# Father Michał Czartoryski OP (1897–1944)

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Dominican friar; brother of Adam Czartoryski; Warsaw Uprising martyr; beatified 1999

"W Drodze" 8 (228) 1992 Publishing House of the Polish Province of Dominicans, ul. Kościuszki 99, 61-716 Poznań, tel. 61 523-134

Late Father Z. Mazur I had the pleasure of meeting in the Monastery in Krakow and in the Chapel on Rusinowa Polana,

Jerzy

ZYGMUNT MAZUR

Father Michał Czartoryski—unknown martyr

Jan Czartoryski was born on February 19, 1897 in Pełkinie near Jarosławia, in the family of the Princes Czartoryski. He completed studies in polytechnics in Lwów, obtaining the degree of architect-engineer. In 1927 he entered the Dominicans in Krakow, where he received the monastic name Michał. He made his first vows on September 25, 1928, and received priestly ordination on December 20, 1931. He fulfilled, among other duties, the functions of educator of novice brothers and students—first in Krakow, and later in Warsaw. As an architect, he contributed to the construction of the Dominican monastery in Warsaw at Służew (1937-39), which according to the intentions of Father Jacek Woroniecki was to become the main scientific center of all Slavic provinces of the Dominican Order. Unfortunately the war irrevocably halted the realization of these plans. At this new post Father Michał also conducted pastoral activities.

On August 1, 1944, early in the afternoon, he went to an ophthalmologist on the Powiśle. The outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising made it impossible for him to return to the monastery, and in this situation he sought refuge with the family of Professor Stanisław Kasznica, rector of the Poznań University, at ul. Smulikowskiego 4a. On the second day of the Uprising he reported as a chaplain to the third grouping "Konrad" of the Home Army fighting on the Powiśle. He fulfilled his duties with extraordinary dedication throughout the entire duration of the fighting on the Powiśle. On September 6, 1944, after its fall, he did not withdraw with the insurgent units, nor did he take the opportunity to hide from the Germans in the guise of a medical aide, but remained as the only member of the hospital staff with a group of seriously wounded insurgents and civilians in the buildings of the "Alfa-Laval" company (corner of Smulikowskiego and Tamka streets), and there, together with them, he was murdered, and his body was burned.

Father Czartoryski was a tall, well-built, and handsome man. A dark-haired brunette with an attractive face, noble features, and dark eyes. He walked with a decisive and springy step. Observing him gave the impression that he was always proceeding calmly in haste. He was hard of hearing in one ear, as a result of an illness he had suffered in childhood.

He entered the Order at a mature age, having behind him completed studies and full authentic commitment in academic organizations. The initiatives he undertook there to deepen religious life among youth were the result of his own wise reflection. Even then, through internal discipline and a deepening bond with God, he was preparing himself for the acceptance of Christ's evangelical calling. He accepted it without the slightest hesitation, convinced that a calling is a great gift from God that can never be repaid. He wished to respond to the received calling in its fullest realization. Hence we observe in him from the very beginning a complete submission to the requirements of monastic life, which he approached with extraordinary seriousness, even heroically. This complete dedication of this young monk to his calling demonstrated his great and unshakeable faith. So later the monastic brothers fascinated by him would speak of Father Michał. He saw everything in the perspective of faith. He wished the monastic community he had chosen and come to love to always be a community of God and fully Dominican. He set himself stern demands and therefore for some of the monks he appeared strict, because he expected from them a similar faithfulness to their calling. This was particularly evident when as an educator of novices and students he was responsible for their monastic formation. He treated this duty with extraordinary seriousness, constantly reconciling himself with God concerning it. The clerics were his great love and equally his great sorrow. He wished to prepare them for sacrificial and responsible priesthood. And therefore he reached for all the proven means that would facilitate the transmission of those values that enrich human character and make it receptive to the action of grace. He desired to shape them into true stewards of God. Although he devoted everything to fully forming the future preaching brothers, he always felt fear and uncertainty as to whether as an educator he had exhausted all possibilities.

