The sisters took care of the elderly, the sick, and children. Faithful to their vow of chastity and their vocation, they were murdered by soldiers of the Red Army in 1945.
The beatification of the 10 sisters took place June 11 in the cathedral in Wroclaw. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided over the ceremony.
“The whole life of these sisters was a true gift of self in service to the sick, the little ones, the poor, the most needy. Their selfless love was heroic to the extent that they chose not to flee from the approaching Red Army in late 1944-45. And this despite the news of its brutality and the atrocities committed by its soldiers against the inhabitants of East Prussia,” the cardinal said during his homily.
Semeraro stressed that the martyrdom of the 10 Elizabethan sisters brings to mind the violence, cruelty, and hatred that now afflict Ukraine. In his homily, he noted that gestures of selfless love and concern for others build peace and are a response to the violence that occurs in the face of war.
“We ask the Lord through their intercession that the world may never again lack respect for womanhood, equality in the dignity of man and woman, and protection of motherhood,” Semeraro said. “Today we commend to them in a special way the Ukrainian people, migrants, and our quest for peace.”
The Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints recalled Pope Francis’ words in which the Holy Father thanked Poles for being the first to support Ukraine by “opening their borders, their hearts, and the doors of their homes to Ukrainians fleeing war.”
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