mercredi 25 mars 2015

Bienheureux HILAIRE (PAWEL) JANUSZEWSKI, prêtre de l'Ordre des carmes et martyr

Blessed Hilary Januszewski, polish carmelite, priest and martyr


Bienheureux Hilaire Januszewski, prêtre et martyr

Carme polonais martyr, déporté au camp de concentration de Dachau en Bavière, où il mourut l’an 1945, atteint du typhus en assistant d’autres déportés contaminés, il succomba, rempli de foi et de charité.

SOURCE : http://www.paroisse-saint-aygulf.fr/index.php/prieres-et-liturgie/saints-par-mois/icalrepeat.detail/2015/03/25/14251/-/bienheureux-hilaire-januszewski-pretre-et-martyr

Bienheureux Hilaire Januszewski

Carme polonais martyr (+ 1945)

Carme polonais martyr, déporté à Dachau où il mourut du typhus. Béatifié le 13 juin 1999 avec Régina Protmann, Edmond Bojanowski et 108 martyrs pour la foi - homélie de Jean-Paul II.

Au camp de concentration de Dachau en Bavière, l’an 1945, le bienheureux Hilaire Januszewski, prêtre de l’Ordre des Carmes déchaux et martyr. Atteint du typhus en déportation, en assistant d’autres déportés contaminés, il succomba, rempli de foi et de charité.

Martyrologe romain

SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11537/Bienheureux-Hilaire-Januszewski.html

Bienheureux Hilaire Januszewski, carme

Paul ( Pawel ) Januszewski ( prononcer Ianouchevski ) naquit le 11 juin 1907 à Krajenki en Pologne. Il fut éduqué au collège de Greblin puis à Cracovie. En 1927 il entra chez les Carmes à Lwow et prit le nom d' Hilaire lorsqu' il fit sa profession en 1928. Il étudia la philosophie à Cracovie, puis au collège international Saint-Albert à Rome. Il fut ordonné prêtre le 15 juillet 1934 et retourna en 1935 au couvent des Carmes à Cracovie. Il devint professeur de théologie dogmatique et d' histoire de l' Eglise pour la province des Carmes de Pologne.

Il avait une personnalité simple et plutôt silencieuse. Il était fidèle au pratiques quotidienne de piété.

En 1939 il fut nommé prieur de sa communauté à Cracovie deux mois après l' occupation de son pays par les Allemands ( à l' Ouest ) et les Soviétiques ( à l' Est ).

Le 18 septembre 1940 quatre frères du couvent furent déportés par les Allemands ( les frères Urbanski, Majcher, Wszelaki, Nowakowski ) parce qu' ils avaient prêché en polonais dont l' usage public était interdit. La Gestapo revint en décembre pour en arrêter d' autres. Cette fois-ci il prit la place d'un frère âgé et malade et commença son calvaire qui allait durer plus de quatre ans. Emprisonné à la prison de Montelupi à Cracovie il fut déporté à Sachsenhausen, puis en avril 1941 à Dachau.

Il encourageait ses compagnons par la prière ( dont le bienheureux Tite Brandsma, carme hollandais ) et le soutien dans la Foi. Le 16 juillet 1942 les prêtres carmes et les autres religieux enfermés dans la même barraque purent célébrer dans cet atroce environnement la fête de ND du Mont Carmel avant la journée de travail. Pendant l' hiver 1945 la vie au camp devint encore plus insupportable; l' encadrement nazi commençait à montrer des signes de panique alors que la guerre semblait perdue pour eux. Les kapos ( prisonniers qui surveillaient les autres déportés ) multipliaient les sévices pendant que la région subissait les bombardements alliés.

Dans le barraquement 25 des Russes, le typhus vint à se propager et il demanda d' y déménager avec d' autres prêtres pour assister les malades. Son apostolat allait durer 21 jours...

Le Père Januszewski mourut du typhus le 25 mars 1945 un mois avant la libération du camp par les Américains le 29 avril. Son corps fut brûlé dans un four crématoire.

Le Père Urbanski qui survécut rendit témoignage du sacrifice de son prieur. De nombreux Carmes polonais moururent dans les camps de concentration dont les Pères Kozan, Buszta, Makowski, etc...

Il fut béatifié par Jean-Paul II le 13 juin 1999 à Varsovie.

Le bienheureux Père Januszewski nous rappelle que la culture de mort contemporaine est radicalement opposée à l' Espérance chrétienne.

SOURCE : http://ut-pupillam-oculi.over-blog.com/article-6159222.html

Un bienheureux carme polonais martyr du nazisme

Le martyrologe romain fait mémoire, entre autre, le 25 mars, du bienheureux prêtre polonais martyr du nazisme, Hilaire Januszewski (1907-1945). Mais nous le signalons aujourd’hui pour laisser, le 25 mars, toute la place à l’Annoniation.

