Relics of the Martyr Sisters of Nazareth in a Roman Basilica

photo: fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik / @VaticanNewsPL

“Their example, when war and violence seemed to dominate, calls us to resist injustice and to build a world where we live not as enemies but as brothers and sisters,” said Bishop Ambrogio Spreafico. He presided over the ceremony, introducing the relics of the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogródek into the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island in Rome.

On the evening of Tuesday, December 3, a solemn ceremony took place at the Basilica of St. Bartholomew on Tiber Island, welcoming the relics of Blessed Sister Stella and her 10 companions from the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, the Martyrs of Nowogródek. Within this basilica, a sanctuary for the New Martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries, a veil embroidered by one of the martyrs and used by the Nowogródek religious community, was placed on the tabernacle.

The Strength of the Humble and Weak

“These Sisters gave their lives so that others might live. Hatred toward everything, Christian focused on these defenseless nuns. Their only strength was their prayer to God,” Bishop Spreafico said to the gathered faithful under the care of the Sant’Egidio community. “By God’s grace, these seemingly weak women bore witness to the power of the Gospel, even to the point of martyrdom. Their testimony calls us to trust in the strength of the humble and small, who entrust themselves to God,” he added.

Life That Knows No End

Sister Angela Marie Mazzeo, Superior General of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, expressed gratitude for those who attended the ceremony “to honor the sacrifice of the Martyrs of Nowogródek—Sister Stella and her ten companions—and their testimony of hope in a life that knows no end.”

The event was organized by the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, to which the Blessed Sisters belonged, in collaboration with the Embassy of Poland to the Holy See and the Sant’Egidio Community, custodians of the basilica sanctuary.

The Blessed Martyr Sisters of Nazareth

Blessed Sister Stella, the superior, and 10 Sisters from the Nazareth community in Nowogródek were executed by the Nazis on August 1, 1943. They offered their lives in exchange for the release of 120 individuals marked for execution. “My God, if a sacrifice of life is needed, let them kill us rather than those who have families—we even pray for this,” they said, testifying to their faith and love for their neighbors.

As a result of their sacrifice, many prisoners were freed, while others were sent to labor camps in Germany, and all survived the war. Their selfless act earned them the title “Martyrs for Families.”

On July 31, 1943, they were summoned to the Gestapo headquarters, where they spent the night imprisoned in a basement. At dawn, they were executed by firing squad in a nearby forest. The martyrs included Stella, Imelda, Rajmunda, Daniela, Kanuta, Sergia, Gwidona, Felicyta, Heleodora, Kanizja, and the youngest, Boromea. The entire community perished except for Sister Małgorzata Banaś, who, on the superior’s instructions, remained behind to manage affairs. She later became known as the “Guardian of the Fara Church” and a source of support for Nowogródek’s residents until her death in 1966. Her beatification process is ongoing.

Before the war, the Blessed Sisters taught religion and ran a school in Nowogródek. During both the Soviet and Nazi occupations, they provided spiritual and material aid to the local population, despite prohibitions and harsh repression.

Saint John Paul II beatified them in Rome on March 5, 2000, as martyrs for the faith.