80 years later: Remembering the Catholic martyrs killed in Auschwitz during World War II

Rome Newsroom, Jan 27, 2025 / 17:40 pm

On Jan. 27, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in Poland, Catholics everywhere remembered the holy men and women who were witnesses of faith, hope, and love in one of the darkest chapters of human history. The Auschwitz martyrs’ legacy of holiness continues to be a source of inspiration for Catholics worldwide. Here are several of those martyrs and their stories, listed by religious order:

Order of Carmelites (OCD)

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (1891–1942) — also known as Edith Stein — was a Catholic convert of Jewish heritage. She died in an Auschwitz gas chamber on the same day she arrived at the camp. The German philosopher saint was canonized on Oct. 11, 1998, and proclaimed co-patron of Europe in 1999 by Pope John Paul II.

Edith Stein, pictured as a student in 1913-1914. Credit: Public domain

Sister Rosa Stein (1883–1942), following the example of her younger sister, St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, converted to Catholicism and joined the Discalced Carmelites. 

The two sisters were found and arrested in a Carmelite monastery in the Netherlands on Aug. 2, 1942, arriving in Auschwitz a week later on Aug. 9, where they died together.

The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM)

St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941) is recognized as one of the most famous Franciscan martyrs of the 20th century. He was canonized by Pope John Paul II on Oct. 10, 1982, after giving up his own life in 1941 so a fellow Auschwitz prisoner, a husband and father, could live. Following his execution by lethal injection after he suffered starvation, he was cremated the following day on the Aug. 15 feast of the Assumption of Mary. 

St. Maximilian Kolbe, pictured just prior to his arrest on Feb. 17, 1941. Credit: Church in Poland

Alongside St. Maximilian Kolbe, the other Conventual Franciscan martyrs who physically and spiritually ministered to people in Auschwitz were Father Jan Antonin Bajewski (1915–1941), known for his piety and gentleness as a confessor; Father Ludwik Pius Bartosik (1909–1941), deputy of St. Maximilian Kolbe known for his endurance amid suffering and his writings on patience; and Brother Stanisław Tymoteusz Trojanowski (1908–1942), who died of pneumonia after living by his motto: “At any time and in any place, to freely dispose of God’s will.”

Brother Piotr Bonifacy Żukowski (1913–1942), known for his great faith and goodness by his monastery’s superior, died of pneumonia after months of hard labor in Auschwitz. Prior to being transported to Auschwitz, Żukowski was detained in Warsaw, where he comforted and prayed alongside other prisoners of war.

Franciscan Friars (OFM Cap)

Brother Symforian Ducki (1888–1942), known for his spiritual simplicity, was brutally killed in Auschwitz by camp guards on April 11, 1942. One witness said the religious brother made the physical effort to stand up to forgive and bless those who beat him with the sign of the cross and comfort those around him before dying soon after.

Father Anicet Koplinski (1875–1941), a German priest known in Warsaw for his holiness and love for mercy, arrived at Auschwitz in 1941. Dying in a gas chamber on Oct. 16, 1941, the Franciscan was known to turn his sufferings into prayer, saying: “We must drink this cup of bitterness to the end.”

Congregation of St. Michael the Archangel (CSMA)

Father Wojciech Nierychlewski (1903–1942) was a Michaelite father known for his zeal and talent as an educator. He also worked in print publishing before being sent to Auschwitz. His deep faith helped him to prepare for his martyrdom in 1942.

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Blessed Józef Jankowski (1910-1941), a Pallottine priest, whose writings reveal his ardent love for God, showed his great love for war refugees by providing them food and shelter in one of his society’s seminaries. Credit: Photo courtesy of Pallottines Sources, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC)

Blessed Józef Jankowski (1910–1941), a Pallottine priest whose writings reveal his ardent love for God, showed his great love for war refugees by providing them food and shelter in one of his society’s seminaries. He was arrested and imprisoned in a death camp in Warsaw and later sent to Auschwitz, where he was tortured and died on Oct. 16, 1941.

The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB)

Five Salesians killed in Auschwitz have been granted the title servant of God by the Church: Father Włodzimierz Szembek (1883–1942); Father Franciszek Harazim (1885–1941); Father Jan Świerc (1877–1941); Father Ignacy Dobiasz (1880–1941); and Father Kazimierz Wojciechowski (1904–1941).

Father Józef Kowalski (1911–1942), a young zealous priest, was killed in Auschwitz on July 4, 1942, for refusing to trample on his rosary. Arrested in Kraków and having suffered humiliation and physical torture, Kowalski wrote in his journal: “O my dear Jesus, give me the will to persevere, firm, strong, so that I may be able to persevere in my holy resolutions … I must be a saint!”

Sister Katarzyna Celestyna Faron (1913–1944) prayed alongside her sisters for their persecutors, including Hitler, before dying on Easter Sunday in Auschwitz on April 9, 1944. Credit: Słówko 18/1999, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sisters of the Handmaid of the Lord 

Sister Katarzyna Celestyna Faron (1913–1944) prayed alongside her sisters for their persecutors, including Hitler, before dying on Easter Sunday in Auschwitz on April 9, 1944. She offered her life as expiation for the conversion of a priest who, after the war, returned to the Catholic Church. 

Ursulines of the Roman Union (OSU)

Sister Maria Klemensa Staszewska (1890–1943) was a monastery superior who also cared for children. Throughout her imprisonment she offered her fear and pain to Jesus. She died of typhus in Auschwitz on July 27, 1943, praying the Magnificat.

Diocesan priests of Poland

Father Piotr Edward Dankowski (1908–1942), vicar of the Zakopane parish in the Diocese of Krakow and known for his love for the poor, risked his life to help refugees during the Nazi occupation of Poland. He was arrested and sentenced to the death camp in Auschwitz in May 1941. Before his death on Good Friday, April 3, 1942, Dankowski told his friends: “See you in heaven!”

Blessed Bolesław Strzelecki (1896–1941), a parish priest of the Radom-Glinice Diocese in Poland, was described by his parishioners as the “St. Francis of Radom.” He died on May 2, 1941, and was known by fellow prisoners as a holy priest who shared “not only the word of God but every bite of bread” and “made people believe in humanity” amid the horror of war. 

Father Kazimierz Sykulski (1882–1942), a parish priest in Konskie in the Radom-Glinice Diocese who was known for his deep love for God and his parishioners, was shot dead on Dec. 1, 1941. Before his death he told his friend: “If God demands from me such a sacrifice for the good of the Church and the homeland, I am willing to make it.”

Father Roman Sitko (1880–1942) was rector of the seminary in the Tarnów Diocese in Poland and was arrested for continuing the formation of his theology students. He died in Auschwitz on Oct. 17, 1942.