Priest and Martyr(1889-1940)
His life
+ Bronislaw was born in Barlozno, Poland. He was ordained as a priest for the diocese of Gdansk in 1914.
+ Serving as a parish priest in Legowo and Gdansk, he also taught history and the Polish language. In Gdansk, he helped to establish eh “Association of Construction of Polish Churches” in 1923 to help increase the participation of Poles in parishes with German priests.
+ Father Bronislaw was deeply involved in the politics of his day and on September 1, 1939, the day the Nazis invaded Poland, he was arrested with other priests and sent to a various concentration camps.
+ Blessed Bronislaw Komorowski was executed on Good Friday, March 22, 1940, in a field outside the Stutthof concentration camp. He was beatified in 1999.
For prayer and reflection
“I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers, neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus our Lord.”—Romans 8:39
Spiritual bonus
On this day, we also remember Blessed François-Louis Chartier. A priest of the diocese of Angers, France, he was martyred during the anti-Catholic violence the French Revolution on March 22, 1794. Blessed François-Louis was beatified in 1984.
Prayer
Almighty and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Bronislaw to overcome the torments of his passion, grant that we, who celebrate the day of his triumph, may remain invincible under your protection against the snares of the enemy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Martyr)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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