Скачать или смотреть NOVENA FOR THE SOLEMNITY OF SAINT JOHN BOSCO – DAY 8

Fr. Jan Świerc, SDB (1877–1941) — one of the oldest Salesian martyrs, a professor, preacher, director, a man of profound culture and deep spirituality. He spent only one day in Auschwitz… and that was enough for his fidelity to God to become a testimony unto death.
This is the story of a priest who, in the face of brutality, never ceased to pray the words: “O Jesus, O Jesus…”

Five remarkable facts about Fr. Jan Świerc:
📜 He served as secretary to Blessed Fr. Michael Rua — the first successor of Saint John Bosco — and was responsible for Polish-language correspondence.
🎙️ He was regarded as an outstanding preacher and a gifted organizer, directing the Salesian house in Kraków.
🚚 He was arrested together with other Salesians on the eve of the feast of Mary Help of Christians — the Gestapo accused them of anti-state activity.
🕊️ In Auschwitz he was unable to work because of his age, which made him a target of the sadistic kapo Franz.
✝️ He died praying, repeating: “My Jesus, have mercy on me” — witnesses saw his body taken on a cart to the crematorium.
This is the story of a priest who, even at the moment of death, never let go of prayer.
Prayer was the strength of Fr. Jan Świerc: in prison, in torture, in the camp, and in his final moments.
Today we ask for the grace of a prayer that is not an obligation, but an encounter —
a prayer that lifts, consoles, and gives strength when everything else fails.