Hilaire Januszewski entra dans l’ordre du Carmel à l’âge de vingt ans. Une fois religieux profès et ordonné prêtre, il devint prieur du couvent de Piasek, à Cracovie. Il enseignait également la théologie dogmatique au séminaire du carmel.

Puis survint l’invasion de la Pologne par les troupes hitlériennes. Son influence dans la région le désignait aux soupçons de la Gestapo, qui redoutait en lui un pilier de la résistance à sa barbarie et à sa terreur.

Dès 1937 en effet, l’encyclique de Pie XI, écrite ne allmemand, “Mit brennender Sorge”, avait condamné l’idéologie national-socialiste, et ceci sous l’influence du cardinal Ratti, futur Pie XII, ancien nonce en Bavière puis à Berlin.

L’encyclique, que Hiltler avait fait interdire la diffusion du document pontifical, signe que le message avait été reçu : il avait compris la résistance qu’il rencontrerait en terre catholique.

Arrêté le 4 décembre 1940, le P. Hilaire Januszewski partit rejoindre les milliers de prêtres catholiques emprisonnés à Dachau, comme en otage, pour tenter d’infléchir la résistance de l’Eglise au nazisme.

A Dachau, en février 1945, le typhus décimait les prisonniers. Bien que conscient du danger, le Père Hilaire se porta volontaire pour assister les moribonds isolés dans un baraquement. Vingt jours plus tard, il avait lui-même contracté la maladie. Il mourut le 25 mars 1945.

SOURCE : http://m.catholique.org/a51074

Bx Hilary Januszewski

Prêtre o.c.d. et martyr du nazisme († 1945)

Hilary, dans le siècle Pawel, Januszewski naît le 11 juin 1907 à Krajenki en Pologne. Il fut éduqué au collège de Greblin puis à Cracovie.

En 1927 il entra chez les Carmes à Lwow et prit le nom d'Hilaire lorsqu' il fit sa profession en 1928. Il étudia la philosophie à Cracovie, puis au collège international Saint-Albert à Rome.

Il fut ordonné prêtre le 15 juillet 1934 et retourna en 1935 au couvent des Carmes à Cracovie. Il devint professeur de théologie dogmatique et d'histoire de l'Église pour la province des Carmes de Pologne. Il avait une personnalité simple et plutôt silencieuse. Il était fidèle aux pratiques quotidiennes de piété.

En 1939 il fut nommé prieur de sa communauté à Cracovie, deux mois après l' occupation de son pays par les Allemands (à l'Ouest) et les Soviétiques (à l'Est).

Le 18 septembre 1940 quatre frères du couvent furent déportés par les Allemands (Urbanski, Majcher, Wszelaki, Nowakowski) parce qu'ils avaient prêché en polonais dont l'usage public était interdit. La Gestapo revint en décembre pour en arrêter d'autres. Cette fois-ci Hilaire prit la place d'un frère âgé et malade et commença son calvaire qui allait durer plus de quatre ans. Emprisonné à la prison de Montelupi à Cracovie il fut déporté à Sachsenhausen, puis en avril 1941 à Dachau.

Il encourageait ses compagnons par la prière et le soutien dans la Foi. Le 16 juillet 1942 les prêtres carmes et les autres religieux enfermés dans la même baraque purent célébrer, dans cet atroce environnement, la fête de ND du Mont Carmel avant la journée de travail.

Pendant l'hiver 1945 la vie au camp devint encore plus insupportable : l'encadrement nazi commençait à montrer des signes de panique alors que la guerre semblait perdue pour eux. Les kapos (prisonniers qui surveillaient les autres déportés) multipliaient les sévices pendant que la région subissait les bombardements alliés. 

Dans le baraquement 25 des Russes,  le typhus vint à se propager et il demanda d'y déménager avec d'autres prêtres pour assister les malades. Son apostolat allait durer 21 jours...

Le Père Januszewski mourut du typhus le 25 mars 1945, un mois avant la libération du camp par les Américains le 29 avril. Son corps fut brûlé dans un four crématoire.

Le Père Urbanski, qui survécut, rendit témoignage du sacrifice de son prieur. De nombreux Carmes polonais moururent dans les camps de concentration dont les Pères Kozan, Buszta, Makowski, etc...

Le 13 juin 1999, au cours de son plus long voyage en Pologne (5-17 juin), Saint Jean-Paul II (Karol Józef  Wojtyła, 1978-2005) a béatifié, à Varsovie, le P. Hilary Januszewski et 107 autres martyrs polonais, victimes du nazisme pendant la seconde guerre mondiale.

Les 108 martyrs proviennent de 18 diocèses et de 22 familles religieuses. Il y a des prêtres, des religieuses et des laïcs dont la vie, entièrement dédiée à la cause de Dieu, et dont la mort, infligée par la haine à la foi, portèrent l’empreinte de l’héroïsme. Parmi eux, il y a trois évêques, 52 prêtres diocésains, 26 prêtres religieux, 3 séminaristes, 7 frères religieux, 8 sœurs et 9 laïcs. Ces proportions numériques sont liées au fait que le clergé fut le principal objet de la haine de la foi de la part des nazis de Hitler. On voulait faire taire la voix de l’Église retenue comme obstacle à l’instauration d’un régime fondé sur une vision de l’homme privé de la dimension surnaturelle et traversé de haine violente.

