With the power of God’s grace, these seemingly weak women
bore witness to the power of true love, even to the point of martyrdom…
On December 3, 2024, the relics of our martyred sisters from Novogrodek were solemnly brought into the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Tiber Island (Basilica di San Bartolomeo all’Isola Tiberina). Since 2002, by the will of St. John Paul II, this basilica has been a place of remembrance and worship of the martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries (Santuario dei Nuovi Martiri del XX e XXI secolo). John Paul II said that the 20th and 21st centuries were a time of new martyrs, people who gave their lives for Christ following the example of the Christians of the first centuries. It was his deep desire that one of the Roman basilicas be dedicated to their worship and have an ecumenical character.
The Pope entrusted the community of Sant’Egidio, which was founded in 1968 as a result of the Second Vatican Council on the initiative of Andrea Riccardi, with the mission of creating such a sanctuary. The Polish Pope was familiar with the community’s mission and their commitment to peace and the poor, especially in the most remote peripheries of the contemporary world. The Basilica of St. Bartholomew, entrusted to the community, became a place of worship, a special place because it is associated not only with the holy Apostle, but also with St. Adalbert, as the church was built in his honor and the arm of the Apostle of the Prussians is still kept in the side chapel. Interestingly, the oldest image of the Saint can be seen on the well in the presbytery. Today, six side chapels in the basilica are dedicated to martyrs from different parts of the world. Two separate European chapels are dedicated to the victims of Nazism and Communism. Some of the relics have now been moved to a crypt, which has been converted into a modern multimedia memorial center, where the stories of the individual martyrs are presented within the context of the era in which they lived. There are mainly second-degree relics: everyday objects, habits, prayer books, letters from the martyrs. These objects are very moving for a contemporary pilgrim, as they make them more real, more human. We understand better that they lived so recently… Some of them gave their lives a few years ago.
The gift of our Congregation to the Shrine of New Martyrs is a veil for the tabernacle embroidered by one of the Martyrs, most likely Sister Kanuta. It will eventually be placed in the mausoleum in the hall dedicated to the victims of Nazism, close to the relics of St. Maximilian and St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. For the time being, it is located on the altar of the victims of Nazism in the basilica. We hope that from the moment we carried this relic into the basilica in a procession during the solemn vespers, this place will become a must-see on our Roman tours.
For the Sisters present at the opening of the Congregation’s Jubilee, this celebration was an extraordinary experience. Around 60 of our Sisters gathered in the basilica, as well as many Sisters and Brothers from other congregations, priests working in Rome and members of the Sant’Egidio community, who prepared a beautiful liturgy of Vespers. The prayer was led by Bishop Ambroggio Spreafico, who gave a profound and moving homily about our Sisters. We have published the text of the homily so that everyone can return to it and constantly rediscover the meaning of the martyrdom of our Sisters and understand how we can follow in their footsteps and love to the point of sacrificing our lives. After Vespers, refreshments were served in the cloister, during which we could share with our guests materials and small souvenirs prepared for this occasion.
Our Foundress, Maria Frances Siedliska, also loved Rome because it is a city that protects the relics of the Martyrs of the first centuries of Christianity. She loved to make pilgrimages to their graves to learn from them the deepest love, capable of sacrifice and self-dedication. Today, our Sisters have joined the group of great witnesses of faith in the Eternal City. We believe that thanks to this, many pilgrims from all over the world will be able to learn about their story and benefit from their intercession.
https://sanbartolomeo.org/memoriale-dei-nuovi-martiri/
https://www.vaticannews.va/pl/kosciol/news/2024-12/relikwie-nazaretanek-meczennic-z-nowogrodka-w-rzymskiej-bazylice.html
The center can be visited free of charge without a reservation only on Saturdays during the opening hours of the Basilica (9.30 am – 1.30 pm, 3.30 pm – 5.30 pm). On other days, visits are possible even for groups of several people after prior reservation.
