On the occasion of the Blessed Martyrs of Dachau Memorial Day, there will be a Eucharistic celebration and a play entitled “Wrong” in the Kamel Heilig Blut monastery at Alte Römerstrasse 91 on Saturday, June 12th. The celebration begins at 6 pm. More than 200,000 people were imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp from March 22, 1933 to the liberation on April 29, 1945, and more than 41,500 were killed or murdered there. The Catholic Church has so far declared 57 blessed because of their special testimony to life and faith, most recently Father Richard Henkes.
In order to keep the memory of these witnesses of faith in consciousness and to encourage the believers with them, the day of remembrance on June 12th has been included in the diocesan calendars of Munich and Freising since 2017. With the service in the Carmel Holy Blood, this blessed is commemorated on the spot. Registration at the Carmel is required for the Eucharistic celebration at 6 p.m., as well as for the play at 7.30 p.m. on the life of Pallottine Father Richard Henkes.
Henkes, born in 1900 in the Westerwald, was ordained a priest in 1925 and then mostly worked as a teacher and pastor. In April 1943 he was arrested by the Gestapo in the annexed part of Czechoslovakia. From July he was in the Dachau concentration camp. At the beginning of 1945 he volunteered for the sick in the typhus barrack, took care of Czech inmates, got infected and died on February 22nd. He was beatified in Limburg on September 15, 2019. He was not only a courageous critic who took a clear stand against the Nazis, but also a peacemaker and mediator between Czechs and Germans.
In the play, a young man discovers his enthusiasm for the life and work of Father Henkes. At the same time, he repeatedly questions his decisions and attitudes. The examination of the life of Richard Henkes challenges him to rethink his life and to pass on his own struggles and questions to the audience. Boris Weber, the author and director of the play, writes: “My admiration is great. How can a person put his trust in God, his love and his work in God’s hands in such a way? How much do you have to wrestle with yourself to actually – the almost certain death in sight – to accept God’s knocking and calling. ” The play will be realized by actor Bruno Lehan. The performance takes place in the courtyard of the Carmel Holy Blood. Admission is free, donations are welcome. If you want to see it, you should register this Friday, June 11th, by 4 p.m. at [email protected] or by phone 081 31/32 17 31 (also on the answering machine). If the number of registrations exceeds the number of seats, a second performance will be offered in the afternoon at 4.30 p.m. Those who are willing to watch the performance in the afternoon should indicate this when registering. On Sunday, June 13th, there will also be a performance without registration in the Pallotti Church in Freising at 5 and 7 p.m.
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