On the occasion of the liturgical memory of the Blessed Martyrs of Pariacoto in the Basilica of Saint Francis in Krakow, Poland, the Pbro. Dr. Juan Roger Rodríguez Ruiz, priest of the Diocese of Chimbote and Rector of the Los Angeles de Chimbote Catholic University, offered the homily in which he thanked the Conventual Franciscans for having offered the missionaries Miguel and Zbigniew who were martyred in Peru.
Here is an excerpt from the homily.
“Since I arrived in Poland, I told myself: I am stepping on land of saints and martyrs. Effectively, since the 13th century, this blessed land has had witnesses of holiness; Saint Faustina Kowalska, mystical and merciful, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, martyr of charity, Saint John Paul II, the Pope with a universal and generous heart Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko, charismatic and courageous priest, comes to mind. More recently, on December 17, 2022, Pope Francis has approved the decree on the martyrdom of Jozef e Wiktoria Ulma and his seven children murdered in 1944. The six children were between 8 and 12 years old and the seventh was still in the womb. It is an original, significant and novel event, but it is also the faith experience of a Polish family witnessing the love and example of the Good Samaritan.
In this sequence of holiness, the martyrs Michel and Zbigniew are the most eloquent demonstration of the truth of the faith, which knows how to give a human face even to the most violent death and which manifests its beauty even in the midst of the most atrocious persecutions.
With these testimonies of charity, the Church as the People of God feels strengthened in faith, encouraged in hope and consolidated in fraternity. May God bless Poland, with which we remain united by the blood of our beloved martyrs Michel and Zbigniew. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