Father Michał was enchanted by his Dominican calling. He loved the Order with great love, its spiritual traditions. He continually studied the works of Saint Thomas Aquinas, considering that the thoughts of this great theologian constitute an essential part of the heritage of the Preaching Brothers, and he gave expression to this in his conferences to novice and student brothers, as well as in those given in other communities. In the opinion of those who knew him, he was regarded as a wise and godly priest. Therefore seminaries and various monastic communities readily invited him to lead their retreats. Father Czartoryski saw monastic life first and foremost in the categories of sacrifice and renunciation. So he realized it by living an ascetic way of life and observing strict monastic observances.

As the heir of the ideas of Saint Dominic, like his spiritual father, he considered that humility formed the basis of supernatural life. In the Order of Preaching Brothers it was identified with honesty before God and with truth, which has always been their motto. Father Michał practiced it in the conviction that it formed an essential element of prayer and contemplation. A person cannot stand in the presence of God unless he has found his place and his measure. This state is commonly called humility. How great the significance Father Czartoryski attached to humility understood in this way is evident from his note recorded in his diary under the date of January 25, 1944—it is a truth about the fullness of self-knowledge, the realization of one's own finitude and simultaneously the infinite love of God. Conscious of this, in all his conduct he was extremely modest, simple, and always accessible to all. He never spoke of his princely origin. He knew his actual worth, having a sincere sense that he was not a genius, but those values he possessed he endeavored to use optimally. He was without complexes, appreciated and rejoiced in the greater talents of others. This openness and sensitivity to all good caused him to be a person of extraordinary culture, inspiring universal trust in those near and far.

His always concentrated figure was clear evidence that he continually carried within him the consciousness of God. He was consumed by it, and therefore he spoke little and did not distract his attention with unnecessary matters. He traveled his own path, thinking of how best to devote himself to God. His perceptive pupils noticed that in the entire demeanor of Father Michał there was something great and mysterious. He never lost contact with reality. His conduct demonstrates that he perfectly saw both individual and social needs, to which he always tried to respond. If the situation required it, he willingly undertook the simplest physical work in the monastery. In the man of God all is great, because all is born of love. A close friend of Father Czartoryski, Professor Stefan Świeżawski, wrote of him: "An unyielding will, combined with rarely encountered discipline, characterized this very beautiful figure."

In Father Michał's life prayer was an unlimited profession and experience of infinite divine mercy, of which he became the chosen one. As a fruit of reflection on this subject, he recorded in his notebook: "A Dominican is a liturgist not only at the altar, but by virtue of the priesthood, and especially by the religious profession, he always goes in liturgical vestments, and is continually in a special service to God, in service to the Mystical Body of Christ." Everything in Father Czartoryski's life had this dimension of liturgy and therefore he treated every action as an expression of worship of God. One of his novitiate charges, after many years, wrote that he was a man of great prayer. In it he found Christ, to whom he entrusted his sufferings. He encouraged it especially in his monastic brothers, wishing it to become their continual need, and he wrote to himself in his diary: "You absolutely must pray much!"

Father Michał lived in love and for love. He confessed this in his diary: "I am obligated and called to sacrifice, to offer myself as a whole burnt offering for Him, out of love and through love to surrender and submit myself to Him in all things completely." In love for Christ he wished to be consumed, to be destroyed. It was his greatest need. He wished to serve in all things the Incarnate Love that continually saves the world. He proclaimed it tirelessly in the confessional, from the pulpit, in daily affairs. The Father knew that love does not wait for great things; it seizes and gives to God everything. Guided by this, he whitened walls, swept corridors, and cleaned lavatories. In all things he remained at the service of the Crucified One. The words he shared with great deliberation were a reflection of his inner being.

Christ crucified, the symbol of the greatest love, was—as he professed—his calling. He wished above all to lead those young monks whom he educated to Him, and he gave expression to this wish in his notes: "I feel responsibility for the brothers that they may mature to the fullness of Christ." This consciousness never left him. "Jesus desires souls—with this desire he hangs on the cross and always hopes for my zeal. Sitio!"

