Rite of Beatification for Fr. Jan Swierc and Companions

The Rite of Beatification for Fr. Jan Swierc and Companions

Photos: Karolina Krzyminska

(ANS – Krakow – June 8, 2026) – On Saturday, June 6, at the St. John Paul II Shrine in Krakow, 9 Polish Salesian martyrs were beatified: Frs. Jan Swierc, Ignacy Antonowicz, Ignacy Dobiasz, Karol Golda, Franciszek Harazim, Franciszek Miska, Ludwik Mroczek, Wlodzimierz Szembek, and Kazimierz Wojciechowski.

Greetings from the archbishop of Krakow

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 Rys, archbishop 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 World War II 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 Krakow Province, presented a brief biography of the priests. Card.  Semeraro then read the Pope’s apostolic letter, in which the Holy Father, in response to the request of the archbishop of Krakow, as well as other bishops and the faithful, granted the elevation to the honors of the altars of the Venerable Servants of God Jan Swierc and his 8 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 May 23, 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 martyrs had been baptized and representatives of their families carried relics associated with the lives of the new blesseds during a solemn procession. During the procession, everyone sang the beatification hymn “Jak zloto w ogniu” (Like gold in the fire).

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

Cardinal Semeraro’s homily

Card. Semeraro emphasized that the newly beatified join the “immense multitude” of martyrs and saints mentioned in the book of Revelation. He recalled St. John Paul II, St. Faustina Kowalska, and Venerable Jan Tyranowski. He also mentioned the parish of St. Stanislaus Kostka in Debniki, served by the Salesians, which played an important role in shaping Karol Wojtyla’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 Swierc 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 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, Card. 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

Before the final blessing, Fr. Fabio Attard also offered a few words of thanks, emphasizing 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 Krakow, which concluded with a message from the president of Poland, a thanksgiving celebration organized by the young people was held in the evening in Oswiecim. This included a concert by Magda Aniol, 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 Card. Semeraro’s homily is available: Omelia_della_Beatificazione.docx

Martyrdom Cause of 9 Polish Salesians Moves Ahead

Theological Consultants Approve Positio super Martyrio of Salesians Jan Swierc and Companions

(ANS – Vatican City – December 5, 2024) – On December 3, the theological consultants of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, during their special meeting, answered in the affirmative regarding the Positio super martyrio of the Servants of God Jan Swierc and 8 Companions, priests of the Society of St. Francis de Sales, killed out of hatred for the faith in the Nazi death camps in 1941-1942. The Positio had been delivered on July 21, 2022, with Fr. Szczepan Tadeusz Praskiewicz, OCD, as rapporteur, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB, as postulator, and Dr. Mariafrancesca Oggianu as collaborator. The 9 consultants were called upon to answer the question concerning the reputation of martyrdom and its cause. On the basis of this judgement, the cardinal and bishop members of the dicastery will be able subsequently to express their judgment concerning their martyrdom.

On June 27, 1941, Frs. Swierc, Ignacy Dobiasz, Franciszek Harazim, and Kazimierz Wojciechowski died at the hands of the SS in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, Poland. The last 2 of these Servants of God, specifically, were killed, side by side at the same time. Servant of God Fr. Ignacy Antonowicz died 3 weeks later, on July 21, 1941, as a result of the mistreatment suffered precisely on June 27, 1941. On January 5, 1942, the Servant of God Fr. Ludwik Mroczek also died due to torture and numerous surgical operations. A few months later, on May 14, 1942, Fr. Karol Golda was shot in the same camp, accused of having heard the confessions of 2 German soldiers. On September 7, 1942, the Servant of God Wlodzimierz Szembek also died in the Auschwitz camp: in his case too, it was the mistreatment that caused his death. All the Servants of God mentioned belonged to the Krakow Province. Servant of God Fr. Franciszek Miska, a member of the Salesians’ Pila Province, died in the Dachau concentration camp (Germany) on May 30, 1942, as a result of ill-treatment and torture.

Servants of God Fr. Jan Swierc and 8 Companions witness that just when death seems to have achieved its victory, the real winners are those who suffered for the faith and were able to participate in an extraordinary way in the Cross of Christ and adhere to its saving plan. Taking up the words of Pope Francis, “the Lord always gives us the strength; he does not fail us. The Lord no longer tests us for what we can tolerate. He is always with us.” This is why the 9 Servants of God were able to accept martyrdom, supported by the same certainty with which the apostle Paul wrote, “I can do all things in Him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).

This news was received with great joy especially by the provinces of Krakow and Pila, the Salesian Family of Poland, and the Christian communities of origin of the Servants of God. Fr. Cameroni, postulator general for the Causes of Saints of the Salesian Family, said, “The martyrdom of these Salesian confreres who faced persecution and death with fortitude for the name of Jesus is an example for us. They are our intercessors in living our Baptism consistently and persevering in faith in the hour of trial and temptation.”