Today, the 23rd June, the Minister General presided in Włocławek, Poland at the solemn thanksgiving celebration for the 25th anniversary of the beatification of five Friars Minor, which took place in Warsaw on the 13th June 1999, when St. John Paul II beatified 108 martyrs of the Second World War. The beatified friars are: Br. Jan (Narcissus) Turchan, OFM, Br. Wojciech (Cristino) Gondek, OFM, Br. Jan (Martino) Oprządek, OFM and Br. Jan (Bruno) Zembol, OFM, of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels; Br. Jakub (Anastasio) Pankiewicz, OFM, of the Province of the Immaculate Conception.
In the church of the Friars Minor in Włocławek there is an altar dedicated to all five: three of them were deported to Dachau from Włocławek: Br. Narcissus, guardian, Br. Cristino, the Vicar, Br. Marino; Br. Bruno was deported from another friary of the Friars Minor, that of Chełm. Br. Anastasio was for some years Master of novices in the friary of Włocławek, but was deported from Łódź. All of them died in the Dachau concentration camp in the terrible year of 1942. They accepted death and various tortures and sufferings in faith.
Their final days were in the concentration camp for fidelity to obedience to serve the People of God to the end: all of them had the opportunity to escape, leaving their friaries and pastoral activity, but they chose not to do so.
