{"id":2009,"date":"2026-06-07T07:22:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T07:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/?p=2009"},"modified":"2026-06-08T07:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T07:23:43","slug":"rector-major-in-a-world-of-violence-and-fear-they-remained-faithful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/2026\/06\/07\/rector-major-in-a-world-of-violence-and-fear-they-remained-faithful\/","title":{"rendered":"Rector Major: \u201cIn a World of Violence and Fear, They Remained Faithful\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Krak\u00f3w, Poland<\/strong> \u2013 During the Beatification of the nine Polish Salesian martyrs, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Fabio Attard, invited the Salesian Family to contemplate the powerful witness of priests who remained faithful to Christ and to their vocation amid one of the darkest periods of modern history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The newly beatified Salesians suffered imprisonment, torture, and ultimately death in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau during the Second World War. Their lives stand as a testimony to unwavering faith, pastoral charity, and fidelity to the Salesian mission even in the face of persecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reflecting on their witness, Fr Attard noted that these martyrs lived in a world marked by violence, hatred, and fear. Yet they refused to allow evil to extinguish their hope. Rooted in Christ and inspired by the charism of Don Bosco, they continued to serve God\u2019s people and remained close to the young, the poor, and those entrusted to their care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cTheir witness reminds us that holiness is not found in extraordinary circumstances alone, but in daily fidelity to God,\u201d the Rector Major emphasized. Even when confronted with suffering and uncertainty, the nine Salesian martyrs chose to remain faithful to the Gospel and to the mission they had embraced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For the Salesian Family today, their beatification is more than a remembrance of the past. It is a call to renew our commitment to be signs and bearers of God&#8217;s love, especially among young people. In a world still wounded by conflict, division, and indifference, their example encourages Christians to become witnesses of hope, reconciliation, and peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Rector Major also highlighted that the courage of these martyrs was not born from human strength alone but from a profound relationship with Christ. Their lives demonstrate that authentic faith can overcome fear and that the Gospel continues to shine even in the darkest moments of history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the Church celebrates these new Blesseds, the Salesian Family throughout the world gives thanks for their witness and asks for their intercession. Their legacy continues to inspire Salesians, young people, and the faithful to live with courage, generosity, and fidelity to God&#8217;s call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The beatification of Fr Jan \u015awierc, SDB, and his eight companions stands as a powerful reminder that the light of faith can never be extinguished. In every age, God raises up witnesses who proclaim through their lives that love is stronger than hatred, hope stronger than despair, and Christ stronger than death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Krak\u00f3w, Poland \u2013 During the Beatification of the nine Polish Salesian martyrs, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Fabio Attard, invited the Salesian Family to contemplate the powerful witness of priests who remained faithful to Christ and to their vocation amid one of the darkest periods of modern history. The newly beatified Salesians suffered [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2010,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2009\/revisions\/2010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesian.id\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}