The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

32 The Marian Martyrs of Rosica according to his teacher, he presented himself at the monastery in the spring of 1924. After a brief trial period, it was discovered that he was suf- ficiently capable of learning, and he was accepted to the newly opened high school in Druja where, in June of 1925, he gradu- ated from the fourth grade. Even before the end of the school year, student Kaszyra asked for admission to the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception. The novitiate had just opened in Druja on June 13, 1925. The temporary superior and pastor of Druja, Fr. Andrzej Cikoto, became the Master of Novices. Eight can- didates began their novitiate, among them two priests. After finishing his novitiate on August 2, 1926, Kaszyra professed his first religious vows while continuing his studies. According to his high-school classmate from Druja, Wladyslawa Krzyzewska, George Kaszyra was a good classmate, helpful and respectful to all. He never did anything unpleasant to any- one. He was repeatedly elected to be a judge in the school’s self-government, testifying to his righteous character and fairmindedness. He was a good mathematician. Life in the Druja monastery was described by Ceslaus Sipowicz, a student at that time and later a Marian priest and a bishop: “Rising at 4 in the morning, especially in winter, was a great mortification and so were prayers and self-examinations on one’s knees in a cold church or unheated chapel. The meals were modest and the various chores done by fathers, seminari- ans, and brothers were onerous. Youths could play ball or go for a walk only on Sundays and holidays because on work days, after lunch, everybody was working on the sawing, chopping, and stacking of firewood. There was nothing unusual about eight-day or one-day retreats every month. The vulnerable souls of the religious were also hardened by lectures and spiri- tual readings” ( Marians 1673-1973 , Rome, 1975, p. 235). The year 1929 was of exceptional importance for George Kaszyra. In May he graduated from the high school and received his diploma. On August 2 he professed his permanent religious vows, committing himself forever to the Congre-