Michal Rapaczo was murdered in 1946 by twenty communists in the forest near Ploki, Poland.
At the Holy Mass presented in the Basilica of the Divine Mercy, Pope Francis was represented by Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, Prefect of the Congregation for Baptismal Affairs. In his homily, the cardinal highlighted: the beatification of the martyred priest
"God's comforting sign in today's times wounded by violence and war".
Michal Rapacz (1904-1946) served as a pastor in the village of Ploki in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship from 1937. The village belongs to the area of Poland that was annexed to the Nazi German Third Reich during the Second World War. The priest hid war refugees persecuted by the Germans, supported the Polish underground Home Army, and secretly said mass in Polish despite the German ban.
After the war, he helped anti-communist resisters hiding from the Polish Communist Security Office (UB). In his pastoral activities, he devoted a lot of time to young people, and in his homilies he often called for the validation of religious values in the life of society. His behavior caused the displeasure of the communists who came to power. In 1946, he was threatened several times, but he did not let himself be intimidated and continued his service.
On the night of May 12, 1946, the parish in Ploki was invaded by a communist armed group of approximately twenty people, the priest was dragged into the nearby forest and executed there.
After the murder, an official investigation was launched, in which the identity of the perpetrators was not established. During the investigation restarted in 1996, the identity of the killers was determined, but the procedure was terminated due to "lack of evidence". Nevertheless, it was stated that Michal Rapacz was the victim of a "communist crime".
In January of this year, Pope Francis signed the decree confirming the priest's martyrdom.
MTI
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