Blessed Alice Kotowska - She refused to compromise her faith.

Sisters of the Resurrection
Poland - 1899-1939

Poland is a remarkably Catholic country, and for many, religious and patriotism are inseparable.  Sister Alice Kotowska was one such Pole.  A former army nurse who gave up her medical studies to pursue Christ in religious life, Sister Alice was martyred at the beginning of the Second World War.

In 1999, 108 Polish martyrs of World War II were beatified by Blessed Pope John Paul II.. There were certainly not the only Polish Martyrs of that era.  But these 108, among them Sister Alice, are models to remind of the thousands of others who refused to compromise their faith in God or their devotion to their county.

Blessed Alice, was born into a close-knit devout family. After graduating from high school she decided to become a doctor. In 1920, the Communist Red Army invaded her beloved homeland. She interrupted her medical studies to work in a military hospital. 

After returning to the university, she interrupted her studies of medicine once again. This time to pursue her vocation to religious life.  She joined the Sisters of the Resurrection, a Polish teaching order. When writing to the Superior asking to be accepted as a member she wrote: "I desire to live an die for Christ, loving Him above all, because He is my Greatest Love, my Lord, my God, my All."

Sister Alice went from nursing to teaching.  She made her final vows in August of 1928.  After completing her studies she was stationed in the town of Wejherowo. She was in chard of a growing girls school and local superior. The school became a place where love of God and love of country were an integral part of the school curriculum.

Her busy schedule never prevented Sister Alice from being calm and kind. And she spent long hours of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

Lying close to the border with Germany, Wejherowo was one of the earliest towns to feel the effects of the brutal Nazi occupation. The German army crossed the Polish border in early September and within a few days, had occupied the town.  They took over part of the convent for living quarters. 

Not wanting the Nazis to desecrate any of the sacred vessels used for Mass, Sister Alice, along with Francis, the convent handyman, buried these treasures in the convent garden. However, Francis was in the pay of the Germans and he soon led the soldiers to the buried vessels.

Shortly after their arrival, the Germans began arresting and executing all whom they considered leaders - teachers, journalists, politicians.  Sister Alice, a former member of the Polish Army and a teacher, was a target. After the war, the surviving Sisters learned that an acquaintance had come and tried to convince Sisters Alice to go into hiding. Afraid that her departure would cause harm to the sisters who remained, Sister Alice put her trust in God and decided to stay.

On October 24, the Sisters were in Chapel for prayers when the Gestapo began banging on the convent door and demanding the Sister Alice to with them.  Before she left Sister Alice said, "I forgive Francis for everything." Sister Alice was held in prison while her community tried unsuccessfully to have her released.

On November 11, Sister Alice and the other prisoners, including some children, were taken into the courtyard of the prison. There, trucks with shovels attached to the sides awaited them.  The adults knew that the trucks would take them to their deaths.  But the children didn't know what the trucks meant and were frightened.  These children were Jewish were condemned to death; their crime being Jewish.  Sister Alice saw their fear and went to them.  Taking two of the children by the hand, she lead them to the waiting trucks.  Her biographer imagines she must have said something like;" Do not be afraid children. God loves you and is waiting for you in heaven."

The trucks were driven into a nearby forest where the condemned were forced to dig their own graves before being shot. Before the end of the was, the Gestapo dug up some of these mass graves and cremated the bodies, trying to hide the evidence of their crimes. When the war finally ended, the Sisters went to the forest where the remains were being exhumed. All that was found was a black rosary that every Sisters of the Resurrection wore. Sister Alice wanted to live and die like her master.

To learn more about Sister Alice and others Modern Saints check out:
 "Heroic Catholics of the Twenteith Century" By Sister Elizabeth Ann Barkett, SJW
 A New Hope Publication.
New Hope KY
or
 Sisters of St. Joseph the Worker
Walton KY