NUNS - THE BALLAD OF THE NAZARETH SISTERS OF NOWOGRODEK

Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek

Maria Stella and the Ten Companions of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth

The beatification took place in Rome on March 5, 2000.

The martyrs from Nowogródek, the Sisters of Nazareth, were murdered on August 1, 1943 by the German occupiers during World War II, as part of the planned extermination of the Polish nation, with a particular focus against the Catholic Church. They were beatified by Pope John Paul II in Rome on March 5, 2000. We celebrate their liturgical memorial on September 4.

The occupational terror, after the seizure of these lands by the Germans, began with the extermination of the Jews, followed by a wave of arrests of the Polish population, followed by the mass execution of sixty people, including two priests. A similar situation was repeated on July 18, 1943, when over 120 people were arrested with the intention of being shot.

Then the sisters of Nazareth together decided to sacrifice their lives for imprisoned members of families.

To the chaplain and rector of Fara, Fr. Aleksandra Zienkiewicza, S. M. Stella, acting as the superior at the time, says this on behalf of everyone:

My Lord, if a sacrifice of life is needed, let them shoot us rather than those who have families - we even pray for this.

There is a change in the plan of human activities. The imprisoned are taken to forced labor in the Reich, and a few are released. In view of the threat to the life of the only priest in the area, Fr. Aleksander Zienkiewicz, the sisters reiterate their readiness to sacrifice themselves:

Fr. The chaplain is more needed by the people than we are, so now we pray that God will take us rather than the priest if further sacrifice is needed.

God accepted the sacrifice. On July 31, in the evening, the sisters received a summons to the police station.

After the evening service, 11 sisters responded to the call. The twelfth sister - Małgorzata Banaś (whose beatification process began in 2003) has not yet returned from work in the hospital. That same evening, the Germans took the sisters out of town, looking for a place for the execution. They couldn't find it, so they returned to the police station and locked the sisters in the cellars. The next day, on Sunday, August 1, 1943, around 5 AM , the sisters were taken away again about 5 km from city. There, in the forest, they shot 11 sisters of Nazareth.