry, even serving for a time in the parish of Myslowice.

His piety deepened continually. He came to love deeply the common religious life, in which he found warmth and a family-like atmosphere—something every human heart longs for.

Arrest

On December 31, 1941, the Gestapo arrested Fr. Golda and imprisoned him in the nearby death camp of KL Auschwitz. The reason for his arrest was specific. Fr. Karol devoted himself zealously to the confessional, reconciling people with God. He served everyone, including those who spoke German.

For some time, one of the German soldiers had been coming to him quite frequently for confession. He was a sincere Catholic who had been conscripted into the army. It was well known that Hitler’s military regulations forbade soldiers to receive the sacraments privately. Moreover, Polish priests were not permitted to carry out priestly ministry to Germans. Fr. Karol was aware of the grave consequences that awaited him for this reason. The vigilant eye of the Gestapo soon detected the “offense” of the Polish priest. Fr. Karol was arrested and taken to the concentration camp, while the penitent was sent to the Eastern Front.

Martyrdom and Death   

Fr. Karol endured 5 months of true martyrdom, during which he was not spared torture or confinement in the starvation bunker. Even among the local SS, there prevailed the opinion that Fr. Golda died as a victim of the seal of confession. One of his confreres wrote of him: “He fell at his priestly post. Supernatural love compelled him to embrace it. If his entire life had been a mastery of the will over trying circumstances and nerves, then in a heroic manner he accomplished this in his final experiences in the camp. Even those ill-disposed toward him were forced to pay tribute to his holy and unyielding priestly will.”

On May 14, 1942, Fr. Karol Golda, camp number 18160, died in Auschwitz, only 28 years of age. A merciless martyr’s death tore from the ranks of the Salesians a priest full of zeal, an exemplary religious, and a gifted educator. He died in the 9th year of his religious profession and the 3rd year of his priesthood. He bore.

Beatification Process  

Fr. Karol Golda is one of the 122 Servants of God for whom the beatification process of the 2nd group of Polish martyrs of World War II began on September 17, 2003. On May 24, 2011, the diocesan phase concluded in Pelplin, and all documentation was forwarded to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome. The Positio was submitted on July 21, 2022. The postulator of the cause is Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, Salesian postulator general.

On March 28, 2023, the historical consultors of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints issued a positive opinion regarding the Positio suppletiva super martyrio of Fr. Jan Swierc and 8 companions, Salesian priests murdered in odium fidei in German extermination camps in 1941–1942. On October 24, 2025, Pope Leo XIV ordered the promulgation of the decree on martyrdom.

Mary Domenica Mazzarello: Simplicity Blossoms into Holiness

Mary Domenica Mazzarello: Simplicity That Blossomed into Salesian Holiness

(ANS – Rome – May 13, 2026) - There are lives that don’t make noise, yet leave behind a light that continues to shine across generations. St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello lived such a life. Born in Mornese on May 9, 1837, into a hardworking Christian farming family, Mary grew up among the vineyards, the silence of prayer, the discipline of daily labor, and the quiet wisdom of a home where faith was not merely taught but lived.

Her simplicity was never emptiness. It was transparency. She didn’t possess the privileges of refined education, yet she possessed something deeper: a heart open to God, an intelligence shaped by life, and a soul trained by catechism, spiritual reading, and the guidance of Fr. Dominic Pestarino. In her, holiness did not arrive dressed in extraordinary signs. It grew in the ordinary soil of work, prayer, sacrifice, service, joy, and constant fidelity.

The Lord led her thru the path of fragility. In 1860, during an outbreak of typhus, Mary accepted the request to care for sick relatives and became gravely ill herself, losing the physical strength that had made her so capable in the fields. What seemed like a defeat became a new beginning. No longer able to return to her former work, she learned sewing with her friend Petronilla and opened a workshop for poor girls, so that they might learn both a skill for life and the love of God. In that humble workshop, the Salesian spirit was already taking flesh: education thru presence, prevention thru affection, salvation thru work, faith, and joy.

When Don Bosco came to Mornese in 1864, Mary Domenica immediately recognized in him a man of God: “Don Bosco is a saint, and I feel it.” But her relationship with Don Bosco was not a mere imitation of external forms. She received his charism, allowed it to pass thru her own womanly genius, and gave it the face of a mother, a sister, an educator, and a guide. Salesian scholarship rightly speaks of her “creative fidelity”: she was not a passive instrument, but a responsible collaborator who embodied Don Bosco’s spirit thru austerity, simplicity, and the continuous gift of herself.

