The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

10 The Marian Martyrs of Rosica Orthodox, comforting the distressed, and inspiring trust in God despite the tragic circumstances. The Sisters, at the request of Fr. Leszczewicz, were released. People rounded up in the church were divided into two groups. The able-bodied were sent to a transit camp near Riga. Beginning on February 17, the remaining prisoners were driven on sledges to nearby buildings which were doused with gaso- line and set on fire. Rifle shots and grenade explosions could also be heard. On February 17 in the afternoon, Fr. Leszczewicz was taken away with a group of people, while Fr. Kaszyra’s turn came the next day. They both went to their deaths with great serenity. They probably felt that they had fulfilled their mission till the end. They perished together with 1,526 lay people. Their ashes have fertilized the soil of Belarus on which faith in Christ is awakening and growing again. CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK In this book, we have first included Pope John Paul II’s homily at the Holy Mass of Beatification for the Marian Martyrs and then a more detailed account of the history of the process for the beatification of the Martyrs as part of the group of 108 World War II martyrs. After these two chapters, we have provided short biogra- phies of the Marian Martyrs. The biographies are based on doc- uments and on accounts by persons who knew those heroic priests personally. Following the biographies, we have included a unique doc- ument from ourArchives in Rome that chronicles the tragic end of the Marian Martyrs’ mission in Rosica. This account, although unsigned, has exceptional importance because it was written less than a month after the events it describes. After this unique Marian document, we have also provided accounts of the Marian Martyrs that illustrate periods in their lives — especially the difficulties they faced toward the end of