91 in. He started to deny God’s existence and to say that the investigator knew all his thoughts. At that point, Fr. Cikoto courageously admonished him, calling him to pull himself together. Father shuddered and began reciting the profession of faith before the investigators, thus ultimately overcoming the moment of crisis. Father Cikoto also embraced the mission of strengthening in faith his fellow prisoners in the labor camp, secretly hearing confessions and celebrating the Eucharist for them. He also cared for their various temporal needs: in his letters from the labor camp to Sister Apolonia Pietkun, SJE, he asked her to send them tobacco, the lack of which was felt very acutely by other prisoners. These letters radiate of great peace and serenity, attesting to the fact that Fr. Cikoto regarded every circumstance of his as an opportunity to give his life to Christ and his brethren. Jesus’ command to the Apostle Peter to strengthen his brothers, having been strengthened himself first, came true in the life and ministry of Fr. Eugene Kulesza (1891-1941). During the years of his priesthood, he knew moments of discouragement; he also had doubts about his Marian vocation and even tried to be transferred to the Pauline Order. After overcoming this crisis, he devoted himself to diligent work. He spent the last three years of his life in Druja, Belarus, where he was first the House Superior and the Headmaster of a secondary school, and then, after the outbreak of the war, devoted himself entirely to pastoral care, earning the great love of the local people. Sister Joanna Żuk, SJE left a witness account, stating that on June 30, 1941, as Fr. Kulesza and two other priests were snatched by Soviet soldiers, the locals, lamenting loudly, demanded their release. Hearing and seeing these lamentations, Fr. Kulesza also began to cry. When a soldier asked him why he was crying and why the people were lamenting so loudly, he replied: “Because we love each other very much.” Two other abducted priests were released after the interrogation, but Fr. Kulesza was executed the very same day. Father Vladislovas Mažonas (1881-1945) was a minister, teacher, active in the Boy Scout movement and the editor of Šaltinis [Source] – a magazine published in Mariampole. For a while, he served in a Lithuanian parish in London and then spent several years at the mission in Harbin. His work as a publisher and a missionary later became
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