The Father constantly reconciled himself with his faithfulness to God. Conducting personal retreats in January 1944, as one reflection he recorded after Saint Catherine of Siena: "Great patience is necessary here—to suffer patiently, to resist with the weapons of hatred and love. The more," he noted further, "a soul has of the love of God, the more it has of hatred for its own sensuality." This patience he called "holy perseverance," clothed in love and courage, which ought to lead—as he noted—"to death, to martyrdom." Even during the defense of Lwów in 1920 he gave evidence of courage and heroic sacrifice. He saved all who happened to be in his path until he collapsed from physical exhaustion. He did not belong to those who yielded to circumstances, to compromises; he rarely changed decisions, unless he became convinced of their injustice. The monastic brothers considered his faithfulness at every point of life to be a slight exaggeration. But such was he always. And in this he expressed his love for God to the end, to pain and death.

Toward the end of 1943 Father Michał spoke increasingly on various occasions of death and martyrdom. In a conference he delivered at that time to Dominican nuns at Gródek in Krakow, he said that one should prepare oneself for martyrdom. To such a witness to Christ he was ripening and, guided by God's intention, instinctively perhaps foresaw such a death for himself.

The outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising on the afternoon of August 1, 1944, found Father Czartoryski on the Powiśle on the way to the ophthalmologist. Unable to return to his monastery at Służew because of the fighting, he stopped at the house of his acquainted friends, the Kasznicas, who with great cordiality provided him shelter until the end and cared for his daily needs.

In connection with the fighting Uprising, the parish church of Saint Theresa on the Powiśle, on ul. Tamka, was abandoned by the priests, and consequently the insurgents and population were deprived of all spiritual care. Informed of this, the Father, on the second day of his stay on ul. Smulikowskiego, reported to the command of the third grouping "Konrad" of the Home Army with his willingness to provide priestly service. He immediately received the appointment as chaplain of this grouping and began his pastoral activities in the Church of Saint Theresa. Under his care were also hospital points, including the largest located in the basement of the former "Alfa-Laval" company. Always dressed in a white habit, he was everywhere. He constantly remained at the service of others, spending whole hours hearing confessions of insurgents and the civilian population, and to those reconciled he instilled in their souls a peace that was his own.

In these dramatic days Father Michał did not for a moment lose his composure and cheerful smile. There, where everyone thought of themselves and their own survival, he was especially concerned for the wounded, ready for their every need. With his tact and disarming kindness he eased the conflicts that might have erupted. Wherever he appeared—people who were often crammed in inhuman conditions—regained a sense of security. When he spoke, his words gave everyone hope. He was astonishingly modest and never wished to draw attention to himself. He lived in a continual circle of death, for he was preparing some for it and conducting others through the ruins to eternal rest. As the Uprising continued, death reaped an ever-larger harvest. He understood that for those often seriously maimed people, he had to be the embodiment of hope and divine grace.

During the night of September 5-6, the insurgent units withdrew from the Powiśle to the City Center. Along with the withdrawing groups, the more lightly wounded were evacuated as well. Because of the difficult conditions for their transport, the insurgents left the seriously wounded in the "Alfa-Laval" hospital. There were eleven people in total. Father Michał, although aware of certain death, answered all who urged him to evacuate with a firm response that he would not abandon the hospital and those sick within it. Conscious of the common fate awaiting him and the wounded, he thought above all of them, preparing them for the imminent meeting with God. Eleonora Kasznica, who worked in this hospital with Father Michał throughout the Uprising, recounted how even then, when the Germans entered the Powiśle and from the ruins were driving out the population, her father, Professor Stanisław Kasznica, came to this hospital with his family and urged Father Michał to change clothes and together with them join the crowd being driven by the Germans. "I remember," writes Eleonora Kasznica, "how he smiled gently and said that he would not remove his scapular and would not abandon the wounded." The Professor, also describing this event, noted: "We said goodbye in heavy silence with a gripping emotion. He, as always, composed, calm, even cheerful. We felt that this was the last meeting, that we would never see each other again." The Germans, who occupied the hospital, from the very beginning treated the wounded there with hostility. The Father paid no attention to this whatsoever. He sat down on a small chair in front of a line of wounded and recited the rosary. Reporting these moments, Dr. Maria Irena Szczepańska writes: "His calm conveyed itself to us and probably to the wounded as well. We were very glad that he was with us. We felt less lonely and safer with him." And further she notes: "The wounded often asked: 'Sister, please ask the Father to come near me.'"

