More than 400 people gathered at the Society of the Divine Word’s Holy Spirit Chapel at Techny on Sunday, Nov. 2, to commemorate All Souls Day.

Iwona Piotrowska, a Polish native who has lived in the United States for 15 years, was one of them. Last year, Piotrowska spent the feast day with her nieces, nephews and eight siblings in Warsaw.

“Today, because I couldn’t be with family, I wanted a special celebration,” said Piotrowska, who holds a doctorate in Church history.

In Poland, important family traditions revolve around All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Families gather and together visit the graves of their deceased loved ones. The tradition is so widely practiced that in the cemeteries families have to park far away because the space is standing-room only, she said.

Piotrowska lives about 16 miles from Techny and often makes the trip to the chapel. “During the days, it’s always quiet,” she said. “When I pray here, I feel that God is listening. Sometimes I come for a special moment because I love this place.”

The Polish native is not alone. Ruth and Fred Mittermeier have lived near Techny and the Divine Word Missionaries for several years.

“I feel so close to the Holy Spirit,” Ruth Mittermeier said. “It’s God’s providence and guidance that we ended up here.”

She and her husband, who were born and raised in Germany, lived through World War II as children. He came to the United States in 1953; she in 1957. She had planned to return to Germany, but her plans changed when she met her husband.

“God has guided my whole life to more than I ever thought possible,” she said. “This inner peace that I feel is a gift from Heaven.”

The Society of the Divine Word’s German heritage makes the couple feel very much at home. “They’re such devoted fathers and brothers,” she said of the missionaries at Techny who hail from a dozen countries on three continents.

“They have so many talents, such versatility,” she added. “The fathers and brothers built this whole place. They know true, true love and devotion to the Lord by being so kind and good—love your neighbor as yourself and devotion to their
missionary call. They are so happy, and they
reflect that inner peace and happiness.”

On this All Souls Day, the Mittermeiers remember their deceased parents in a special way. “I feel closer to my father now than when he was alive because I believe in that connectedness we have with our loved ones,” she said.

Victor A. Krueger, whose wife Mary became acquainted with the Divine Word Missionaries in 1945 when she nursed a seminarian in the hospital where she worked, also found solace at the All Souls Day Mass. Krueger’s first wife died in the 1970s, and he has lost two of his seven children.

“I think I owe it to my wife, my children, my mother and my grandmother when I can meditate on my life and how good they were to me,” he said and added that praying in the chapel made him feel the bond that he shares with those who went before him.

Provincial Father Mark Weber, who celebrated the Mass, spoke of that sense of connectedness that comes with prayer. “Don’t we continue living in light of how they changed our lives?” he asked. “Don’t we hear their laughter in our imagination, words of advice that they have given us? We celebrate today our ongoing, 24-hour connection with loved ones.”