On August 5, 1872, with the profession of the first Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco’s dream received a feminine and maternal expression. The Institute itself recognizes that it was born from the heart of Don Bosco and from the creative fidelity of Mary Domenica Mazzarello, for the human, Christian, and Salesian education of young people, especially girls and young women. In her, the Salesian charism appeared in its fullness: pastoral charity, family spirit, joy, work, prayer, devotion to Mary Help of Christians, and a burning educational love for the poorest.

Mother Mazzarello led without dominating. She called herself the “vicar,” because for her the true superior was our Lady. This humility did not make her weak; it made her strong with the strength of God. She knew how to correct with firmness and tenderness, to accompany with delicacy, and to preserve joy even in hardship. In her letters, the heart appears as a garden to be cultivated daily, clearing away whatever might choke grace and allowing charity, peace, and good will to grow. For her, cheerfulness was the sign of a heart that truly loves the Lord, and sanctity was the patient transformation of life by the love of Jesus.

Her motherhood knew no borders. In 1877, the first FMA missionaries left for Uruguay, soon followed by foundations in Argentina. Though oceans separated her from her daughters, she remained close thru prayer, letters, and offering, assuring them that they were always present in her heart and among the first in her prayers. The simplicity of Mornese opened itself to the world, because a heart that belongs entirely to God becomes wide enough to embrace everyone.

Mary Domenica Mazzarello died at Nizza Monferrato on May 14, 1881, only 44 years old, yet her brief life had already become a springtime for the Salesian Family. In her, Don Bosco’s “Da mihi animas, caetera tolle” took the face of a mother: humble in service, strong in guidance, joyful in love, and holy in the everyday. She still reminds us that the greatness of a charism is not measured by noise, success, or visibility, but by the fruitfulness of a simple heart where God is free to dwell and from which He can reach the young, the Church, and the world.

Homily for Tuesday, Week 6 of Easter

Homily for Tuesday
6th Week of Easter

May 12, 2026
Acts 16: 22-34
Christian Bros., St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

https://www.ourtruelegacy.com/resources/studies/
book-of-acts/acts-16-that-was-no-coincidence

“What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16: 30).

Commentators, some of them at least, hold that the jailer thought Paul and Silas were sorcerers of some kind.  They’d been attacked, beaten, and jailed because they’d exorcised a slave girl, and now an earthquake has released them from their chains.  So the jailer is afraid of their power and asks what he has to do to be safe from it.

Regardless of what induced him to ask how to be safe or be saved, Paul points him right to the Gospel.  Jesus saves us.  Paul and Silas explain that, succinctly summarized by Luke:  “They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house” (16:32).

The jailer and his household believe, are baptized, and respond with an act of charity—a meal for the 2 apostles—and with rejoicing (16:33-34).

If we believe that the Lord Jesus is our Savior, we respond in the same way—with charity and with joy.  “A sad saint is a sorry saint” has been attributed to several saints, especially to St. Francis de Sales.  If Jesus lives in our hearts,[1] how can we be sad?  We must be joyful if we believe Jesus forgives our sins and makes us friends of God.  We ought to radiate happiness, and of course charity as well:  kindness, patience, and forgiveness, those down-to-earth virtues of daily living, easy to speak of, harder to practice.

That’s why Jesus provides us with an Advocate to help us (John 16:7).  May he help us love one another joyfully.

---

[1] An allusion to the invocation the Brothers make at the end of every Mass:  “Live Jesus in our hearts—forever.”

6th World Congress of Salesian Cooperators

6th World Congress of Salesian Cooperators

By Daniela Pettinao

(ANS – Sacrofano, Italy – May 11, 2026) – The 6th World Congress of the Association of Salesian Cooperators drew to a close on Sunday, May 10. Held at Sacrofano, near Rome, the congress not only provided a snapshot of the Association, which has just celebrated its 150th anniversary, but building on the journey already undertaken, reflected on the relevance of its presence within the Salesian Family and on its future.

