Today we toured the wonderful city of Krakow. We toured the Wawel hill castle and the Archdiocesan Cathedral where Saint John Paul II lead the people of Krakow. We saw the tomb of St. Stanislaus, patron saint of Poland and made our way to St. Mary Church where we celebrated the Mass. In the afternoon our group took a tour of the Oskar Schindler Ceramic Factory where Schindler housed, fed, employed and saved thousands of people during the Nazi occupation of Poland from 1939-1945. The role of the church also played a significant role in helping to save lives. Religious sisters forged baptismal certificates and even bleached the hair of children to convince the Nazi’s that the children were Christian. This saved countless children from extinction in the gas chambers or from starvation. When anyone was caught trying to save the Jews they were either shot to death or hung in the town square for everyone to see. Often the bodies stayed hanging for several days to create fear and warning to others who risked their lives trying to save the innocent lives of Polish Jews.
When we returned home, we prayed evening Prayer together at the hotel. The words of Psalm 67 haunted us as we reflected on the day’s tour: “Their plan is only to destroy; they take pleasure in lies. With their mouth they utter blessing but in their hearts they curse. In God alone be at rest, my soul, for my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock, my stronghold, my fortress: I stand firm.” These words seemed fittingly appropriate to what we had seen and experienced in today’s haunting yet hopeful tour.
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