The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

9 Introduction In the summer of 1942, the activities of Soviet partisans intensified in the region. They enjoyed the support of the local population, on whom the Germans took vengeance. Before Christmas, Fr. Leszczewicz received a warning that there would soon be punitive action against the local population. Friends suggested to him that the priests and Sisters should leave the area. Still remembering the recent death of Fr. Eugenieusz Kulesza, the Marian’s Superior in Druja who had been mur- dered by the Communists, everyone took this warning very seriously. They held a meeting in Druja. The priests were determined not to abandon the faithful, even at the price of sacrificing their own lives. It was finally decided that each priest and each Sister would decide individually whether to go back or to stay on and continue the work. Both the priests and the Sisters believed that they should share the fate of the peo- ple. At that time, three priests and nine Sisters were working there. In the middle of February of 1943, the German command post was moved into Druja and troops of the punitive expedi- tion appeared beyond the Dvina. The priests and Sisters were warned once again, but again this time they firmly rejected the possibility of saving themselves by fleeing. On February 16, 1943, the pacification started in a belt 60 kilometers wide along the Dvina River. Father W. Laszewski, the pastor in Zaszczyryn, along with two Sisters and some civilians, crossed the Latvian border at the last possible moment. They were imprisoned but avoided death. However, Fr. Anthony Leszczewicz and Fr. George Kaszyra, and seven Sisters remained in Rosica in the very eye of the horrific hurricane. The military was burning buildings in nearby villages, rounding up people, and locking them up in the church at Rosica. Those who tried to run away were shot. All those imprisoned in the church were aware of their doom, and therefore they were resigned to die. The priests were lis- tening to confessions, baptizing, giving Holy Communion, cel- ebrating Holy Masses, taking Professions of Faith from the