Around 1:30 p.m. the Germans took all the nurses from the hospital and moved them to their own hospital. Only the wounded and the chaplain remained. In no more than half an hour after the evacuation of the rest of the staff, the Father and the wounded were murdered, probably as a result of a grenade being thrown into the basement in which they were staying (as stated by Ms. Eleonora Kasznica). A few minutes after this event, some worker found in the crowd of people being driven from the Powiśle the known Professor Stanisław Kasznica and informed him of the tragic death of Father Czartoryski and that he had been forced by the Germans' order to remove the body of the murdered man from the basement.

Only God and the murderers were witnesses to the last moments of Father Michał's life.

Soon after his death, among his monastic brothers and laypeople who knew him, he began to be regarded and continues to be regarded as the opinion of a holy man and martyr.

Zygmunt Mazur OP

"My aim is complete surrender to the service of God. Complete, total, unappealable surrender to God, even to martyrdom."

"Chastity has enormous value as an example; it acts by itself. One must have pure lips, ears, and heart. By the vow of chastity the monk is consecrated to God."

"One must be continually united with the Lord, continually entrust oneself to Him, through Him, with Him, and in Him continually live."

"To surrender oneself and submit to God in all things completely; to be united with Him, bound through strong, steadfast, manly will, in love and affection. Go out of yourself, abandon yourself!"

"Jesus desires souls! Sitio! I am called to satisfy this burning and ardor and pain of this longing."

"I must be seized by monastic life as an offering to God. I must not live for myself, nor for myself, but for God, for His affairs, for souls, which are to live His life."

"The true motto of Christian life and its renewal must be—we, through Christ, to God."

"Lord! I do not trust in myself; I cannot do anything except sin and evil—though pains and terrors may come, I trust because You have conquered the world. I can trust because You offer Yourself for us, that we may be sanctified in truth."

"Great and holy patience is perseverance, which must be a great virtue clothed in love, and it is true courage that is to lead us to the end, to death, to martyrdom."

"Love is based on friendship, on reciprocity, but faithful, devoted reciprocity. I must not be rigid and tense in my effort toward God, but submit to Him faithfully, carefully, willingly."

SERVANT OF GOD FR. MICHAŁ CZARTORYSKI OP

PRAYER (for private recitation)

O God and our Father, You have endowed Your Servant Michał, a priest, with unshakeable courage, even unto the giving of his life for his brothers. Glorify on the altars this humble Servant, whose only desire was to proclaim the truth of Christ crucified and merciful. And grant me, through his intercession, the grace for which I humbly beseech You.

Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father...

Imprimatur: Metropolitan Curia, Krakow, L. 82'94

Fr. Michael Czartoryski was born on February 19, 1897 in Pelkinie near Jaroslaw. He was the son of Witold and Jadwiga Dzieduszycka. At baptism he received the names John Francis. He received his early education at home, and subsequently at the private school "Ognisko" in Stara Wś near Warsaw. After completing his secondary education, he entered polytechnic studies in Lviv, where he obtained the degree of architect engineer.

He brought from a home deeply imbued with religious atmosphere a living faith, respect for all human labor, and a great passion for social action. During his studies he was a member of the Board of the Fraternal Aid Association, and one of the founders of the Catholic Association of Academic Youth "Odrodzenie." He participated in the defense of Lviv, and was decorated for bravery with the Cross of Valor. Delegated by military authorities, he participated in the Silesian Plebiscite.

In 1927 he entered the Dominicans in Krakow, where he received the monastic name Michael. He pronounced his first vows on September 25, 1928, and received priestly ordination on December 20, 1931 in Jaroslaw. In the order he fulfilled, among other duties, the function of formation master for novices and students—first in Krakow, and later in Warsaw. As an architect he collaborated in the construction of the Dominican monastery in Warsaw on Służew (1937-1939). He also carried out intensive pastoral activity among circles of Polish intelligentsia.

