Grzegorz Bolesław Frąckowiak


Grzegorz Bolesław Frąckowiak was a Society of the Divine Word martyr. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 June 1999 as one of the 108 Polish Martyrs of World War II.

Life

His early life was austere and serene, despite poverty, this did not hinder him from reaching his aspirations and ambitions in life. Because he could not afford secondary education and later seminary schooling later, in 1927, he took the order of being a Missionary brother and he was sent to Gorna Grupna where the novitiate of the SVD was based and there he met fellow martyrs Aloysius Liguda and Stanisław Kubista. He continued in his studies as he was being instructed and taught in the novitiate. After a year of postulancy, he took his temporary vows and received his habit, in 1930. He then became the principal bookbinder of the novitiate. He also wrote the daily spiritual exercises that would be undertaken by his fellow aspiring novitiates, and even took care of the food preparations. In 1938, he was ordained as a friar.
In 1940, when the novitiate was invaded and everyone was gathered for transport to the concentration camps, Gregory escaped. He went to Jarocin, and partook in underground religious ministry and created an editorial "For you, Poland", however, the Nazis knew about the secret group, and they were hunted down and the members captured. He was later captured with some members that managed to escape, but he asked to be the one found solely responsible and taking all the blame in hopes of liberating some of the members. He was tortured and imprisoned in Fort VII, and was then transferred to Dresden in 1943, where he was beheaded by guillotine on May 5, 1943, after secretly writing a letter to his family. He was thrown in an unmarked grave.