Remembering the deceased during the month of November

By Phil Brown
Contributing Writer

FOOTEDALE – In the grim darkness of World War II’s notorious Auschwitz death camp, the light of Christ shined brightly through the self-sacrificing love of a prisoner priest.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, who was canonized by St. Pope John Paul II in 1982, died in Auschwitz after volunteering to take the place of Francis Gajowniczek, one of 10 Polish soldiers singled out by guards to die as a reprisal for the escape of a prisoner.

Shortly after his canonization, the faithful in rural Footedale, Fayette County, decided to construct the first American shrine to honor Kolbe and the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.

Parishioners from St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church, now part of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, dedicated the shrine in 1984, an edifice built with rough stone to look like a prison death cell known as the “bunker.”

Stained-glass windows bear the powerful words written in English and Polish: “Without sacrifice, there is no love.” Across the shrine’s entrance is the message “The path of freedom is marked by the cross.”

Gajowniczek, who spent years witnessing to Kolbe’s generous act that saved his life, visited the shrine in 1984.

On Saturday, Nov. 2, Bishop Larry J. Kulick stood in the shrine and recalled Kolbe’s selfless love and honored the victims of the Holocaust as he celebrated Mass for All Souls Day.

The bishop’s visit to Footedale was the second stop in a two-county observance that started shortly after sunrise with Mass in Greensburg Catholic Cemetery’s mausoleum.

Surrounded by Footedale parishioners on a crisp, blue-sky autumn morning, Bishop Kulick praised the parish for the pristine condition of the shrine after 40 years and for its dedication to honoring the concentration camp martyrdom of Kolbe and remembering the immense human tragedy of the Holocaust.

The bishop said the shrine is a wonderful representation of the heritage and history of the Greensburg Diocese and Western Pennsylvania.

Bishop Kulick reminded those attending Mass that the Church requires the faithful to pray for all of the dead from every age, not just for those who are loved ones and close friends.

Burying the dead is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy and praying for the dead is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy that are central obligations of the Catholic Faith, he said, pointing out that both traditions date back to the earliest days of the Church.

The bishop said too often the dead are “immediately canonized and we fail to pray for them.”

Bishop Kulick said the recent practice of viewing funerals as “celebrations of life” is not founded on solid Catholic theology. Funerals must focus on Paschal Mysteries.

“When we die, our funeral is not about our life’s accomplishments,” he said. “A funeral Mass is a celebration of life in Christ united to His suffering, death and resurrection.”

Bishop Kulick was joined at the Mass by the Rev. Anthony J. Klimko, administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Parochial vicars for the parish are the Rev. Teodoro Cortezano, the Rev. Andrew J. Hamilton, the Rev. Alien Z. Rocamora and the Rev. Robert F. Smith.

At the conclusion of Mass, Bishop Kulick blessed earth from the Footedale site that will be included in the construction of a cross at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral to be used in the upcoming Jubilee 2025, a year-long observance declared by Pope Francis. The theme for the jubilee is “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Bishop Kulick said earth from Fayette, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Indiana counties will be part of the Greensburg Diocese cross.