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.