2017-05-31 10:41:00

Pope Francis recalls 75th anniversary of Lidice massacre


(Vatican Radio)  Pope Francis has recalled the 75th anniversary of the Lidice massacre at the hands of the Nazi regime during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday.

In a special Czech-language greeting to pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, the Holy Father invited them to rely “with trust on the intercession of the Holy Virgin, whom you venerate in the icon of the Madonna of Lidice”.

He prayed Our Lady help them “to be courageous witnesses of the Resurrection of Christ, especially in difficult or trying moments”.

The group is participating in a national pilgrimage being led by Cardinal Dominik Duka, Archbishop of Prague.

The village of Lidice (then in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and now in the Czech Republic) was completely destroyed by Nazi troops in 1942.

All 173 men in the town over the age of 15 were killed in reprisal for the assassination of Reich Protector Reinhard Heydrich, while the 184 women and 88 children were deported to concentration camps.








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