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Born in Poland and ordained in 1936, Father Denis was serving as a chaplain in the Polish Army when Nazi forces invaded in September 1939. German troops arrested him soon after the invasion, beginning a series of transfers through concentration camps, including Buchenwald, before he was sent to Dachau in 1942. Of the 1,773 Polish priests sent there, fewer than half survived. In a 1971 interview preserved by the Diocese of Lincoln, Father Denis described the strict rules imposed on priests: “For us, the offering of the Mass, confessions and reciting the rosary – all this was prohibited under the penalty of death.
Historians and diocesan records say Dachau became the main camp for Christian clergy. Clergy were banned from holding religious services, celebrating Mass or carrying religious items, with violations punishable by death. Two Austrian priests were caught praying the rosary, they were killed on the spot. To continue praying, Father Denis counted his prayers silently on his fingers while carrying out forced labour.
Dedicated in August 1956, the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine recreates the 1917 Marian apparitions reported in Fatima, Portugal. DENIS AND HIS FRIENDS OF ALL FAITHS / 1956 / E PLURIBUS UNUM”. Walking paths around the shrine were later expanded to include a Rosary Walk through native landscaping beside the historic 1885 wooden parish church.
Because of an error or unusual circumstance, Father Denis promised to build a shrine to Mary if he lived to see liberation, realising that he had survived. Instead, another priest prisoner, Father Francis Dachtera, reported to the SS block in his place and never returned.
“My blood stopped to circulate,” Father Denis recalled. a fellow German priest asked Father Denis why camp commanders had called his name and identification number over the loudspeakers While marching to his work detail. Failing to report when called meant certain death. “To be called and not to report at once – that’s death, and death flashed in my mind as never before. Oh, what excruciating hours. When the workers returned to the camp that evening, guards did not look for him or call his number again. The open-air site has a central, life-sized statue of Our Lady of Fatima with her head bowed and hands folded. It is flanked by statues of the three shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, along with sculpted farm animals. An altar in front of the main statue carries an inscription explaining the site’s history and purpose: “TO THE IMMACULATE MOTHER OF GOD AND OUR HEAVENLY FATHER / OUR LADY OF FATIMA / WITH HOPE AND PRAYER FOR PEACE / REV. HENRY J. Stone angels holding trumpets stand beside the altar, symbolising freedom and remembering those who died in wartime atrocities. The shrine remains open to travellers, pilgrims and local visitors, serving as a quiet reminder of survival and a promise kept across two continents.