Francis calls for churchmen to tend to the needy

Pope Francis is the third consecutive pope to visit the site, where more than 1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed by Adolf Hitler’s forces during World War II.

Before his trip, Francis said he had decided that silence in prayer was the best way to pay tribute to those who died.

He said he was tattooed at Auschwitz to signify he had been “purchased” by the camp.

Francis moved on to nearby Birkenau, a sprawling complex where people were murdered in factory-like fashion in its gas chambers.

“When there are tears, a child seeks out his or her mother”.

It was a contemplative and private visit of almost two hours that Francis passed in silence, except for a few words he exchanged with camp survivors and Holocaust rescuers. During one of these visions, she recounted, she was instructed to commission a painting of Jesus based on Divine Mercy, with rays of red and white light coming out from his heart and the signature line, “Jesus, I trust in You”. We say: “‘Yes, we have seen cruelty, 70 years ago; how they died shot, hanged or gassed.’ But today, in so many places in the world where there is war, the same thing happens”, the pope told a crowd gathered late July 29 outside the archbishop’s residence in Krakow where he is staying. He then signed his name in Latin, “Franciscus”.

“May the Lord help you to do your work well, here as in every other hospital in the world”, he said, going off the cuff to remember in particular the many religious sisters who spend their lives serving in hospitals.

Both of his predecessors had a personal or historical connection to the site.

Embedded in a gray memorial stone, a story below the altar where Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Saturday in a shrine dedicated to St. John Paul II, is a glass bubble filled with blood drawn from the Polish pontiff shortly before his death in 2005. His successor, Pope Benedict XVI, visited in 2006.

Francis then reflected on his visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, where there was so much pain and “cruelty”, asking “is it possible that us men, created in God’s image, are capable of doing these things?” He then carried a large white candle to the Death Wall, where prisoners at Auschwitz were executed.

Francis also prayed in the cell of Saint Maximilian Kolbe a Polish priest who sacrificed himself to save the life of another man, who was the father of a family. Francis slowly observed each of the memorial plaques in the 23 languages used by the inmates.

At the Birkenau ceremony, Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, recited, in Hebrew Psalm 130, beginning with the words: “From the depths I have cried out to you, Oh Lord”.

As he arrived Wednesday in Krakow the pontiff urged Poland to welcome people fleeing conflict and hardship, chastising a right-wing government that has refused to welcome refugees citing security risks.

The round, transparent vial of blood is just one of several relics of John Paul in this southern Polish city where he served as a cardinal before becoming the first-ever Polish pontiff in 1978.

Francis also told the Polish clergy that as “Jesus’ closest disciples”, their lives should be marked by modesty and humility. Francis is taking part in World Youth Day, a global celebration of young Catholics, during his five-day visit to Poland.

The encounter with the children comes on a day when Francis is stressing the theme of suffering. The Argentine pope also heard confessions from seven young people and a priest, speaking Italian, Spanish or French. “Sadly, our society is tainted by the culture of waste, which is the opposite of the culture of acceptance”.