Homily by Bishop Ambroggio Spreafico
Luke 10:21-24
At that very hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been committed to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Then turning to his disciples, he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, we gather in the Basilica of Saint Bartholomew on the Island, a sanctuary of new martyrs, to pray to the Lord together and to remember some martyrs of the faith who gave their lives for the Gospel in very difficult times.
The Martyr Sisters of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, whom we honor today, lived in Novogrodek. Today this territory is in Belarus, but at the time it was part of Poland. The martyrs lived there in a convent, dedicating themselves to their mission, embroiled against their will in the terrible storm of World War II, which had just begun with the attack on Poland, the first victim of Nazi war plans. All the might of modern warfare was unleashed, powerful weapons that made the evil Nazi powers seem invincible: what could the poor sisters do in the face of all this? What is the power of the defenseless in the face of evil?”
Today’s Gospel, in this time of Advent, is particularly appropriate for our prayer today. For Jesus says: I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to the little children.
In what sense does Jesus exalt the little ones? And what wisdom is given to them? In Jewish tradition, the humble were called “anavim,” those who bend not only under the oppression of the stronger or under the burden of poverty, but above all in the humility of love for God and neighbor, thus overcoming all temptation to pride, arrogance and self-satisfaction. At the height of violence and oppression, when Nazism advocated the supposed privilege of the strong to eliminate the weak, our sisters chose to become weak and even submit to death so that others might live.
In the summer of 1943, twelve sisters lived in the convent. The Germans began brutal actions in Novogrodek, first murdering all the Jews; then the local priests were murdered, and finally 120 people, mostly men, fathers of families, were held in prison from July 17 to 19, 1943. Many women asked the sisters to pray for the release of their husbands and sons. The sisters prayed that if a sacrifice was necessary, God would accept them so that the men could return to Novogrodek.
The sisters were also arrested: Stella, Imelda, Kanizja, Rajmunda, Daniela, Kanuta, Sergia, Gwidona, Felicyta, Heliodora, and Boromea. On Sunday, August 1, 1943, they were taken to a nearby forest a few kilometers from the city, shot, and thrown into a common grave. The men were released, the sisters killed. Like Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who offered himself to save a fellow prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp, they too gave their lives so that others might be saved. Nazi hatred of everything Christian focused on these weak, defenseless sisters, strong only through their prayer to God. The only surviving member of the community was the Servant of God Sister Margaret Banaś, who preserved all the sisters’ belongings, including the relic we are donating to the New Martyrs Memorial, an embroidered cloth used by the sisters to drape the tabernacle in Novogrodek.
Through the power of God’s grace, these seemingly weak women bore witness to the strength of true love until martyrdom. You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children. We know well how many, among the ruling classes of the time, were seduced by the perverse ideas of National Socialism, and how many, even in the world of culture, business, and universities, unfortunately became accomplices. The sisters of Novogrodek, in their smallness, were able to be wiser than the learned, because they knew how to bend to accept the sweet yoke of the Gospel, of love for neighbor, of the unarmed and peaceful resistance to evil.
There is wisdom given to the little ones when they embrace the Gospel, making them prophets: in a world maddened by war, such as Europe in 1943, witnessing unprecedented destruction, total war, attacks on civilians, extermination of the population, the Blessed Martyrs of Novogrodek chose the strongest resistance, the resistance of those who entrust their lives into the hands of God, who trust in His intervention and the salvation of His children.
In our world so destabilized by the culture of war, where there seems to always be a culture of war, of accomplished fact, of aggression in the name of one’s own right, of disrespect for the weak and defenseless, the example of the Blessed Martyrs of Novogrodek encourages us to resist for the sake of the Gospel, trusting in the effectiveness of prayer to God. Introducing a day of fasting and prayer against war on October 6, Pope Francis encouraged: In this situation, prayer is more necessary than ever. […] Let us unite with the power of Good against the diabolical plots of war. May the precious witness of these Martyrs help us unite with the strength of the humble and the little ones who trust in God.