Dans l’ensemble des 108 Martyrs il y a toutes les composantes de l’Église, c’est-à-dire, évêques, clergé diocésain, religieux et laïcs. Un représentant de chacune de ces catégories figure dans le titre de la cause de béatification.

Sources principales : martyretsaint.com/ ; zenit.org/fr/ (« Rév. x gpm »).    

©Evangelizo.org 2001-2015

SOURCE : http://evangelhoquotidiano.org/main.php?language=FR&module=saintfeast&localdate=20100325&id=14853&fd=0

Pawel Januszewski

1907-1945

Pawel (Paul) Januszewski naquit le 11 juin 1907 à Krajenki en Pologne, de Marian et Marianna. 

Il fut éduqué au collège de Greblin puis à Suchar, puis au lycée Michalitow à Pawlikowicach, enfin à Cracovie. 

Dans une lettre qu'il écrit en 1927, il exprime son irrésistible désir qu'il a depuis l'enfance de devenir prêtre, et sa détermination à se consacrer pour ne vivre que pour Dieu. 

Il entre chez les Carmes à Lwow, et prendra le nom d'Hilary (Hilaire) lorsqu'il fera sa profession en 1928. Il étudie la philosophie à Cracovie, puis au collège international Saint-Albert à Rome. Il est ordonné prêtre le 15 juillet 1934.

Un confrère, qui serait plus tard prieur général de l'Ordre, affirme que Pawel Hilary avait une personnalité tranquille, silencieuse et même solitaire, absorbé dans la méditation. Il était fidèle aux pratiques quotidiennes de piété.

Quand il soutient sa thèse de doctorat, il est compté parmi les meilleurs élèves de l'unversité. De retour en Pologne, il est responsable des séminaristes et professeur de théologie dogmatique et d'histoire de l'Eglise. Puis en 1939 il est nommé prieur de sa communauté à Cracovie, deux mois après l'occupation de son pays par les Allemands (à l'Ouest) et les Soviétiques (à l'Est).

Hilary était pour lui-même très exigeant et très strict, et en même temps d'une extrême patience envers ses disciples. A Cracovie, on le connaissait comme un homme indomptable et d'une constante tranquillité d'esprit. Il était particulièrement attentif aux nécessiteux, aux malades. Voici encore quelques souvenirs écrits par quelqu'un qui l'a bien connu : 

C'était un prêtre plein de bonté qui n'a jamais refusé d'aller prêter ses services dans un orphelinat. Nous étions toujours heureux d'assister à sa messe. Quand il confessait, il y avait une foule d'orphelins qui attendaient leur tour. Je le vois encore quand il vint à Zwierzyniec pour passer des heures avec les plus nécessiteux. Pendant l'occupation, un groupe de déportés arriva de Poznan : il voulut les accueillir en disant « Ne fermez pas la porte à la souffrance humaine ». C'est ainsi qu'il leur fournit un abri, un lieu de culte, un soutien matériel mais surtout un profond réconfort moral et spirituel.

Le 18 septembre 1940 quatre frères du couvent furent déportés par les Allemands (les frères Urbanski, Majcher, Wszelaki, Nowakowski) parce qu'ils avaient prêché en polonais dont l'usage public était interdit. La Gestapo revint le 4 décembre pour en arrêter d'autres. Cette fois-ci il prit la place d'un frère âgé et malade, objectant qu'il en était le père et le responsable. Ainsi commença son calvaire qui allait durer plus de quatre ans. Emprisonné à la prison de Montelupich à Cracovie, il fut déporté à Sachsenhausen, puis en avril 1941 à Dachau, où il portait le numéro 27648.

Il encourageait ses compagnons par la prière, les entourant de gentillesse et de dévouement. Il les soutenait dans l'espérance d'un avenir meilleur. Il conservait envers et contre tout le ferme espoir de retourner dans son couvent de Cracovie. Il rencontra ainsi beaucoup d'autres religieux carmes, y compris étrangers, entre autre Titus Brandsma, hollandais (voir au 26 juillet).  

Le 16 juillet 1942 les prêtres carmes et les autres religieux enfermés dans la même baraque purent célébrer dans cet atroce environnement la fête de Notre Dame du Mont Carmel avant la journée de travail. Pendant l'hiver 1945 la vie au camp devint encore plus insupportable; l'encadrement nazi commençait à montrer des signes de panique alors que la guerre semblait perdue pour eux. Les kapos (prisonniers qui surveillaient les autres déportés) multipliaient les sévices pendant que la région subissait les bombardements alliés.

