The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

88 The Marian Martyrs of Rosica opportunity to make my confession to him. I believe that he was a truly saintly priest. When he began working in Rosica, he started to come to Druja quite often. The last time he was plan- ning to return to Rosica, we tried to convince him to wait till a safer moment. He replied with a smile: “How can a shepherd leave his flock without protection? If I die, nothing will happen and the earthly globe will turn more easily.” He was glad when the Sisters’ Mother Superior gave them a chance to decide themselves whether or not to stay in Rosica. I experienced many proofs of good will from Fr. Anthony. He was a true ambassador of Christ. Father Anthony Leszczewicz and Fr. George Kaszyra sacri- ficed their lives voluntarily for the spiritual good of the faithful. Together with the inhabitants of Rosica and the vicinity, they were burned during the pacification carried out by the German military in February of 1943. The Sisters, who went to Rosica two weeks after the pacifi- cation, found unburned remnants. Among them, they found pieces of Fr. Kaszyra’s coat. They were chased away by soldiers who threatened to kill them. Many years after the war, a monument to commemorate the murdered victims was erected in Rosica with an inscription in Russian: “Unspeakable pain for us and eternal memory for the victims — our compatriots. In memory of 1,528 inhabitants of Rosica who died at the hands of fascist criminals on the six- teenth day of February, 1943.” Ashes collected from nearby burned-out buildings were then buried near the monument. Archbishop Kazimierz Swiatek from Minsk, who came to Rosica on a parish visitation, was welcomed at this monument on October 20, 1991. Next to the church in Rosica, the current pastor, Fr. Anthony Los, MIC, erected a cross to pay homage to the Servants of God, Anthony Leszczewicz and George Kaszyra. People pray at that cross, light votive candles, and lay flowers. In the Congregation of Handmaids of Jesus in the Eucharist, there has been a belief from the beginning that the burned