Fr. Richard Henkes, S.A.C., A Picture of His Life A Picture of His Life | Page 37

of the Catholic faith, a defender for the Christian image of man, a
champion of freedom and human dignity.
In the end, however, Fr. Henkes died as a “martyr of charity.” He
had not touched his food in Dachau with the Czechs, Poles and Rus-
sians. Voluntarily - who can measure the inner struggle? - he settled
for pastoral care and the care of those sick with typhus and got locked
in the barrack. He knew exactly what that meant. “No one has a great-
er love than when he gives his life for his friends” ( John, 14:15).
The voluntary act and the death of Fr. Richard Henkes represent
an order for the survivors and those living today: to protect the free-
dom and dignity of mankind. To observe the values of family and
faith. To promote a good and reconciled coexistence of Czechs, Poles
and Germans from smaller and larger peoples in a united Europe.
Richard Henkes, who became a home to Germany, the Czech
Republic and Poland, is a bridge builder and a good companion of a
continually growing continent in which old wounds are healed and
future work done, not least from the responsibility of the Christian
human image.
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