Fr. Franciszek Harazim, Polish Salesian martyr
“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
No comments:
Post a Comment