MURDERED LOVE
LIDIA DUDKIEWICZ, THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF ‘NIEDZIELA’
She worked as a flight attendant. 25-year-old Helena Kmieć from Lubiąż – a beautiful talented graduate from the Silesian Polytechnics in Gliwice. She took an unpaid holiday and soon after receiving a missionary cross, she set off to the world as a volunteer. The purpose of her missionary activity was to be Bolivia. She wanted to cuddle Bolivian children who had not experienced love. In the beginning of January this year she got to a town Cochabamba, where for half a year the place of the missionary work and house of Helena was to be an orphanage for children run by nuns. The date of opening this place was approaching. The volunteer from Poland joyfully joined renovation and cleaning works, and, at the end, she painted beautiful flowers for children on the walls, which she had managed to document on photos. Unfortunately, love was murdered. It was when the last preparations were taking place. Helena had a prepared speech to greet children, but she did not give it, because her life was suddenly disrupted in a brutal way. She died on 24 January this year during a robbery on the orphanage at night, fatally stabbed with a knife.
Helena belonged to a Missionary Volunteering Salvator. She was very active, made contacts with people easily. She sang beautifully with an opera voice and played the guitar. She had a great music talent and used it for God’s glory. On internet we can see how she could encourage all people to sing at the railway stadion in Wrocław during one of evangelical initiatives. Her joy was contagious, she was full of life and ideas, therefore, a lot of people wanted her presence and closeness. And when somebody needed help, she was the first to react. She was a granddaughter of the brother of bishop Jan Zając from Cracow. It turns out that before that she had travelled to other countries as a missionary volunteer. Bishop Zając informed that a few years ago she had been on missions in Africa, where she caught an African disease. It was just during medical examinations then when her heart defect was detected. It was necessary to make an operation on her heart immediately. Helena was successfully operated but it was impossible to save her life. She died because of wounds inflicted near her heart.
As long as at least one man lives in the world, who does not know or does not love Jesus Christ the Redeemer of the World, you cannot stop working – this is the motto of the Missionary Volunteering Salvator. Basing on it, the desire of Helena does not seem strange: ‘I would like to die, serving to God’, which archbishop Oscar Aapricio, the Ordinary of Cochabamba revealed during the Holy Mass celebrated after the murder of the Polish missionary. – Her blood, her death, is the manifestation of the Divine Kingdom. This is the grain, so that God’s Kingdom would be present also here – he said. It is necessary to note that the murdered missionary volunteer was the volunteer of the World Youth Days in Cracow. Maybe this fact should ne understood in the context of the sacrifice of a young person burning herself up in the ministry to the Church. These are great God’s mysteries. Priests of the Missionary Volunteering Salvator ask us for a prayer for the murdered missionary and her relatives. ‘Let Good God be a reward for Helena and consolation for us. Life of our Volunteer and Friend was, is and will be an inspiration to testify about God and devote oneself to Him completely. The example of Helena shows that saint people really live very close to us’ – we read on a website of the volunteering of the Salvatorians.
AA
„Niedziela” 06/2017