Dans le baraquement 25 des Russes, le typhus vint à se propager et Hilary demanda à y être admis avec d'autres prêtres pour assister les malades. Il mourait chaque jour environ quarante à soixante-dix détenus, parmi lesquels se trouvait Vincentius Frelichowski (voir au 23 février). L'apostolat du père Hilary allait durer 21 jours... 

Lui et ses collègues prêtres savaient bien d'une part que la libération était proche, mais plus encore ils étaient soucieux d'apporter leur soutien sacerdotal auprès des mourants, malgré le très fort risque de contagion. Ils savaient que les autorités sanitaires s'interdisaient tout rapport avec les malades pour éviter cette contagion mortelle, mais Hilary préféra se donner librement pour ses frères. Lorsque la maladie le gagna, il resta plusieurs jours dans un état comateux avec une fièvre de 40° et s'éteignit le 25 mars 1945, fête de l'Annonciation. 

Un mois plus tard les Américains libéraient le camp, le 29 avril. 

Le corps du père Hilary fut brûlé dans un four crématoire.

Le Père Urbanski, qui survécut, rendit témoignage du sacrifice de son prieur. De nombreux Carmes polonais moururent aussi dans les camps de concentration dont les Pères Kozan, Buszta, Makowski, etc...

Comme un autre Maximilian Kolbe, le père Hilary alla jusqu'au bout dans le don total de sa personne pour ceux qu'il aime (Jn 15:13).

Il fut du nombre des Bienheureux proclamés par Jean-Paul II le 13 juin 1999 à Varsovie, parmi lesquels trois évêques, cinquante-deux prêtres, vingt-six religieux, trois séminaristes, huit religieuses et neuf laïcs.

Inscrit dans le Martyrologe au 25 mars, il est fêté localement avec les autres martyrs du Nazisme le 12 juin.

SOURCE : http://www.samuelephrem.eu/article-pawel-januszewski-105701054.html

Blessed Pawel Januszewski

25 March 2017, 2:06 am

Also known as

Father Hilary Januszewski

Memorial

25 March

12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II

Profile

Son of Martin and Marianne Januszewski. Pawel studied at colleges in Greblin, Suchary and Krakow in Poland. Joined the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance in 1927 at age 20, taking the name Hilary, and beginning his novitiate in Lviv (in modern Ukraine). He studied philosophy in Krakow, then theology at the International College of Saint Albert in RomeItaly. Ordained a priest on 15 July 1934. Recognized for academic excellence while studying at the Academy of Saint Thomas in Rome. Assigned to the Carmel in KrakowPoland in 1935Professor of Dogmatic Theology and Church History in KrakowPrior of the Krakow Carmelite community on 1 November 1939Arresteddeported and imprisoned in December 1940 in the Nazi persecutions, having offered himself in exchange for an older brother who was very illImprisoned in Krakow, the Sachsenchausen concentration camp, and finally in the Dachau concentration camp in April 1941Imprisoned with Blessed Titus Brandsma, the two often spent time in prayer together. Father Hilary ministered to other prisoners where he could, dying of typhus contracted by caring for the sickMartyr.

Born

11 June 1907 in Krajenki, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland as Pawel Januszewski

Died

25 March 1945 in prisoner cabin 25 in the Dachau concentration camp, Oberbayern, Germany of typhus

his body was still in the cabin when Allied troops liberated the camp a few days later

body cremated in the Dachau crematorium

Venerated

26 March 1999 by Pope John Paul II (decree of martyrdom)

Beatified

13 June 1999 by Pope John Paul II in WarsawPoland

Additional Information

other sites in english

Hagiography Circle

sitios en español

Martirologio Romano2001 edición

fonti in italiano

Santi e Beati

Martirologio Romano2005 edition

MLA Citation

“Blessed Pawel Januszewski“. CatholicSaints.Info. 25 March 2017. Web. 20 November 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/tag/born-in-poland/page/4/>

SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/tag/born-in-poland/page/4/

Hilary Januszewski was born on 11 June 1907 in Krajenki (Poland) and was given the name of Pawel. He received a Christian education from his parents, Martin and Marianne. He attended the college in Greblin (where his family lived from 1915), and then continued his studies at the Institute of Suchary, but had to abandon these due to economic difficulties of the family. Meanwhile his family went to Cracow where he took up other studies and in 1927 entered the Order of Carmel. He completed his noviciate in Leopoli and on 30 December 1928 made his simple profession. At the end of his philosophical studies in Cracow he was sent to Collegio Internazionale Sant'Alberto, Rome. He was ordained priest on 15 July 1934. He obtained his lectorate in theology and the prize for the best students of the Roman Academy of St. Thomas and in 1935 returned to Poland to the monastery in Cracow.

