ks. Kazimierz Pieniążek CR.
Father Kazimierz Pieniążek CR was born on March 4, 1907, in Chęciny, Garwolin County, the son of Michał (d. 1948) and Marianna (née Rogala, d. 1975). His parents owned a medium-sized farm and a windmill. He was the eldest child and had seven siblings—three brothers and four sisters. He was baptized on March 10, 1907, at St. John the Baptist Church in Górzno (Garwolin Deanery) and was confirmed in Garwolin. He studied in Chęciny, Garwolin (where he first encountered the Resurrectionists), and Lwów. He joined the congregation on September 21, 1925, and made his first vows on March 8, 1927, in Kraków (before Father Julian Kowalski CR). He studied philosophy and theology at the John Casimir University in Lwów (1927-1933, with a break from 1929-1931 to complete his secondary education). He made his perpetual vows on March 8, 1930. He served as the senior in the boys' boarding school (1930-1931). He received minor orders (acolyte and exorcist) on December 20, 1930, and graduated from Żółkiewski Gymnasium in Lwów on May 21, 1931. He was vice-prefect of the seminary (January 1932-1933) and was noted for his talents in declamation and art. He was ordained a priest on June 10, 1933, at the seminary church in Lwów by Bishop Franciszek Lisowski. He studied canon law at John Casimir University in Lwów (1933-1934) and earned his degree in moral theology on June 16, 1934. He served as vice-rector of the religious seminary and novice master in Rome (1934-1937), where he also studied canon law and obtained a licentiate in theology. He earned a doctorate in canon law with a dissertation titled “De patrimonio Ecclesiae in Polonia iuxta concordatum ex Anno 1925” (Rome 1937). He made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
From 1937, he was in Warsaw, serving as bursar (1937-1938), superior of the house (1938-1940), and rector of St. Casimir's Church. He worked pastorally with the parish choir, youth, scouts, morally endangered individuals, the elderly, and the sick. Under his direction, damage to the church caused during the defense of Warsaw in September 1939 was repaired, and he prepared financial and material resources to complete the church’s construction. He was known as a serious (despite his young age), disciplined, and hardworking priest. He was arrested on January 17, 1940, and imprisoned at Rakowiecka Street in Warsaw. The reasons for his arrest and the search of the entire monastery may have been related to his sermons (especially the one on November 11, 1939) and reports to the Gestapo, as well as his refusal to release funds collected for the church’s expansion. Subjected to brutal interrogation, he was held at Rakowiecka Street and Pawiak Prison, where he continued his pastoral ministry to fellow prisoners and maintained secret contact with his community. He was transported around March 25, 1940, to the Modlin Fortress, likely to the KL Pomiechówek Fort III or Fort I, where the Germans had established a transit camp. From there, he was taken to the execution site in the outskirts of Warsaw in Palmiry and was shot on April 2, 1940. He was buried in Palmiry in grave XXIV. His remains were exhumed in 1945 and moved to the identified graves section at the Palmiry cemetery. His remains were identified by Father Feliks Szmit, his classmate, thanks to his clerical garb and religious cord. Memorial plaques in his honor are located in the churches of St. John the Baptist in Górzno (2017) and St. Casimir in Warsaw.
kl. Ignacy Sztukowski CR.
Cleric Ignacy Sztukowski CR was born on August 7, 1914, in Chotów Nowy near Ostrów Wielkopolski (Poznań Archdiocese), the son of Franciszek and Julianna (née Mikołajczyk). He was baptized on August 9, 1914, in Gostyczyn and confirmed on March 22, 1930. He attended primary school in Chotów, the male high school named after A. Asnyk in Kalisz (1926-1933), and completed his secondary education at the H. Sienkiewicz Gymnasium in Lwów (1935-1936). He joined the congregation on August 12, 1933, and made his first vows on February 15, 1935, in Kraków (before Father Henryk Nowakowski CR). He studied philosophy and theology at John Casimir University in Lwów (1936-1939) and made his perpetual vows on February 15, 1938, in Lwów (before Father Franciszek Torbus CR, the superior of the house and rector). He was tall, had a great sense of humor, and was known for his diligence in studies.
After the outbreak of the war, he briefly found himself in Kraków before moving back to Chotów. He was arrested by the Nazis in Małe Graby near Ostrów Wielkopolski and was initially imprisoned in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. From September 17, 1940, he was held in Dachau (prisoner number 19866), where he was murdered on December 27, 1940. A memorial plaque in his honor is located in Chotów.
ks. Jan Gracz CR.
Fr. John Gracz CR Born on October 20, 1905, in Radawnica near Złotów, son of Stefan and Marta (née Ciza). He was baptized on October 22, 1905, and confirmed on June 23, 1918, at St. Barbara's Church in Radawnica (Złotów deanery, Gniezno-Poznań metropolitan area). He studied in schools in Radawnica, Złotów, and Bydgoszcz. He entered the Congregation on March 4, 1927, and took his first vows on October 28, 1928, in Kraków (before Father Stanisław Skwierawski CR, the Master of Novices). He continued his education at a high school in Lwów (1928-1929), studied philosophy and theology at the University of Jan Kazimierz in Lwów (1928-1933). At the end of November 1930, he participated in the funeral of his brother. He received minor orders on December 20, 1930, and February 2, 1932. He took perpetual vows on October 28, 1931, in Lwów (before Father Wojciech Cyrwus CR, the Superior of the house) and was ordained a priest on June 10, 1933, at the seminary church in Lwów (by Bishop Franciszek Lisowski). He was a Master of Pedagogy and served as a pastor at St. Boniface's Parish in Warsaw (1933-1934), then as a parish priest in Poznań at Krzyżowniki (1934-1935). He was a rector at the boarding school in Lwów (1935-1937) and then returned as a parish priest in Poznań at Krzyżowniki (1937-1941). Arrested by the Nazis at the rectory on October 6, 1941, he was imprisoned in the KL Posen concentration camp (Fort VII) and, on October 30, 1941, transferred to the KL Dachau concentration camp, where he was assigned the number 28063. He was murdered on August 13, 1942, in Dachau.
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