Father Michal Rapacz, who was murdered by communists on May 12, 1946 in Ploki, a city in Poland where he was a parish priest, was beatified by the Church in a ceremony held last Saturday (15).
According to information from Vatican News, the Holy See’s news portal, the celebration took place at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy, in the Lagiewniki district, in Krakow.
Rapacz, who was just 41 years old, was killed by a group of around 20 armed men, who invaded the parish residence during the night, assaulted and tortured the priest and then murdered him in a nearby forest.
Poland had been completely under communist control since the victory of the Red Army during World War II.
The crime was an act of hatred of the faith: even without being a declared anti-communist, Rapacz had an order calling for his death published by the Workers’ Party in Trzebinia. Even though he was warned, he refused to leave the parish.
His beatification process was only opened after the end of communism in Poland, in 1989. In January of this year, Pope Francis signed a decree recognizing Rapacz as a martyr of the Church, which opened the way for beatification.
“Spreading the love for Christ present in the consecrated Bread was for him the only effective antidote against atheism, materialism and all world views that threaten human dignity,” said Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery of Causes of the Saints, who presided over the celebration in the name of the pope.
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