Nuns Destroy School Built by Holy Martyrs in Navahrudak, Now Ask for Money for New Building
The Sisters of Nazareth built a school for the city with their own efforts, and during the war, voluntarily gave their lives in exchange for the liberation of local residents. Their modern successors have destroyed the martyrs' legacy for a new complex project that cannot be legally realized.
Demolition of the Sisters of Nazareth convent in April 2026. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel
The demolition of the Sisters of Nazareth convent building on May 1st Street began already in spring. Now the sisters have recorded a video appeal, in which they announced that nothing, not even the foundations, remains of the convent. And they called for donations for a new facility.
Sisters of Nazareth in a video appeal. Video screenshot.
As the "Spadchyna" Telegram channel reports, the Sisters of Nazareth arrived in Navahrudak on September 4, 1929. Bishop Zygmunt Łoziński handed over a house opposite the Fara Church and a plot of land to them, but the local *starosta* (head) refused to vacate the building. Because of this, the nuns initially opened a school in rented premises, and after the lease agreement was terminated in 1932, they began constructing their own facility. The construction of the wooden two-story school building took place from February to September 1933. The sisters themselves settled nearby in a one-story brick residential building.
Residential building and a fragment of the school building at the Sisters of Nazareth convent in Navahrudak. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel / Bł. Maria Stella i 10 Towarzyszek — pamięć, świadectwa, łaski (Bl. Maria Stella and 10 Companions — memory, testimonies, graces)
Demolition of the Sisters of Nazareth convent in April 2026. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel
Construction of the foundations for the new building. Video screenshot.
In 1939, the Soviet authorities confiscated the school building and converted it into a Soviet ten-year school offering Russian and Polish languages of instruction. To remain on their property, the nuns found work there as cleaners. However, they were soon evicted, first from the residential building, and in the spring of 1940, the remaining outbuildings were also confiscated. The sisters were forced to disperse to private apartments of local acquaintances.
Sisters of Nazareth and students in front of the school facade. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel / Bł. Maria Stella i 10 Towarzyszek — pamięć, świadectwa, łaski (Bl. Maria Stella and 10 Companions — memory, testimonies, graces)
With the onset of the German occupation in 1941, the nuns were able to return to their convent house, but the school itself was first occupied by Wehrmacht soldiers, and later by local collaborators—"rahuleutsy" (a derogatory term). Soon the collaborators again evicted the sisters, ordering them to move into an empty, former Jewish house on the same street.
Street view. The Sisters of Nazareth were evicted from their own convent to the "Jewish" house on the right during the German occupation. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel / Bł. Maria Stella i 10 Towarzyszek — pamięć, świadectwa, łaski (Bl. Maria Stella and 10 Companions — memory, testimonies, graces)
The tragic climax occurred in the summer of 1943 during the German punitive operation "Hermann." On the night of July 18, the Gestapo arrested about 120 local residents and Father Aleksander Zienkiewicz for subsequent execution. On July 31, Maria Stella (Adela Mardasewicz) and ten other Sisters of Nazareth voluntarily went to the Gestapo, offering their lives in exchange for the arrested. The German authorities agreed: the townspeople were sent to forced labor in the Reich (all of whom survived the war), and on August 1, 1943, eleven nuns were shot in the Batorovsky Forest. Only one of them, Małgorzata Banaś, managed to escape death, as she secretly lived in the small utility house next to the school. A few days after the killings, the German occupiers removed and looted the congregation's belongings.
Navahrudak Martyrs. Photo: Catholic.by
In 2000, Pope John Paul II beatified 11 Navahrudak martyrs. Later, the historic school building was returned to the congregation and renovated thanks to donations from the faithful.
In the video appeal, the sisters also showcased the project for a new building on the school site and the laying of its foundations. The Sisters of Nazareth plan to construct a three-story brick building, resembling early 2000s offices, covered with a pitched roof and featuring large murals on the end walls, which bears no resemblance to the historical structure.
Sisters of Nazareth convent before demolition. Photo: "Spadchyna" Telegram channel
Construction of the foundations for the new building. The apse of the ancient Fara Church is visible on the right. Video screenshot.
Construction of the foundations for the new building. Video screenshot.
Project of the new three-story building on the site of the former school. Video screenshot.
However, as "Spadchyna" points out, the project's quality is low, featuring clearly disproportionate elements. Furthermore, this project cannot be legally realized in this location under any circumstances.
According to the protection zone project for the historical center of Navahrudak, the Sisters of Nazareth's plot is located in an area where the construction of buildings exceeding 8 meters in height is prohibited. Therefore, building more than two stories under a pitched roof will not be possible. If this is considered new construction—as nothing, not even the foundations, remains of the old building—then the new structure must be more than half the size of the previous one in terms of its footprint (maximum 8 by 12 meters). Furthermore, it is explicitly forbidden to alter the architecture of a development during its repair or reconstruction.