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Blessed Jerzy Kaszyra

photograph of Blessed Jerzy Kaszyra, date, location and photographer unknown; swiped from Santi e Beati Also known as

George Kashira
George Kaszyra
Juryj Kašyra
Giorgio…
Jerzy…
Yuri

18 February
12 June as one of the 108 Martyrs of World War II

Profile

Raised in an Orthodox family, George converted to Roman Catholicism in 1922 at age 18. He joined the Marians of the Immaculate Conception in 1924 in Druya, Belarus, and made his profession on 2 August 1929. He studied theology and philosophy in Rome, Italy, then at the seminary of Vilnius, Lithuania. Ordained a priest on 20 June 1935. He taught catechism in Druja, and in the seminary in Vilnius.

In 1938, Polish authorities ordered Father George to end his pastoral work in western Belarus; he moved to the monastery of Rasno in eastern Belarus and continued his work. In 1940, Soviet authorities, in line with their atheist ideology, kicked him out of the monastery; Father George travelled the area of Belarus and Lithuania, staying at assorted monasteries and continuing his work. On 18 February 1943 the occupation Nazis accused him of helping the partisans, and with several other Catholics, he was locked in the basement of a church which was then set on fire, killing them all. Martyr.