Fr. Ludwik Mroczek, Polish Salesian Martyr
Salesian
Path
Four
years later, he was admitted to the Salesian novitiate in Klecza Dolna, and
after completing it, on August 7, 1922, he made his first religious profession.
He completed his philosophical studies in Krakow, after which he undertook
practical training in Kielce and, in the following year, in Oswiecim. He made
his perpetual vows there on July 14, 1928. In 1928–1933, he studied theology at
the diocesan major seminary in Przemysl, where he was ordained on June 29, 1933,
by Bishop Franciszek Barda.
After
his first Mass, which was celebrated very solemnly by the people of his
hometown, who loved him dearly, he devoted himself with great zeal to work
among the youths in Salesian institutions. He worked in Oswiecim, Lviv, Przemysl,
Skawa, and again in Przemysl.
The
young especially loved their guardian, who was devoted to them with his whole
heart and tireless in fostering their wholesome activities; he knew in a
particular way how to draw them to the confessional and to the Table of the
Lord.
During
the war, the orphanage in Przemysl was seriously damaged, and the youths were
dispersed. Fr. Mroczek was transferred to pastoral work in Czestochowa, where a
parish dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Stradom had been entrusted to
the Salesians. After a year, he came to Krakow, to the so-called “Losiowka,”
that is, to the Salesian seminary. His task was catechesis in nearby schools.
Arrest
On
May 22, 1941, solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, while Fr. Mroczek was
celebrating Mass in the seminary chapel, the Gestapo arrived at the seminary to
arrest him. When the Gestapo officers entered the chapel and saw him
celebrating, they withdrew to the sacristy and waited for him there, searching
his room in the meantime.
The
reason given for his arrest was that he belonged to a military organization and
supported the activities of the Polish Army in the territory of the General
Government. This reason was fabricated, since Fr. Mroczek, apart from his work
among the young and in the confessional, was engaged in nothing else.
Fr. Mroczek (right of center) with Cardinal Hlond
Some
sources state that in 1939–1940 Fr. Ludwik was involved in the activities of
the Polish underground Union of Armed Struggle as a courier of the underground
press on the route Przemysl-Lviv and as a troop leader of the underground Scouting
movement—the Gray Ranks—in the area of Przemysl-Zasanie. A month later,
together with 11 confreres, he was transported from the Montelupich prison to
the concentration camp in Auschwitz, where, among other things, on June 27, 1941,
he was an eyewitness to the martyrdom of 4 of his confreres.
Martyrdom and
Death
Fr.
Ludwik survived that day of severe camp trial and remained alive; however,
having been brutally beaten, he suffered terrible pain, and the wounds caused
by the beating did not heal—they swelled and gradually filled his entire body
with infection.
Because
of his heroic endurance of camp suffering, he was given the name “the titan of
suffering.”
Here
are fragments from the testimony of one eyewitness:
“In the evenings I visited Fr. Mroczek.
Conversations with him were strengthening. He did not philosophize. With his
simple faith, expressed in simple words, he won over and calmed the listener.
In everything he was able to point to God’s purpose. His simplicity and
goodness brought relief to people, in this sea of anger, hatred, bitterness,
and suffering that afflicted this venerable priest. We came to love him.
“One evening Fr. Mroczek admitted that the
wound was not healing and, what is worse, that his right thigh was swelling and
causing him pain. I went to Dr. Turschmid. He promised to examine the matter.
The next day he found pus in the right thigh. Again anesthesia and a surgical
procedure. The suffering intensified. One day the surgeon found pus in his
right arm. Again anesthesia and surgery. And after a few days, pus in the left
arm. The whole of his body was filled with infection.
“Dr. Turschmid and Dr. Zablocki, with
great care, tho without hope, cleaned the deep wounds, washed them with
hydrogen peroxide, poured some kind of substitute over them, and carefully
bandaged them—unfortunately, only with paper. After the procedure, Fr. Mroczek
looked like an Egyptian mummy, bandaged from his ankles up to his neck.
“And how long will he still suffer?” I
asked, not expecting an answer. He thought for a moment and replied: “The
infection has already reached the lower abdomen. I think—from 3 hours to 3 days.
“After lights out that day, many shadows
of prisoners gathered around Fr. Mroczek’s bunk. Groans could be heard from all
sides of the ward. Many prisoners died that night.
“In the morning, when the rays of winter
light tried to break through the frozen window of that dreadful hospital
room—the eyes of Fr. Mroczek no longer opened. His face was full of brightness
and peace.”
Thus
the eyewitness.
Fr.
Ludwik Mroczek died on January 5, 1942, at the age of 36, in the 19th year of
his religious vows and the 8th year of his priesthood.
He
bore the camp number 17340.
Beatification Process
On
Fr. Mroczek’s beatification process, see the entry for Fr. Karol Golda below,
May 14.
Fr. Mroczek Videos:
video 1
EN https://youtube.com/shorts/JSTI2FewX0A
video 2
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