Pope Francis made a historic visit to the former Nazi death camp in Auschwitz, Poland where he honored the more than 1 million individuals, mostly Jews, who were killed during the Holocaust.
The Pope also met with Holocaust survivors and their families. However, the Holy Father specifically asked the media prior to his visit that he be allowed “to go to that place of horror without speeches, without crowds” as he was previously quoted by the New York Times.
“May the Lord give me the grace to cry,” he said.
The Pontiff entered the former concentration camp alone and in quiet. He also lit a candle at the memorial wall for the victims of the Holocaust.
He then walked through the infamous Block 11 building where Nazi prison guards tortured prisoners. At the basement, housing 28 dark cells, he stopped and sat to pray in the middle of a cell that once housed Rev. Maximilian Kolbe
Kolbe was a Polish priest who volunteered to take the place of a complete stranger who was sentenced to die in 1941. For his martyrdom, he was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pope’s visit to Aushwitz also marked the 75th anniversary of Saint Maximilian Kolbe’s death.
After visiting Father Kolbe’s cell, the Holy Father signed the camp’s guest book.
“Lord, have mercy on your people. Lord, forgive so much cruelty,” the Argentinian pontiff wrote.
Pope Francis follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, who both visited the camp in 1979 and 2006, respectively.
Prior to his visit to the camp, the Holy Father denounced groups who committed crimes in the name of religion.
0 comments:
Post a Comment