Saint of the Day: Bl. Roman Lysko

Priest and Martyr (1914-1949)

His life

+ Roman was born in (what is now) Horodok, Ukraine, and studied theology in the Lviv Theological Academy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1941 and was appointed pastor of the Archeparchy of Lviv for Ukrainians. As a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, he was allowed to be married and he and his wife, Neonila, had three children.

+ In 1944, he was assigned to a parish in Belzets and he became leader of an underground Ukrainian youth organization called “Plast,” and he and Neonila were actively involved in ministry with children and youth. 

+ During the Soviet persecution of Greek Catholics, Roman was ordered to sign a statement of conversion to Orthodoxy but he refused. 

+ On September 9, 1949, he was arrested by the Soviet secret police and placed in the prison on Lonsky Avenue in Lviv. People who lived near the prison reported hearing Father Roman loudly singing psalms after being tortured; his jailers thought he had lost his mind. 

+ Blessed Roman Lysko died of starvation after being buried alive inside the walls of the prison. The official date for his death was listed as October 14, 1949. A plaque on the prison wall reads: “Here, within the walls of this building, entombed alive, likes Father Roman Lysko, who gave up his life for his faith.” He was beatified in 2001. 

For prayer and reflection

“The spirit of a strong and stable character strengthened by meditation endures; the unshaken spirit, which is strengthened by a certain and solid faith in the future will be enlivened against all the terrors of the devil and threats of this world.”—Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Treatise on Martyrdom

Spiritual bonus

On October 14, we also remember Blessed Franciszek Roslaniec. A priest of the diocese of Radom, Poland, he was a notable biblical scholar who taught in the University of Warsaw. He was arrested by the Gestapo in November 1939 and imprisoned in the concentration at Dachau. Remember for his ministry to other prisoners in the camp, he died in the gas chambers on October 14, 1942, and was beatified in 1999.

Prayer

Almighty and merciful God, who brought your Martyr blessed Roman 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

(from The Roman Missal: Common of Martyrs—For One Martyr)
Saint profiles prepared by Fr. Silas Henderson, S.D.S