In his closing address, the new world coordinator, Borja Perez, began with the analysis presented by the Association’s 11 Regions, all of which were present at the Congress. It reveals a wounded, polarized, unequal world—a world in which many young people experience uncertainty, loneliness, and a lack of reference points. It also reveals a Church in transition, seeking new languages, new structures, and new paths of synodality. In this context, the Association is at a decisive juncture, with major strengths represented by a charism that is both contemporary and necessary; a vibrant presence on the peripheries; an Association that is a community, which supports and accompanies, and possesses an admirable capacity for resilience.

These strengths, however, are counterbalanced by certain elements of fragility, such as an aging membership; a lack of generational renewal; a vocational identity that is sometimes unclear; formation that is still too uneven; weak communication; and a limited socio-political presence.

Drawing on the numerous insights from the various contributions, both from the rector major and from the group work carried out over the previous 3 days, Mr. Perez outlined the initial program guidelines for the next 6-year term.

The 1st is the creation of two regions on the African continent, which currently forms a single region. The proposal, submitted for consideration by the world council, reveals, alongside its positive and appropriate aspects, certain weaknesses as well; for this very reason, a study commission will be established to carry out the necessary assessments.

Similarly, the 2d working proposal is not a ready-made text for approval, but the start of a process that involves setting up a technical-advisory team to assist the world council in amending the Project of Apostolic Life. The Project of Apostolic Life is not a static document, but a genuine charter that evolves with the Association. The aim of the working group is precisely to keep it ever relevant and vibrant, giving shape and response to the many requests received over the last 8 years by the world executive secretariat.

All the hard work that accompanied the Congress, the joy, the dreams, and the hopes were brought to the closing Mass presided over by the rector major. The symbolism that accompanied the celebration was very rich, from the hymns to the offertory. During the offertory, in addition to the bread and wine, some building materials were also brought to the altar, notably a trowel and some bricks. Both represented the desire and determination of the Congress participants to build an Association that is a place of genuine welcome, care, and integral growth, so that every young person, instead of ending up on the streets, may find a HOME within the Salesian Family.

Next, a lamp and some salt were brought forward to bear witness to how, enriched by the light of the Spirit, the Lord makes us aware that we have been chosen, called, and sent together on mission.

At the end of Mass, Fr. Fabio Attard invited all the participants to perform one final gesture. Each person present thus received a piece of a jigsaw puzzle which is not merely a memento, but a task: to bring a fragment of this plan of God that is the Association into their own contexts, knowing that it finds its full meaning only in the coming together of many small, diverse, and unique fragments that are united. For, as Don Bosco taught: three pieces of string alone break, but combined they are strong and no one can break them!

Church Embraces Science to Find God in Creation

Pope to Vatican Observatory: Church embraces science to find God in Creation

As he meets with the Vatican Observatory Foundation, Pope Leo XIV upholds the Catholic Church’s desire to seek God in His creation through rigorous, honest science.

By Devin Watkins (Vatican News)

Pope Leo met with the board of the Vatican Observatory (Vatican Media)

Pope Leo XIV held an audience on Monday, May 11, with the board of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.

In his address, the Pope recalled that Pope Leo XIII re-founded the Vatican Observatory in 1891, at a time when science was being presented as a rival source of truth to religion.

The 19th-century Pope said he was re-founding the institution so that, “everyone might see clearly that the Church and her pastors are not opposed to true and solid science, whether human or divine, but that they embrace it, encourage it, and promote it with the fullest possible devotion.”

However, in our own times, both faith and science face a more insidious threat from those who deny the very existence of objective truth, said Pope Leo XIV.

“Too many in our world refuse to acknowledge what both science and the Church plainly teach,” he said, “that we bear a solemn responsibility for the stewardship of our planet and for the welfare of those who dwell upon it, especially the most vulnerable, whose lives are imperiled by the reckless exploitation of both people and the natural world.”

The Church’s desire to study the heavens through astronomy, he added, shows that she embraces “rigorous, honest science” as an essential aspect of her identity.

Human beings enjoy the God-given gift to gaze with wonder at the sun, moon, and stars, said Pope Leo.

As we gaze at the night sky, we enjoy a treasury of beauty open to rich and poor alike, which the Pope noted remains one of the last truly universal sources of joy in our divided world.

“Contemplating the heavens invites us to see our fears and failings in the light of God’s immensity,” he said.

