Martyred priest declared 'Blessed' by Pope Francis

Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig was beatified by Pope Francis.

Father Engelmar Unzeitig was interred in the Nazi concentration camp Dachau. He was recognized as a martyr and, on Sunday, was beatified by Pope Francis.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Fr. Unzeitig was arrested by Nazis in 1941, at only 30-years-old. He had only been a priest for two years, serving in Germany and Austria.

His crime was preaching against the Third Reich and their treatment of the Jewish community.

He continually encouraged the congregation to resist the Nazi regime and to keep their sights on the Lord, resulting in his incarceration in the concentration camp Dachaeu, known as the "largest monastery in the world" for its roughly 2,700 clergy residents.

The majority, 95 percent, of the men housed at Dachaeu were Catholic priests from Poland.

While at the camp, Fr. Unzeitig learned Russian to help the prisoners coming from Eastern Europe, leading to a reputation as a holy man.

He remained in the camp for several years, where he stayed relatively healthy, until typhoid fever made its way through the camp in 1945.

Twenty priests volunteered to sick for those who were struck down by the often fatal disease. Fr. Unzeitig and his fellow priests worked for days to care for the sick, pray with them and offer last rites.

Fr. Unzeitig cared for the sick until March 2, 1945, when he succumbed to the same fever he saved others from. Three weeks later, Dachau was liberated by American soldiers.

Fr. Unzeitig's heroic virtue was recognized by Benedict XVI in 2009, when Father Unzeitig was declared "Venerable."

In January, 2016, Pope Francis acknowledged Fr. Unzeitig as a martyr, and on Saturday, September 25, Pope Francis proclaimed Fr. Unzeitig "Blessed."

According to Vatican Radio, Pope Francis stated: "Engelmar Unzeitig, priest of the Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill, was proclaimed Blessed.

"Killed in hatred of the faith in the extermination camp of Dachau, he opposed hatred with love, and answered ferocity answered with meekness: may his example help us to be witnesses of charity and hope even in the midst of trials."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online