On his return to Poland he was appointed professor of Dogmatic Theology and Church History at the institute of the Polish Province in Cracow. On 1 November 1939, Fr. Eliseus Sánchez-Paredes, Provincial, appointed him prior of the community. At that time, Poland had already been occupied by the Germans a few weeks earlier. One year later, the invaders decreed the arrest of many religious and priests. On 18 September 1940 the gestapo deported four friars from the Carmel in Cracow. In December, when other friars were arrested, Fr. Hilary decided to present himself in exchange for an older and sick friar. From that day his Calvary began. He was sent to the prison of Montelupi (Cracow), then to the concentration camp of Sachsenchausen and in April 1941 to the concentration camp of Dachau. There he was a model of prayer life, encouraging others and giving hope for a better tomorrow. Together with the other Carmelites, among whom was Blessed Titus Brandsma, they often joined in prayer.

Meanwhile in barrack 25 of the concentration camp, typhus was spreading. To help the sick, 32 priests presented themselves to the authorities. A couple of days later, Fr. Hilary Januszewski spontaneously joined the group. His apostolate lasted 21 days because, infected by typhus, he died on 25 March 1945, a few days before the liberation of the concentration camp. His body was cremated in the crematorium of Dachau.

Fr. Hilary Januszewski was beatified by John Paul II on 13 June 1999, during his apostolic visit to Warsaw (Poland). On this occasion the Pope beatified 108 Polish martyrs of the Second World War, victims of Nazi persecution.

"Faithful in little, faithful in much…."

A letter by Fr Joseph Chalmers 

Prior General of the Carmelites 

on the occasion of beatification 

of Fr Hilary Januszewski, O.Carm. 13 June 1999

Dear brothers and sisters in Carmel,

The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, during his next apostolic visit to Poland, will beatify 108 martyrs who were victims of the nazi persecution during World War II. Among them is our brother, Father Hilary Januszewski.

Dachau and the Carmelites

Along with some magnificent human, scientific, social and political achievements, the twentieth century, now drawing to a close, will leave us with a number of dreadful names: Auschwitz, Hiroshima, Verdun, Rwanda and others, each an example of the horror, barbarity and disregard for humankind which has also marked this century. Dachau is one of those names. It was the first concentration camp opened by the national-socialism, back in March 1933, on the premises of a former arms factory. It was also practically the last one to be freed, on 29 April 1945. The name of this noble barbarian town, near Munich, famous for its nineteenth-century school of painting and the hospitality of its people, became forever linked to the Lager (concentration camp).

On 16 July 1942 an unusual clandestine ceremony was held to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Several Carmelites, from different parts, were imprisoned at the camp at the same time in the huts reserved for the clergy. That morning, at dawn, before setting out for their forced labour, they joined hands to celebrate with joy, despite the appalling nature of the circumstances, the fact that even there they could be and persevere sub tutela matris.

One of them was Father Titus Brandsma, a Dutch Carmelite, journalist and lecturer at the University of Nimega (of which he was Rector Magnificus), imprisoned for defending the rights of the Catholic press against the forces of domination and for trying to save a group of Jewish children. He was beatified by John Paul II in November 1985. One of his companions was Brother Raphael Tijhuis, who was with him during the last days of his life and who was the main witness of these dramatic events.[1]

Father Albert Urbanski was also there. He was a Polish Carmelite who was to write some beautiful letters to the Curia General in Rome shortly after the camp was liberated in May 1945, describing his experiences over the years in which he was deprived of his freedom and the most basic rights. He set an example by putting himself at the service of the Order right from the beginning.[2] Urbanski wrote one of the first accounts of the camp and the priests’ life there.[3] After the War, he did some marvellous work in several positions of responsibility. He was provincial from 1964 to 1967. He was the first president of the Studium Josephologiae Calissiae (under the Polish Studium Mariologiae).[4]

Several other Polish Carmelites were imprisoned at the camp. Some of them survived the hell of Dachau, although they came out of it severely marked by the experience, both physically and psychologically. Others, however, lost their lives there. Among them we find Father Leon Michail Koza, who died on the vigil of Ascension Day in 1942 through exhaustion owing to the tough labour in the fields;[5] Father Szymon Buszta, who died a few weeks after Father Koza, also as a result of physical and psychological exhaustion [6] and Father Bruno Makowski.[7] Together with them, we should mention G. Kowalski, who died in Auschwitz in November 1940, while waiting to be transferred to Dachau [8].

Father Hilary Januszewski, the one who will soon be beatified by Pope John Paul II, was also there. He is the second Carmelite of this century to be beatified, which is a source of deep satisfaction for the whole Carmelite family.

