This Priest Performed One of the Greatest Acts of Mercy You'll Ever See

[00:00:07]Zygmunt Kryszkiewicz was born on May the  2nd 1915 in Mlawa, Mazovia, to Tadeusz and Apolinia Golebiewska, the youngest in a large  faithful family. Six days after his birth, he was baptized into the Catholic faith. While  his father was away, Zigmunt was lovingly raised by his grandmother where he received his early  education including lessons from the Sisters of Charity. After completing his basic schooling,  he entered the Passionist school in Przasnysz.

[00:00:39]In 1933, he began his novitiate with the  Passionists and received the religious name Bernard. One year later, he professed his first  vows and dedicated his life completely to Christ.

[00:00:52]At just 19 years old, he took his religious  vows and began studying philosophy and theology, continuing his formation in  Rome. On June the 3rd, 1938, he was ordained a priest and soon returned to his  homeland to begin serving the people of Poland.

[00:01:09]Father Bernard became the assistant  director of seminarians in Przasnysz.

[00:01:14]When the second world war began, he was sent to  Rawa Mazowiecka, where the only Passionists house still open under the German occupation continued  to train future priests. Along with teaching and carrying out his priestly duties, he faithfully  guided the seminarians entrusted to his care.

[00:01:33]"I want to live for souls, especially the poorest,  the most unfortunate. This desire grows stronger within me with each passing day. I am simply  consumed by the desire to help to effectively aid those most in need. How beautiful is  the mission of a priest". These were dark days marked by German arrests, forced labor, and  constant fear. Many people turned to the young and devoted priest, finding in him hope, comfort, and  strength to endure the suffering surrounding them.

[00:02:06]His years in Rawa Mazowiecka became a time  of deep spiritual growth and heroic charity.

[00:02:12]He preached retreats whenever he could, visited  nearby parishes, cared for a displaced priest from greater Poland, and faithfully served as a  spiritual director and confessor to many souls.

[00:02:26]"Since I began my priestly mission on this  earth, I have felt ever more clearly the powerful groan of pain that rises daily from  this exile to heaven. Yet I will not be able to fully comprehend its immensity even until I  die. And that is why I like to speak of suffering.

[00:02:44]I like to do so because Christ devoted so much to  wiping away the tears of pain. And a priest being his representative on earth should also follow  in his footsteps". On January the 16th, 1945, the Red Army heavily bombed the city. The  Passionist house was turned into a hospital, and Father Bernard willingly served as both nurse  and cook for the community. He cared for the sick, comforted survivors of the bombing, and treated  wounded soldiers. Showing remarkable courage, he dug through the rubble with his own hands  to rescue those trapped beneath the ruins, carried them on his shoulders to safety, and cared  for their injuries. When the fighting had ended, Father Bernard returned to Przasnysz where he  devoted himself to restoring temporary hospitals and transforming them once again into  Passionist monasteries for religious life.

[00:03:42]After tirelessly serving others, Father Bernard  contracted typhus and died on July the 7th, 1945 in Przasnysz, Poland. A solemn funeral was  celebrated and his coffin covered with white lilies was laid to rest in the basement of the  Passionist Church. The priest's last words were, "Jesus, I love you." He was only 30 years  old. Dearest Father Bernard, pray for us.