São Paulo, Brazil - June 2016 - On 1 June the Salesian Fr Ladislau Klinicki celebrated his 102nd birthday. He was born in Poland on 1 June 1914. In 1939 when he was already a seminarian, he left for Rome to study theology. Because of World War II he was arrested in Rome by the German army, together with the whole Salesian community on 4 March 1942. After a tough interrogation, the allegations were proved false. "The greatest spiritual help for all of us was to trust in the mercy of God in prayer," says Fr Ladislau in his memoir entitled "One step from death." Ordained a priest in Warsaw in 1943, he escaped death several times in Nazi concentration camps. He moved to Brazil in 1985 and currently resides in the Santa Tersinha community of São Paulo.