Pope Leo XIV went on to lament that man-made light has blinded us to the lights God has placed in the heavens, which he said makes the work of the Vatican Observatory more important than ever.

The work of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, he said, helps students study astronomy through summer schools and workshops.

In this way, the Foundation allows the Vatican Observatory’s telescopes to remain “places where the glory of God’s Creation is encountered with reverence, depth, and joy.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV urged the faithful to never lose sight that the Christian religion is based on the Incarnation, since God made Himself known through His Creation and sent His only Son to redeem it.

“The hunger to understand Creation more fully,” he said, “is nothing less than a reflection of that restless longing for God, which lies at the heart of every human soul.”

Fr. Jan Swierc & His Companions

Fr. Jan Swierc & His Companion Martyrs

Who were they?

(ANS – Krakow – May 11, 2026) – As we look forward to the beatification ceremony of the 9 Salesian educator-martyrs of World War II, we can see in them witnesses to the faith, persevering and faithful shepherds to the very end, despite the difficult trials they faced. The recognition of their holiness will preserve their memory even more for the benefit of . today’s younger generations, who need exemplars.

John Paul II, in a letter addressed to Fr. Tadeusz Szaniawski, then pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Krakow, wrote on October 2, 1996: “I remember the Salesian priests, of whom only the elderly pastor and the provincial remained during the war, while all the others were deported to Auschwitz.”

During the beatification process, several witnesses highlighted their priestly and pastoral zeal and recognized them as outstanding priests, worthy of remembrance and veneration.

The witnesses also recounted that during the cold, dark nights in the concentration camp alongside other prisoners, often condemned to death, the Salesians, despite the ban imposed on them, celebrated the Eucharist, administered the sacrament of Penance, and prepared many souls deprived of their identity and human dignity for death. The fire of their love, which burned most intensely during the most dramatic hours, echoes in the accounts of the witnesses who, among the many victims of the concentration camps, recognized in the 9 Servants of God an exceptional and unique witness.

A witness to the sufferings endured in the concentration camp by the future Blessed Fr. Ludwik Mroczek, SDB, recounts: “ In the evenings I would go to visit Fr. Mroczek. Conversations with him brought comfort. With his simple faith and his frank words, he knew how to win people over and reassure them. In everything he knew how to point out God’s purpose. His simplicity and kindness had a calming effect on people in that sea of anger, hatred, resentment, and suffering that surrounded the venerable priest. We loved him. He was a titan of suffering.”

In the heart of the hell of the concentration camp, what is most astonishing are 2 attitudes: unshakeable faith and the capacity to forgive. In the accounts of Fr. Jan Swierc’s martyrdom, we read how he prayed at the moment of death: “O Jesus, O Jesus, have mercy on us.” His prayer provoked the anger of one of the kapos, who said to him: “Wait, in a moment I will show you Jesus; there is no God here; he will not help you. He will not snatch you from my hands.” The cruelty of the executioner did not interrupt Fr. Jan’s trusting dialog with the Lord, to whose will he had entrusted everything. From the lips of the Servant of God, who implored his Savior unceasingly, came only a plea for mercy.

Another noteworthy testimony concerns Fr. Karol Golda. The concentration camp became for him a place of apostolate: “Fr. Karol had a serene disposition; he was an optimist and knew how to convey to others a calmness of spirit and self-control. He spent his free time with his fellow prisoners. The Servant of God comforted them, supported them, heard their confessions, and accompanied them on their final journey. No one is able to describe the immensity of his priestly work, carried out in secret. He did all this with joy and zeal, because he knew that the Lord had sent him there precisely for this purpose”

Saint John Paul II wrote: “Martyrdom is, in the end, a shining sign of the Church’s holiness: fidelity to God’s holy law, witnessed to thru death, is a solemn proclamation and a missionary commitment usque ad sanguinem [to the point of blood] so that the splendor of moral truth may not be obscured in the customs and mindset of individuals and society” (Veritatis Splendor, 93).

And on another occasion, returning to the subject of the martyrs of the 20th century, he recalled that martyrs are a light for the Church and for humanity: “Christians in Europe and thruout the world, bowing in prayer at the gates of concentration camps and prisons, must be grateful for that light of Christ which they have made shine forth in the darkness” (“Address by John Paul II during his visit to the Church of the Basilian Fathers,” 7th Apostolic Journey to Poland, June 11, 1999).