Father Hilary Januszewski

Father Januszewski was born in Krajenki on 11 June 1907. He was christened Pawel and educated in the Christian faith by his parents, Martin and Marianne. After going to school in Greblin (where the family lived from 1915), he continued his studies at the secondary school (Gimnasium) in Suchary, which he had to leave later because of financial difficulties in the family. After periods at other schools, he went to Krakow, where he did a number of courses (including correspondence courses) and joined the Order of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel in September 1927, whereupon he changed his name to Hilary. After his noviciate, he took his vows on 30 December 1928 and moved to Krakow to do his studies for the priesthood. After these studies he was sent to Rome to study at St. Albert’s International College. There he lived with Carmelites from all over the world who were concerned with how the situation in Europe was becoming increasingly complicated and how tension was rising all the time. The young Hilary proved to be a silent and prudent man, who loved studying. People could sense in him a deep inner life and a wealth of spiritual experience, as some of his colleagues, including Prior General, Father Kilian Healy [9], were to indicate later on. He was ordained on 15 July 1934. In Rome, he came into contact with a generation of Carmelites who were to mark the history of the Order during this century: Xiberta, Brenninger, Esteve, Grammatico, Driessen and others.

Upon his return to Poland, he was appointed lecturer in Dogmatic Theology and in Church History for the students of the Polish province in Krakow. In 1939 he was appointed Prior of that community by the provincial, Father Eliseo Sánchez Paredes, one of the Spanish Carmelites who had been sent to Poland to help in the restoration of this province.

World War II was to jeopardise all the hopes and projects of the young prior. On September 1, 1939, after several months of widespread international tension, Germany declared war on Poland. It was the beginning of a terrible month in the recent history of Poland. Twenty days later, Soviet troops launched an attack from the East. A weak Polish army surrendered on both fronts at the end of that month. Poland was once again humiliated and divided. Mass deportations, destruction, annihilation of Jewish communities followed in quick succession. The Polish clergy did not escape this persecution. A year after the invasion, the invading forces ordered the arrest of large numbers of monks and priests. The Carmelites in Krakow were particularly hard hit: on September 18 A. Urbanski, A. Wszelaki, M. Nowakowski and P. Majcher were all arrested, to be followed shortly afterwards by the prior of the community H. Januszewski, who offered to go instead of P. Konoba, who was older than him and sick. Father Januszewski acted heroically without stopping to consider the consequences of his action, guided by his conscience and his Christian and religious values, by what he considered to be his obligation as the head of a Carmelite community. He was arrested and, after some time at the Montelupi prison in Krakow and several concentration camps, he ended up at Dachau.

During the severe winter of 1945, news began to filter through that the German army was growing weak and that there was a possibility of retreat and even of freedom. Life at the camp had become unbearable. In addition to the normal conditions, there were constant threats of bombings and reduced rations. The kapos (prisoners in charge of working parties) were continually on edge, intensifying beatings and other forms of repression.

Hut 25 was being used to group together, in the most inhumane conditions, all the prisoners with typhus fever, who were constantly growing in number. The camp authorities offered the Polish priests the opportunity to put their "theories" of Christian charity into practice and look after the typhus patients. Freedom was by then imminent and the risk of death in the wretched hut 25 was very high. However, the silent Carmelite was one of the first volunteers.

What he said to his friend Father Bernard Czaplinski (later the Bishop of Chelm) shortly before he set off for the hut leaves one very moved even today: You know I won’t come out of there alive….[10]

Sure enough, Father Januszewski never left Dachau alive. After 21 days serving the sick, he died of typhus. Hut 25 had become a coffin, which the Americans, who freed the Lager a few days later, found crammed with hundreds of corpses.

His testimony for us today

The beatification of Father Januszewski is a source of joy and happiness for all Carmelites. The Church has considered one of our brethren an intercessor and an example, a valid witness for the universal Church. This is an occasion for Carmelites not only to feel that joy and to celebrate it, but also to reflect upon and to think deeply about Father Januszewski’s testimony, to find in his example keys to our own way of living today.

First of all, there is a good example in the biography of Father Januszewski of a selfless, quiet, silent life, founded upon deep prayer and service of others. Those who knew him insist that he was remarkably simple. Had it not been for his heroic death, he would probably have been forgotten, because he never stood out in extraordinary things.[11] But with that strength that grows from a life of prayer, acting in the presence of the Lord - something very typical and genuine in Carmelite spirituality - he gave himself up for others with the same simplicity with which he lived a quiet, hard-working life. A person educated in daily devotion generously offered his life when faced with arrest and the reality of the concentration camp. We could say that he succeeded in being faithful to his vocation in ordinary circumstances and, as a result, was also able to be just as faithful in truly extraordinary circumstances. Faithful in very little, he was faithful also in much (Lk 16, 10).

