The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

43 THE WAR BEGINS A week after Fr. Leszczewicz arrived in Druja, the Second World War began. Druja was captured by the Soviet Army. Father Leszczewicz did pastoral work and taught Russian in the Druja high school until it was closed by the authorities at the end of December of 1939. The Bolsheviks had confiscated the monastery’s cattle, harvested grain and fodder right after they arrived, and in the spring of 1940 they took away arable land, meadows and orchards. Still, neither the priests nor the Sisters were chased out of the convent, although they were persecuted in various ways and were harassed by taxes. Their ability to do pastoral work and communicate with the population was restricted. The Soviet Union was attacked on June 22, 1941, and the German Army advanced quickly, soon capturing the territory north and east of the Dvina River. When the front moved fur- ther east, mutual contacts increased between the populations of neighboring villages which had been separated by the border up until that time. The Catholics from beyond the Dvina requested that the Marians in Druja, where there were five priests, send them pastors, because they hadn’t had any priests for the past eight years. Father Anthony Leszczewicz was named superior of the mission. He set out beyond the Dvina to gain better insight into the situation and the possibilities of conducting missionary work. It was decided to undertake this work. The parish church in Rosica, about 30 kilometers north of Druja, was selected as the mission center. The Most Rev. Romuald Jalbrzykowski, Archbishop of Vilnius, sent priests there and encouraged the Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist to set up religious educa- tion facilities. In September of 1941, the first Eucharistic Sisters arrived and began to teach religion. On the Feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of October 1941, Fr. Leszczewicz arranged a huge celebration in Rosica to which he invited priests from the Polish territories. Five of them came, as well as large crowds of people. In November, Fr. Leszczewicz settled in Rosica permanently. By the middle of Blessed Anthony Leszczewicz