“We believe that the martyr’s death of our Salesian martyrs will be a source of inspiration for future generations, particularly for young followers of Christ, who, looking to their example, will find in them wonderful models of how to follow Christ in today’s world, remaining faithful to him until the end”—this is the emotional comment from the Salesians in Poland.

Homily for 6th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
6th Sunday of Easter

May 10, 2026
Acts 8: 5-8, 14-17
1 Pet 3: 15-18
John 14: 15-21
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

Philip preaching the Good News in Samaria
https-goodnewsshared.wordpress.com2023-04-26

“The crowds paid attention to what Philip said when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing” (Acts 8: 6).

Philip was one of the deacons appointed by the apostles along with Stephen and 5 other men (Acts 6:5).  After Stephen’s martyrdom, he proclaimed Christ to the people of Samaria, and they listened, in part because of what he did as well as what he said.

How do we get people to pay attention to the Gospel?  Polls tells us that only about 25% of Catholics come to Sunday Mass regularly.  When we look at what goes on in the world around us—whether here in New York or in the wider world—we might well wonder how Catholics can be so indifferent about Christ and so much evil can be around us.  G.K. Chesterton wrote that the only Christian doctrine for which there is demonstrable evidence is original sin.[1]  We see its evidence every day in the headlines, in our neighborhoods, and in ourselves.

Philip preached in Samaria with words and signs.  People paid attention and were converted.  I don’t know personally anyone who’s driven demons out of possessed people or cured cripples (8:7); I’ve only heard about it.  Most of us aren’t going to win people for Christ that way.

What we can do is to have a very clear idea of what we believe—not only about original sin but also about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; about the forgiveness of sins; about death, judgment, heaven, and hell; about the Holy Spirit’s abiding presence in the Catholic Church—which Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel:  “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16-17).

More important than our knowledge of our faith is that we take all that knowledge to heart and put it into practice.  These are the signs that we can do:  living out what Jesus teaches us, being faithful in our deeds and not only in our words.  If Jesus tells us to keep his commandments, do we actually do that?  If the Spirit of truth is with us, are we truthful, honest, upright people—in our families, in our workplaces, in our leisure time?  If Jesus tells us to love one another, do we sincerely try to do that, especially when it’s a challenge, when we’re tired, when we get impatient, when our plans go sideways?  If Jesus tells us to forgive offenses—as we pray all the time in the Our Father—do we actually forgive, or at least try to forgive, want to forgive altho we’re hurting?

It’s been said more than once that you may be the only Gospel that someone else may read.  St. Peter tells us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope” (I, 3:15).  That implies that people observe our way of living and our manner of speech, that they see a reflection of Jesus in us.  That’s a sign—as in the signs that we can do to make the Gospel known and believable.  It’s an opening to say a few words, then, about what we believe and why—to make Jesus real and believable, to give evidence to the world that Jesus is alive, he lives in us (John 14:30), he loves us, and he’s worth listening to and following.  He is the “reason for our hope”; he leads us to God (1 Pet 3:18).

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[1] “Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.” Orthodoxy, “The Maniac,” p. 1

John Paul II on the Polish Salesian Martyrs

The Testimony of Pope John Paul II on the Polish Salesian Martyrs

Fr. Jan Swierc and his companions

Photo ©: Archivio PLS (Fr. Andrzej Golebiowski, SDB, and G. Galazka)

(ANS – Krakow – May 8, 2026) – As spiritual preparations continue for the beatification ceremony of the Salesian martyrs of World War II, we cannot overlook the testimony of Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, who grew up in the parish of Debniki in Krakow, where the Salesians have been present since 1918.

In the book Gift and Mystery, John Paul II wrote: “I cannot, in fact, fail to mention an environment and, within it, a figure from whom I received so much during that period. The environment was my parish, dedicated to St. Stanislaus Kostka, in Debniki, Krakow. The parish was run by the Salesians, who were one day deported by the Nazis to a concentration camp. Only an elderly parish priest and the provincial superior remained; all the others were interned.”

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Salesian parish, too, as Pope he sent a very personal letter, in which he wrote, “It is the second parish, after Wadowice, in which I discovered and deepened my understanding of the mystery of the Church, that special community of the People of God which has its origin in the love of the Father.... There, too, within the community of the parish of Debniki, my priestly vocation matured fully and came to fruition.”