Father A. Urbanski, with whom he was joined both in religious life and in fate, writing to the Carmelite Curia in Rome from the camp during the forced quarantine following liberation, interpreted his death as follows: 

Proh dolor R.P. Hilarius Januszewski, die 26.3.45, uno Mense ante liberationem, tanquam victima zelus sacerdotalis erga infectuose infirmos, mortuus est.[12]

As this century draws to a close, we are horrified by certain events that have taken place during it. We find the experience of the concentration camps in which Father Januszewski lost his life especially cruel and inhuman. However, there are situations even now that are, in a way, very similar: racial hatred, poverty and starvation, wars of all kinds, massacres, intolerant violent nationalist movements… The testimony of Father Januszewski invites the Carmelites of the twenty-first century to make a radical option for life, which nowadays is threatened in so many ways. He was able to do this in the most sublime way, giving up his own life for that of others.[13]

Father Januszewski’s example reminds us that Carmelites are called to vouch for life in the midst of a "culture of death", which shows itself in many different ways, not only in those regions of the world in which that "culture of death" is more obvious, but also in other areas where its presence is more subtle. Moreover, in the face of the temptation of "usefulness", of valuing human beings for what they produce, and eliminating those who are no longer useful and become a burden, Father Januszewski opted radically for the dying, the useless, those who apparently had nothing left to offer. With this action, he proclaimed and testified to the sacred value of human life, for itself and in itself. This witness given by Hilary Januszewski went to the ultimate limit, the giving of his own life.

We also find in Father Januszewski an especially interesting example for our experience of the Carmelite charism today. Januszewski, a man of silence and prayer, accustomed to talking to God, devoted to contemplation -like any good Carmelite - had no difficulty in finding the face of Christ in the weak, the needy and the suffering. In the awful conditions of Dachau, those with typhus fever, the dying, were the poorest of the poor and Father Januszewski, along with other priest volunteers, was willing to stay with them and end up dying with them and for them.

A life of intense prayer makes us more human and more capable of living in solidarity with others; it gives us the necessary intuition and sensitivity to discover the mysterious presence of the Lord in those who are weakest, in the midst of the tensions and contradictions of life. Like John in the boat on the Lake of Galilee, between the darkness of the passing night and the light of dawn, the Carmelite is called to proclaim, humbly but firmly: It is the Lord (Jn 21, 7).

Finally, the witness of Hilary Januszewski, soon to be called blessed must show Carmelites throughout the world the meaning of the international dimension of our Order. We must not forget that most of the patients Father Januszewski looked after were Russians (that is, from an enemy country). But this, seemingly, did not affect his decision. Overcoming national barriers, Father Januszewski offers us a true witness to universal fraternity, to reconciliation between enemy nations, and to peace. 

Three years earlier, Blessed Titus Brandsma had ended a document, requested of him as part of the investigation into the opposition of Dutch Catholics to national-socialism, with the following words: God save Holland! God save Germany! Let God make these two nations walk in peace and freedom once again and recognise his Glory!

May the example and intercession of these two blessed Carmelites help us to enter the twenty-first century with a real spirit of service, peace and justice born out of a true and intense encounter with our Risen Lord.

Rome, 19 March 1999

Solemnity of St. Joseph 

Fr Joseph Chalmers, O.Carm.

Prior General

Footnotes

1 R. TIJHUIS, Met Pater Titus Brandsma in Dachau: Carmelrozen 31-32 (1945/46) 18-21, 53-58, 80-85. The English translation may be consulted in: Dachau Eye-witness, in: AA.VV., Essays on Titus Brandsma [R. Valabek, ed.] (Rome 1985) 58-67. 

2 F. MILLAN ROMERAL, Carmelitas en Dachau: las cartas del P. A. Urbanski, desde el lager, en el 50 aniversario de la liberación: Carmelus 42 (1995) 22-43. 

3 A. URBANSKI, Duchowni w Dachau (Krakow 1945). 

4 Cf. JUAN BOSCO DE JESÚS, Dos figuras de la Josefología en Polonia recientemente desaparecidas: PP. Alberto Urbanski, O.Carm. (1911-1985) y Estanislao Ruminski (1929-1984): Estudios Josefinos 40 (1986) 91-98. 

5 Cf. Necrología (Obituary): Analecta O.Carm. 11 (1940-1942) 219; A. URBANSKI, Duchowni w Dachau, 61-66. 

6 Cf. Necrología (Obituary): Analecta O.Carm. 12 (1943-1945) 230; A. URBANSKI, Duchowni w Dachau, 65-66. 

7 Cf. Necrología (Obituary): Analecta O.Carm. 12 (1943-1945) 230; A. URBANSKI, Duchowni w Dachau, 61-66. 

8 His photographs may be seen in the splendid photograph album published recently by the Carmelite Province of Poland: R. RÓG, Duch, Historia, Kultura (Krakow 1997) 68-69. 

9 K. HEALY, Prophet of Fire (Rome 1990) 181-184 (Italian and Spanish versions available) 

10 In the same sense, see the testimony of: F. KORSZYNSKI, Un vescovo polacco a Dachau (Brescia 1963) 125. This is the Italian translation (with a preface by the then Cardenal Montini) of Jasne promienie w Dachau (Poznan 1957). 

11 Cf. K. HEALY, Prophet of fire (Rome 1990) 181-184. 

12 F. MILLAN ROMERAL, Carmelitas en Dachau: las cartas del P. A. Urbanski, desde el lager, en el 50 aniversario de la liberación: Carmelus 42 (1995) 37. In another letter, written in German, he insists on this: "Als Opfer zelus sacerdotalis ist er gestorben" (ibid. 42). 