He treated all duties entrusted to him by his superiors with a sense of enormous responsibility. He was a man always devoted to prayer, serious, humble, and deeply devoted to his own order.

The duties of formation master during the occupation and exhausting work in other areas of pastoral ministry severely damaged Fr. Michael's already fragile state of health. In this situation, the Provincial sent him to Służew in Warsaw in spring 1944, where the conditions and pastoral burdens were relatively minimal.

On August 1, 1944, in the early afternoon, he went to visit an eye doctor on Powiśle. The outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising prevented him from returning to the monastery, and he sought shelter with the family of Professor Stanislaw Kasznica at ul. Smulikowskiego 4a. The next day he reported as chaplain to the III Grouping "Konrad" of the Home Army fighting on Powiśle. He fulfilled his duties with extraordinary self-sacrifice throughout the entire period of fighting on Powiśle. On

September 6, 1944, after the fall of this district, he did not withdraw with the insurgent units, did not take advantage of the opportunity to hide from the Germans in the garb of a medical orderly, as he was offered, but remained to the end, as the only member of the hospital staff, with a group of severely wounded insurgents and civilians in the basement of the "Alfa-Laval" company. Fr. Michael Czartoryski believed that he could not abandon the sick left behind, and that his place was only with them. When the Germans occupied the hospital, they treated the chaplain and the severely ill insurgents with complete hostility, making it clearly understood what fate awaited them. Fr. Michael paid no attention to this whatsoever, calmly reciting the rosary. His remarkable composure was contagious to the wounded. Half an hour after the hospital staff evacuated, the Nazis murdered the remaining sick and wounded in the basement, and along with them Fr. Michael, who wanted to remain with them to the very end.

The bodies pulled from the basement were burned on a nearby barricade. Later the surviving remains were temporarily buried in the courtyard of a nearby house, and when exhumation was carried out a year later for the purpose of moving them to a common grave for the insurgents, Fr. Michael's body could not be identified.

Servant of God Fr. Michael Czartoryski was included in the Process of Martyrs, which is spiritually led by Blessed Michael Kozal.

The informational process for Servant of God Fr. Michael Czartoryski was concluded before the Metropolitan Vicariate Tribunal in Warsaw on January 29, 1993.

In matters concerning Servant of God Fr. Michael Czartoryski, one should direct inquiries to: Vice-Postulator of the Cause of Fr. Michael Czartoryski ul. Stolarska 12, 31-043, Krakow.

Under the Orders of "Konrad," Adam de Michelis and Alicja Rudnicka, Oficyna Wydawnicza Wolumen, Warsaw 1993

Pages 270-271

Among all the clergy, the Dominican Fr. Michael Czartoryski came to the fore. Caught off guard by the outbreak of the uprising on Powiśle, he reported to III Grouping and took on the role of chaplain. He visited insurgent hospitals and quarters, the grenade factory, advanced positions and sentry posts. Wherever the white habit appeared, morale revived and peace of spirit returned. Those attending Mass celebrated by him came in great numbers, all those free from duty. This distinguished descendant of the renowned princely dynasty was second to none in courage compared to the bravest soldiers, and the fame of his preached sermons spread widely throughout all of Powiśle.

Father Michael remained faithful to his calling and to the evangelical need to help his neighbor, especially those most severely afflicted. On September 6 he remained with a group of medical personnel to care for the severely wounded who could not be evacuated from the "Alfa-Laval" hospital. There too he perished, shot as the first by Dirlewanger's henchmen.

Page 276

FR. MICHAEL CZARTORYSKI OP

Born February 19, 1897 in Pelkinie near Jaroslaw, in the historic family of the Princes Czartoryski. After completing secondary school he began studies in the Faculty of Architecture, and in 1926 obtained the diploma of Master Engineer Architect. A year later he entered the Dominican order, where he took the monastic name Michael. He pronounced his first vows on September 25, 1928; he received priestly ordination on December 20, 1931.

