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John Paul II beatifies Marian Martyrs, blesses shrine Pope John Paul II blessed a Marian shrine and beatified two Marian martyrs during his 13-day visit to Poland in June of 1999. The Holy Father also spent two nights at the Marians’ monastery in Lichen, Poland. The Holy Father and his attendants arrived in Lichen on June 6 and stayed overnight on June 6 and 7. On June 7, he blessed the Shrine of Our Lady of Lichen, Sorrowful Queen of Poland.During the dedication ceremony, he praised the Marians for their work, building what will be the largest church in all...

Blessed Anthony Leszczewicz (1890-1943) MartyrBlessed Anthony Leszczewicz was born on September 30, 1890, in the parish of Wojstom, in the diocese of Vilnius. In 1909, he entered the only existing Catholic Seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was ordained a priest on April 13, 1914. For a year, he was vicar in Irkutsk, Siberia, then for two years in Czyt.From 1920, he worked in Harbin, Manchuria, in the Polish parish of St. Stanislaus. He taught religion and Latin in Russian and Polish schools. In 1924, he was appointed pastor of the new parish of St. Josaphat for the Poles. He...

Blessed George Kaszyra (1904-1943)MartyrBlessed George Kaszyra was born on April 4, 1904, in a village of Belarus, of Orthodox parents. In 1907, his mother became a Catholic. After the death of his parents, he was brought up by his relatives.    In 1922, he, too, became a Catholic and a year later entered the Marian school at Druja. After a year in school, he sought admission to the Marian Congregation. Upon completing the novitiate, he made his religious vows in 1926. Following graduation in 1929, he studied philosophy in Rome and theology in Vilnius, where he was ordained a priest...