Pope Leo XIV meets Polish midwives and young people from Nazareth at general audience

Pope Leo XIV met a group of about 70 Polish midwives at his general audience on September 16. They had traveled from Łódź to honor the Servant of God Stanisława Leszczyńska, a midwife who worked during the Second World War. Among them was Ewa Machaj-Antosiewicz, born in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944 with Leszczyńska's help. Leszczyńska assisted at nearly 3,000 births in conditions of extreme cruelty.

Machaj-Antosiewicz told the pope that it was Leszczyńska who chose her name, and that the midwife refused to obey the orders of Dr. Josef Mengele, known as the "Angel of Death." "You cannot kill a child": that was her answer when ordered to kill all the newborns in the camp. Mariola Sienkiewicz, who led the group, called the visit to Rome an "unforgettable gift" and a spur to continue their pro-life work. Bishop Krzysztof Józef Nykiel, regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary and postulator of Leszczyńska's canonization cause, joined the midwives on the pilgrimage.

Young people from the Holy Land

At the same audience, the pope met a group of young people from the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, who draw inspiration from the example of St. Francis. Randia Rashed, one of them, said the pope's closeness encourages them to carry a message of peace in the place where Jesus spent his early years. Rashed said she hoped to sow "seeds of hope for a future of peace among all the peoples of the Holy Land."

Franciscan friar Diab Roshrosh, who runs youth ministry at the parish, spoke about the group's meeting with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state. Parolin urged the young people to remain in their land and to bear witness to a human identity rooted in the values of St. Francis. The pilgrimage will continue to Assisi, where the group will visit the tomb of the Poverello.

Disability and solidarity

Dalia Freyfer, a blind singer from Lebanon, also spoke. She coordinates the Office for the Pastoral Care of Persons with Disabilities of the Maronite Patriarchate of Antioch and has lived through the effects of war in her country. She gave the pope a sign reading: "I lost my sight, Jesus is my light." Her presence before the pope reflected her commitment as an "ambassador of hope" for people living with a disability.

The last testimony of the day came from Rino Armeni, president of the Zo's Braveheart Foundation, which supports families of children with leukemia in Las Vegas. The pope greeted three of the 20 children who were able to travel from the United States.