He served in the responsible function of formation master for Dominican brothers studying in Krakow, and later in Warsaw. In the years 1937-1939 he rendered great service by collaborating in the construction of the Dominican monastery at Służewiec in Warsaw. He also actively pursued pastoral work.

The outbreak of the uprising found Fr. Michael at the home of the friendly family of Professor Kasznica on ul. Smulikowskiego. Called to a wounded insurgent, he immediately placed himself at the disposal of the command of III Grouping. He took on the role of chaplain. Throughout the entire period of fighting on Powiśle he faithfully fulfilled his duty, visiting quarters and hospitals, bringing words of comfort and encouragement to the combatants. Masses celebrated by Fr. Michael and his sermons gathered many soldiers free from duty, constituting a great spiritual experience. Often, too, disposing of great physical strength, he helped the nurses carrying stretchers with the wounded.

When on September 6 the Grouping left Powiśle, he remained in the "Alfa-Laval" hospital with several nurses and orderlies, caring for the severely wounded who could not be evacuated. After the occupation of ul. Smulikowskiego by Dirlewanger's units, the medical staff was driven to serve a German medical station. The wounded were murdered by machine gun fire. Fr. Michael was assigned to a group of 30 men and was the first shot. A magnificent pastor, an outstanding preacher, generally beloved and respected by the soldiers, he was distinguished by personal courage worthy of a descendant of an illustrious family. To the end he remained faithful to the command to help his neighbor, falling in their service. This was one of the most painful losses for III Grouping.

Tygodnik Powszechny NO. 41  OCTOBER 9, 1994

Father Michael Czartoryski (1897-1944)

Called to Sacrifice

Zygmunt Mazur OP

It was August 1, 1944. In the early afternoon Father Michael Czartoryski, a Dominican, set out to visit an eye doctor on Powiśle. A few hours later, his return to the monastery on Służew proved impossible—the Uprising had broken out. Father Michael found shelter with the friendly Kasznica family, and the next day reported to III Grouping AK "Konrad" fighting on Powiśle, and became its chaplain.

On September 6, Father Michael did not withdraw with the insurgent units from Powiśle, nor did he take advantage of the opportunity to hide from the Germans in the garb of a medical orderly. As the only member of the hospital staff, he remained with a group of the severely wounded in the buildings of the "Alfa-Laval" company (corner of Smulikowskiego and Tamka streets)—and there along with them he was murdered. His body was burned.

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John Czartoryski was born in 1897 in Pelkinie near Jaroslaw, in a princely family. After completing his architectural studies at the Lviv Polytechnic, he entered the Dominicans (1927), where he received the monastic name Michael. In 1931 he was ordained as a priest.

Entering the order at a mature age, Czartoryski had behind him his studies and considerable experience of work in academic organizations (especially in the Association of Catholic Academic Youth "Odrodzenie"). His relationship with the Dominicans from the very beginning was characterized by a strong sense of vocation and serious treatment of the requirements of monastic life. He set high demands for himself and many demands for others as well. Perhaps for this reason he seemed to some fellow monks to be excessively stern. This was especially evident during his tenure as formation master of novices and students.

Father Michael understood monastic life above all in terms of sacrifice and self-denial. He lived it out by pursuing an ascetic way of life. In his diary he wrote, "Vocation is understanding, being seized by the spirit of sacrifice, being united with the sacrifice of Christ."

●

In the diary we also find mention of humility: "This is the truth of complete self-knowledge, awareness of one's own finitude and at the same time the infinite love of God." Father Michael Czartoryski never stressed his princely origins. If the situation demanded it, he willingly undertook the most ordinary physical work in the monastery. Those who remember him recall his modesty, simplicity, and accessibility. In his relations with others he had no complexes; he appreciated and rejoiced in others' talents. This openness and sensitivity to all good earned him the reputation of a person of extraordinary culture. His close friend, Professor Stefan Swieżawski, wrote: "An unbending will, coupled with rarely seen discipline, characterized this very beautiful figure."

