Every June 7, for the last five years, we have celebrated a liturgical commemoration of our two Missionary Martyrs from Poland, Blessed Zbigniew STRZAŁKOWSKI and Michał TOMASZEK.

This year, 2020, a Mass of Thanksgiving, recognizing their missionary life and activity, was celebrated at the Basilica of St. Francis in Cracow. The Presider was Friar Jacek LISOWSKI, a missionary in Peru and currently a student in Rome. Those attending the celebration included the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Anthony and Bl. James of Strepar in Poland (Cracow), Friar Marian GOŁĄB, the brothers of the Blessed friars and a group of faithful.
In his homily, Friar Jacek focused on the words of two witnesses of the life of the Martyrs of Pariacoto, Peru: “When they were in the parish, we felt as if Christ were among us. God passed along the streets of Pariacoto.”
To mark the occasion, Peru’s Ambassador to Poland, Alberto SALAS BARAHONA, sent a letter to the participants of the ceremony. He said that although the two priests from Poland were killed in Pariacoto in 1991, their memory continues to live on in Peru. He added: “May the memory of these martyrs from Poland, five years after their beatification, contribute to ever more cordial relations between the nations of Poland and Peru, countries which share the same Christian values.”
Finally, one should mention, that in the five years since the beatification of our martyrs, their relics can already be found in 398 churches around the world.

For more information, go to: www.meczennicy.franciszkanie.pl

Friar Jan M. SZEWEK