Poland

When they firmly refused, she intervened herself.

Seventeen Catholic priests, sisters, seminarians and lay workers were murdered in 2025, according to Fides, the Vatican’s missionary news agency.

Eight hundred years after St. Francis transformed Greccio with the first Nativity, a Polish priest and his community are drawn back to the same hillside, hoping for a Christmas miracle …

“If there is no encounter with Jesus, who is the living Lord, then everything we do in the church is some form of entertainment.”

Taking the most prestigious archbishop’s seat in the country, the Archbishops’ Palace of Krakow, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś — one of the most globally recognized Polish owners of the red hat …

“As tensions resurface today in the face of war, this great step between Poles and Germans, taken just 20 years after World War II, deserves to be remembered.”

“Despite the fear, despite the loss, our people still come to church,” the bishop said. “Our faith is alive — maybe more alive than ever.”

Instead of dressing as ghosts or monsters, children appear as saints and angels, joining joyful parades, games and prayer services to highlight All Saints’ Day.

Father Jan Swierc, rector of the Salesian parish in Krakow, was arrested by the Gestapo in 1941, taken to prison and then transferred to Auschwitz.

“I pray before every performance. I always ask for support, because what we do as musicians somehow exceeds our human capabilities.”