A painting is seen during a ceremony on May 31, 2025, in Braniewo, Poland, as the church beatifies 15 nuns from the Congregation of St. Catherine Virgin and Martyr, martyred in 1945 during the brutal final months of World War II. The sisters chose to stay behind to care for the sick and vulnerable as Soviet troops advanced, ultimately dying at the hands of soldiers while defending their faith, purity, and dignity. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presiding as the pope’s envoy, called their martyrdom a “supreme testimony of faith” and a challenge to today’s culture of hatred and division. (OSV News photo/courtesy Polish bishops’ conference)
In a powerful ceremony on 31 May in Braniewo, the church beatified 15 nuns from the Congregation of St Catherine of Alexandria, martyred in 1945 during the brutal final months of World War II.
The sisters chose to stay behind to care for the sick and vulnerable as Soviet troops advanced, ultimately dying at the hands of soldiers while defending their faith, purity, and dignity.
Pope Leo XIV in his remarks after the Regina Caeli prayer 1 June said that “Despite a climate of hatred and of terror against the Catholic faith,” the sisters “persevered in their service to the sick and orphans.”
Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, presiding as the pope’s envoy, called their martyrdom a “supreme testimony of faith” and a challenge to today’s culture of hatred and division. He emphasised their legacy of forgiveness and courage—not revenge.
Nuns and others attend a ceremony on May 31, 2025, in Braniewo, Poland, as the church beatifies 15 nuns from the Congregation of St. Catherine Virgin and Martyr, martyred in 1945 during the brutal final months of World War II. The sisters chose to stay behind to care for the sick and vulnerable as Soviet troops advanced, ultimately dying at the hands of soldiers while defending their faith, purity, and dignity. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presiding as the pope’s envoy, called their martyrdom a “supreme testimony of faith” and a challenge to today’s culture of hatred and division. (OSV News photo/courtesy Polish bishops’ conference)
“We seek to receive what is most precious from them: forgiveness, mercy and love for every human being,” the cardinal said. Their beatification comes as the world reflects on the 80th anniversary of the war’s end.
Church leaders say the sisters’ sacrifice carries a message of hope, resilience, and mercy in the face of violence. As one nun put it: “They trusted God to the end. They all forgave.”
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