Prayer played a great role in Michael Czartoryski's life. In it he found Christ. He also encouraged others to pray. One of his novice students years later described him as a man of great prayer. Father Michael wrote for himself in his diary: "You absolutely must pray a great deal!" Another note shows that he treated daily life as a continuous liturgy, celebrated before God: "A Dominican is a liturgist not only at the altar, but by virtue of his priesthood, and especially by his religious profession, he is continuously in special service to God, in service to the Mystical Body of Christ."

A characteristic feature of his figure, increasingly evident in the last years before his death, was a desire to serve others, even unto the conscious sacrifice of his own life: "I am obliged and called to sacrifice—he wrote—to offer myself as a complete burnt offering for Him, to surrender myself wholly to Him through love." In April 1940 he wrote to Sr. Veronica, a Visitation nun: "Always persevere in the spirit of sacrifice for God, whether it be great things or small." In this spirit he swept corridors, cleaned latrines, and whitewashed walls.

He had special devotion to the Crucified Christ, who was for him—as he wrote—a special model. He wanted above all to lead the young monks entrusted to him to Him. He noted: "I feel responsible for the brothers, that they may grow to the fullness of Christ." "Jesus confessed that he desires souls. With this desire he hangs on the cross and continually hopes for my zeal. Sitio!"

At the end of 1943, Father Michael increasingly, on various occasions, spoke of the need for faithfulness to Christ "even unto martyrdom." In a conference he gave at that time to Dominican nuns at the Gródek in Krakow, he said that one should prepare for martyrdom.

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The duties of chaplain of III Grouping "Konrad" included providing spiritual care for the abandoned church of St. Teresa on Powiśle and a hospital point located in the basement of the "Alfa-Laval" company. Father Michael, clad in his white habit, spent hours hearing confessions from insurgents and civilians. He cared for the wounded, ready at every gesture. In these dramatic days—as witnesses attest—he never for a moment lost his composure and cheerful smile. His tact and engaging kindness defused conflicts that broke out among people inhumanly crowded in the basements. A sense of security was regained in his presence. When he spoke, his words brought hope.

●

On the night of September 5-6, the insurgent units withdrew from Powiśle to the city center. Together with the withdrawing units, the more lightly wounded were evacuated. Eleven of the most seriously ill were left in the "Alfa-Laval" building. Father Michael was with them.

Eleonora Kasznica, who worked with him in the insurgent hospital, recounted that—after the Germans entered Powiśle—her father, Professor Stanislaw Kasznica, came to the hospital and urged Father Michael to slip, in disguise, into the crowd of Warsaw residents being driven by the Germans. "I remember," writes Mrs. Eleonora, "how gently he smiled and said that he would not remove his scapular and would not abandon the wounded." And the Professor, describing this event, noted: "We parted in silence with a gripping embrace. He as always composed, calm, even cheerful. We felt that this was our last meeting, that we would never see each other again."

The Germans who occupied the hospital were hostile to the remaining wounded from the very beginning. Father Michael tried to compensate them for this hostility. "His composure," recalls Dr. Maria Irena Skowrońska, "was contagious to us and probably to the wounded as well. We were very 'pleased' that he was with us. We felt less alone and safer. (...) The wounded often asked: Sister, please ask Father to come closer to me."

Around 1:30 PM the Germans removed all the nurses from the hospital; only the wounded and their chaplain remained on the premises. Half an hour after the evacuation of the rest of the staff into the basement where the sick were staying, what was probably a grenade was thrown. A few minutes later Professor Kasznica was informed of Fr. Czartoryski's death (this was done by an acquaintance worker, forced by the Germans to remove bodies from the basement).

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Soon after his death Father Michael began to be regarded as a holy man and a martyr. In autumn 1944 Archbishop Adam Sapieha, the metropolitan of Krakow, in a letter to the parents of Fr. Czartoryski wrote: "He fell, executing his lofty calling with great courage and self-sacrifice."

In January of this year the stage of gathering documentation of the martyrdom of 98 Polish martyrs murdered during the war by the Nazis was completed. Among them were the records of Father Michael Czartoryski. In February the documentation was sent to the Vatican's Congregation for the Causes of Canonization.