| Martyrs of Nowogródek | |
|---|---|
 The Eleven Nuns of Nowogródek by Adam Styka | |
| Born | 1888–1916 |
| Died | 1 August 1943,Novogrudok,Generalbezirk Weissruthenien,Reichskommissariat Ostland |
| Martyred by | TheNaziGestapo duringThe Holocaust |
| Means of martyrdom | Execution by firing squad |
| Venerated in | RomanCatholic Church[1] |
| Beatified | 5 March 2000,Vatican City,byPope John Paul II |
| Feast | 4 September |
TheBlessed Martyrs of Nowogródek, theEleven Nuns of Nowogródek orBlessed Mary Stella and her Ten Companions, were a group ofSisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth executed by theGestapo in August 1943 inoccupied Poland (present-dayNovogrudok,Belarus). They were beatified as martyrs byPope John Paul II on 5 March 2000.[2]
The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth had arrived inNowogródek, then part of theSecond Polish Republic, in 1929 at the request of Zygmunt Łoziński, theBishop of Pinsk. The Sisters became an integral part of the life of the town. In 1939, Nowogródek, located at that time in theKresy-part of interwar Poland (nowadays central Belarus), was annexed by the Soviet Union and incorporated into theByelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1941, the town was occupied by the German army as part of theOperation Barbarossa.
During the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Nowogródek, the Sisters invested great effort in preparing the residents of the town for religious services – asliturgical prayer became a beacon of hope amid the hopelessness of the occupation.[2]
The Nazi terror in Nowogródek began in 1942 with the extermination of the town's Jewish population as part ofOperation Reinhard. Of the town's pre-war population of 20,000, approximately half were Jews. The Germans murdered about 9,500 of the Jews in a series of "actions" and sent the remaining 550 Jews to slave labor camps. This was followed bya surge in Polish arrests, then the slaughter of 60 people, including twoCatholic priests. This situation was repeated on 18 July 1943, when more than 120 people were arrested and slated for execution.[2]
The women of the town turned to the Sisters to pray for the prisoners' release. After discussing the matter, the Sisters unanimously expressed their desire to offer their lives in sacrifice for the prisoners. The Superior of the community, Sister Maria Stella, C.S.F.N., shared the Sisters' decision with their localpastor, Father Zienkiewicz, telling him: "My God, if sacrifice of life is needed, accept it from us and spare those who have families. We are even praying for this intention." Almost immediately, the plans for the prisoners were changed to deportation to work camps in Germany, with some of them even being released. When the life of Zienkiewicz was threatened, the Sisters renewed their offer, saying, "There is a greater need for a priest on this earth than for us. We pray that God will take us in his place, if sacrifice of life is needed."[2]
Without warning or provocation, on 31 July 1943, the community was summoned by the local Gestapo commander to report to the local police station, where they were held overnight. The next morning, 1 August 1943, they were loaded into a van and driven beyond the town limits.[3] At a secluded spot in the woods about 3 miles from the town, the eleven women were machine gunned to death and buried in a common grave. Before reporting to the police station, Sister Stella had asked one member of the community, Sister M. Malgorzata Banas, C.S.F.N., who worked as a nurse in the local public hospital, to stay behind at the convent, whatever happened, to take care of the church and their pastor. She was the best candidate for that among the community as she wore civilian clothing due to her job. It was days before she and the townspeople knew that the Sisters had been killed. Eventually, Banas located their grave, quietly tending to it and the parish church during the war years and during the post-war Soviet occupation, until her death in 1966.[2] The Church of the Transfiguration, known asBiała Fara (or White Church), now contains the remains of the eleven Sisters.[2]
The eleven murdered Sisters are listed below, along with their birth names, dates of birth, and ages at the time of their deaths.[2][3][4]
| Religious Name | Birth Name | Birth Date | Age at Death |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sister M. Stella of the Blessed Sacrament, C.S.F.N., Superior | marAdelaide Mardosewicz | 14 Dec 1888 | 54 years old |
| Sister M. Imelda of theEucharistic Jesus, C.S.F.N. | zakJadwiga Karolina Żak | 29 Dec 1892 | 50 years old |
| Sister M. Rajmunda of Jesus, C.S.F.N. | kokAnna Kukołowicz | 24 Aug 1892 | 50 years old |
| Sister M. Daniela of Jesus, C.S.F.N. | jozEleonora Aniela Jóźwik | 25 Jan 1895 | 48 years old |
| Sister M. Kanuta of theAgonized Jesus in the Garden, C.S.F.N. | chrJózefa Chrobot | 22 May 1896 | 47 years old |
| Sister M. Gwidona ofDivine Mercy, C.S.F.N. | cieHelena Cierpka | 11 Apr 1900 | 43 years old |
| Sister M. Sergia ofOur Lady of Sorrows, C.S.F.N. | rapJulia Rapiej | 18 Aug 1900 | 42 years old |
| Sister M. Kanizja, C.S.F.N. | macEugenia Mackiewicz | 27 Nov 1903 | 39 years old |
| Sister M. Felicyta, C.S.F.N. | borPaulina Borowik | 30 Aug 1905 | 37 years old |
| Sister M. Heliodora, C.S.F.N. | matLeokadia Matuszewska | 8 Feb 1906 | 37 years old |
| Sister M. Boromea, C.S.F.N. | narVeronika Narmontowicz | 18 Dec 1916 | 26 years old |
Thebeatification process for the eleven Religious Sisters was officially opened on 18 September 1991, and, on 28 June 1999, it was announced by theCongregation for the Causes of Saints of theHoly See thatPope John Paul II had confirmed that they weremartyrs, having died for others in the name of the Catholic faith. Pope John Paul formallybeatified them, along with a group of thirty-three others, on 5 March 2000.[3][5]
Blessed Maria Stella of the Most Blessed Sacrament and 10 Companions, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Nazis on August 1, 1943, in Nowogródek, Poland (today Navahrudak, Belarus).
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