13 Cf. R. VALABEK, Greater Love Than This... Father Hilary Januszewski, O. Carm.: Carmel in the World 30 (1991) 209-216.

SOURCE : http://ocarm.org/en/content/liturgy/bl-hilary-januszewski-priest-and-martyr-m

Beato Ilarione (Pawel) Januszewski

25 marzo

>>> Visualizza la Scheda del Gruppo cui appartiene

Krajenki, Polonia, 11 giungo 1907 - Dachau, 25 marzo 1945

Quando nella primavera del 1945 gli americani aprirono la baracca 25 del campo di concentramento tedesco di Dachau, trovarono centinaia di cadaveri. Tra loro il carmelitano polacco Ilario Januszewski, morto pochi giorni prima di tifo. Nato nel 1907 a Krajenki, a 20 anni era entrato nell'ordine e a 27 era diventato prete. Recatosi per studio a Roma, fu poi destinato al Carmelo di Cracovia. Di qui fu deportato nel 1940, offrendosi in cambio di un confratello più anziano. Stile di carità che seguì anche nel lager, insieme al confratello beato Tito Brandsma. E' sugli altari dal 1985 con oltre cento martiri polacchi del nazismo. (Avvenire)

Martirologio Romano: Nel campo di prigionia di Dachau vicino a Monaco di Baviera in Germania, beato Ilario Januszewski, sacerdote dell’Ordine dei Frati Scalzi della Beata Vergine del Monte Carmelo e martire: in tempo di guerra, fu deportato a causa della fede in Cristo dalla Polonia in questo carcere straniero; ammalatosi di tifo nell’assistere i malati, morì insigne per fede e carità.

P. Ilarione Januszewski nacque l'11 giungo 1907 a Krajenki (Polonia) e fu dato il nome di Pawel. Fu educato cristianamente dai suoi genitori Martin e Marianne. Dopo aver frequentato il collegio di Greblin (dove la sua famiglia risiedeva dal 1915), continuò i suoi studi nell'Istituto di Suchary che abbandonò più tardi per problemi economici familiari. Nel frattempo la sua famiglia si trasferì a Cracovia, dove conseguì altri studi e nel 1927 entrò nell'Ordine Carmelitano. Dopo aver compiuto il noviziato a Leopoli, il 30 dicembre 1928, emise la professione semplice. Alla fine degli studi filosofici a Cracovia, fu inviato al Collegio Internazionale Sant'Alberto a Roma. Fu ordinato sacerdote il 15 luglio 1934. Avendo ottenuto il lettorato in teologia e il premio destinato agli studenti più bravi dell'Accademia Romana di S. Tommaso, nel 1935 ritornò in Polonia nel convento di Cracovia.

Appena ritornato in Polonia venne nominato professore di Teologia Dogmatica e della Storia della Chiesa nell'istituto della Provincia Polacca a Cracovia. Il 1 novembre 1939, P. Eliseo Sánchez-Paredes, Provinciale, lo nominò priore della comunità. A quel tempo, da poche settimane, la Polonia era occupata dai tedeschi. Un anno dopo, gli invasori decretarono l'arresto di numerosi religiosi e sacerdoti. Il 18 settembre 1940, dal Carmelo di Cracovia, furono deportati dalla gestapo quattro frati. Nel mese di dicembre, all'arresto di altri frati, P. Ilarione decise di consegnarsi in cambio di un frate più anziano e malato. Da quel giorno incominciò il suo calvario. Venne inviato nella prigione di Montelupi (Cracovia), nel campo di concentramento di Sachsenchausen e nell'aprile 1941 nel campo di concentramento di Dachau. Là fu un esempio di vita di preghiera, incoraggiando gli altri e suscitando fiducia in un domani migliore. Insieme agli altri Carmelitani, fra i quali il beato Tito Brandsma, si radunava spesso per la preghiera. Nel frattempo, nel campo di concentramento, nella baracca 25, dilagava il tifo. Per assistere i malati si presentarono alle autorità del campo 32 sacerdoti. Un paio di giorni dopo si associò spontaneamente il P. Ilarione Januszewski. Il suo apostolato durò 21 giorni, perché infettato dal tifo, morì il 25 marzo 1945, pochi giorni prima dalla liberazione del campo di concentramento. Il suo corpo fu bruciato nel crematorio campestre di Dachau.

P. Ilarione Januszewski è stato beatificato da Giovanni Paolo II il 13 giugno 1999, durante il suo viaggio apostolico a Varsavia (Polonia). In questa occasione il Papa ha beatificato 108 martiri polacchi della seconda guerra mondiale, vittime della persecuzione nazista.

Autore: Anthony Cilia

Fonte : www.ocarm.org

SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/Detailed/90060.html