(ANS – Rome) – On Wednesday, June 17, 2026, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Rome celebrated a solemn Mass of thanksgiving for the beatification of Fr. Jan Świerc and his eight fellow Polish Salesian martyrs, who were recently raised to the honors of the altar. The celebration was presided over by Fr. Fabio Attard, Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and concelebrated by Salesians from the Community of the Generalate, together with other confreres from Salesian houses in Rome. The liturgy took place in an atmosphere of profound gratitude, spiritually uniting the worldwide Salesian Family with the beatification ceremony held on June 6, 2026, in Kraków, Poland.
The nine Polish Salesian martyrs
Father Jan Świerc and his eight companions—Ignacy Antonowicz, Ignacy Dobiasz, Karol Gołda, Franciszek Harazim, Ludwik Mroczek, Włodzimierz Szembek, Kazimierz Wojciechowski, and Franciszek Miśka—were killed between 1941 and 1942 in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau out of “hatred of the faith” during the Second World War. All of them were engaged in Salesian educational and pastoral work before being arrested by the Nazi regime following the occupation of Poland on September 1, 1939. It is worth noting that the youngest of the group, Fr. Karol Gołda, made his perpetual vows in this very Basilica of the Sacred Heart on January 15, 1937, and was ordained a priest on December 18, 1938.
The Witness of the Good Shepherd
During his homily, Fr. Attard drew on the Gospel image of the Good Shepherd, as presented in the Gospel of John, to interpret the witness of the nine blesseds in the light of faith. “The Good Shepherd remains and gives his life. Our blesseds chose to remain,” he stated, pointing to their sacrifice as the full expression of lives dedicated to the flock entrusted to them.
The Rector Major emphasized that the fidelity of the Salesian martyrs was not an improvised gesture, but the fulfillment of lives already lived as a daily gift. In particular, he recalled how some of them continued to exercise their priestly ministry even in the most dramatic circumstances, celebrating the Eucharist in secret, hearing confessions, and accompanying their companions up to the hour of their death.
A central part of the homily focused on forgiveness, presented as the highest expression of the Gospel’s victory over evil. The Rector Major recalled, among others, the witness of Fr. Włodzimierz Szembek, who urged prayers for his executioners, and Fr. Jan Świerc, who in his final moments invoked only the mercy of Jesus. “Forgiveness is not moral weakness. It is the highest way in which the Gospel triumphs over the logic of the world,” he said.
Martyrdom as a seed of vocations
Don Bosco’s 11th Successor recalled that “the sacrifice of our blesseds has generated life far beyond the borders of Poland and the Congregation,” noting that even the priestly vocation of St. John Paul II was strengthened by the prayers and sacrifices of these Salesian brothers, whose martyrdom became fruitful seed for new vocations in the Church and a living witness to the generative power of Christian martyrdom.
Celebrating the glory of Christ
As Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, stated in his homily at the beatification: “Today we do not celebrate the sadness of those events, but rather the glory of Jesus Christ, which is reflected in the witness of these priests, Sons of St. John Bosco, who, like Christ and with Christ, gave their lives.”
At the bottom of the page, the Rector Major’s homily (in Italian) is available for download.