We have also received 2 further testimonies that highlight. the importance and significance of this place: “It is well known that I spent the decisive years of my life in a certain Salesian parish, the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Krakow… I also saw with my own eyes 8 or 10 Salesians being taken to the camp. Most of them met their deaths ... in the camp, during the war. So all this is connected in some way, and by coming here, to the places where the Salesian movement was born, I relive the experience I had during my encounter with the Salesians, with Don Bosco, thru those priests who all went to the concentration camp. They wanted one of them [Blessed Joseph Kowalski] to throw the rosary on the ground and trample it; he did not obey, and so he was tortured to death.

“So, no matter who a person is—even if it is the Pope—he cannot free himself from personal relationships, from what he has experienced first-hand. I must say that a significant part, indeed the decisive part, of my life was spent alongside the Salesians in the parish they ran. And there I also found the environment and the people who helped me to be converted – not in the sense of a return to the faith, but of rediscovering my vocation.” (John Paul II, Private remarks addressed to the cardinals, the bishops of Piedmont and the Salesians, during his visit to Turin-Valdocco, Sept. 3, 1988)

The 2nd testimony is the homily delivered in the Salesian church of Debniki: “I shall never forget that day when you parishioners, especially we young people, gathered around our priests, learnt that all or almost all the priests of the parish of Debniki and of the Salesian province had been arrested and, shortly afterwards, deported to a concentration camp.

“Just like Fr. Maximilian Maria Kolbe. And most of them never returned from there. We keep their names in our memory and remembrance. Some left this world with a reputation for holiness.”

The sacrifice of life made by the Salesians at that time became the catalyst for 11 new vocations, born precisely from that environment. Among these was also the vocation of Karol Wojtyla. He himself spoke of it thus: “I remember those times in a very personal way, too. I am convinced that the prayers and sacrifices of my brothers, my sisters, and the pastors of that time contributed to the priestly vocation to which I came precisely during that period and here in this parish.... They paid not only with kind words, not only with the noble example of their lives, but also with the sacrifice of their martyred blood” (January 30, 1972, homily on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination).

Altho it is difficult to establish with certainty whether Karol Wojtyla made the decision to become a priest when he witnessed the tragic events involving the Salesians who were arrested and deported to the camp, the preserved testimonies, especially the words regarding his vocational conversion, suggest that this decision, so significant for him, was made under the influence of that event.

He certainly had very close contact with the Salesians serving in Krakow. He lived in a house 500 yards from the church and every day, before going to work, he attended Mass and private prayer there. The Servant of God Fr. Ignacy Dobiasz celebrated his father’s funeral in February 1940.

Homily for Friday, Week 5 of Easter

Homily for Friday
Week 5 of Easter

May 8, 2026
Acts 15: 22-31
Salesian HS, New Rochelle

St. Paul, Christ, & St. James the Just
with Council of Jerusalem in lower right
By Jules & Jenny from Lincoln, UK - Norwich Cathedral, Stained glass window, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81283991

The Church faced a crisis about 20 years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  The Gospel was preached 1st to the Jews, Jesus’ own people.  But before long, it was accepted and believed also by Gentiles, e.g., in Antioch, one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire, and in Syria and in St. Paul’s home province, Cilicia.  The crisis was whether the Gentiles had to convert to Judaism and accept the Law of Moses in order to become Christians.  Is the Gospel an add-on to Judaism?

So the apostles and elders met in Jerusalem to debate that, which you heard in yesterday’s 1st reading.  They decided, no, the Gentiles don’t have to become Jews.  They have only to follow some basic moral principles, which they outlined, as we heard today.

The 1st principle was no idolatry, no connection to pagan gods.  Nothing must come between us and God.  For us, that means, e.g., that on Sunday nothing must come between us and worshiping God in church:  not sports, not work, not sleeping in.

The 2d principle was abstaining from blood.  Blood represents life.  Only God has the power of life and death.  So we have to respect him as the Lord of life:  no murder, no assault, no abortion, no assisted suicide, nothing that disrespects the life and dignity of any person.

The 3d principle concerned marriage, i.e., our sexual behavior.  God designed sex for transmitting life, for family life, and that must guide our behavior as followers of Christ.

That’s what the apostles decided, so that the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, might come to everyone, and everyone could come to eternal life thru Jesus.