Pope Leo XIV has officially approved the beatification of 11 Catholic priests who were executed or died under Nazi and Communist regimes across Europe during the 1940s and 1950s.
This recognition brings them one step closer to sainthood within the Catholic Church.
Among those honored are Jan Swierc and eight other Polish Salesian priests who faced brutal persecution between 1941 and 1942 “out of hatred for the faith” in the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau, according to a Vatican statement released on Friday.
The Vatican News, the Holy See’s official media outlet, identified the others as Ignacy Antonowicz, Ignacy Dobiasz, Karol Golda, Franciszek Harazim, Ludwik Mroczek, Wlodzimierz Szembek, Kazimierz Wojciechowski, and Franciszek Miska.
“Uninvolved in the political tensions of the time, they were arrested simply because they were Catholic priests,” the statement noted. “The special fury reserved for the Polish clergy, who were insulted and persecuted, can be seen in the actions taken against them.”
The Vatican revealed that these priests endured severe suffering in the concentration camps, where they were humiliated, tortured, and ultimately lost their lives either through execution or the harsh living conditions imposed upon them.
In addition to the Polish martyrs, Pope Leo XIV also recognized as martyrs two Czech diocesan priests, Jan Bula and Vaclav Drbola, who were executed between 1951 and 1952 in Jihlava, in what was then Czechoslovakia.
According to Vatican News, “Because of their pastoral zeal, both were considered dangerous by the communist regime that had been established in Czechoslovakia in 1948 and which had begun open persecution against the Church.”
Father Bula was accused of inspiring a 1951 attack that resulted in the deaths of several communist officials. Despite a lack of evidence, he was sentenced to death and hanged. Father Drbola faced similar charges of involvement in the same attack, even though both priests were already imprisoned at the time. They were tortured into signing false confessions, leading to their executions.
The Catholic Church follows a three-step process toward sainthood: first, a person is declared “venerable” when the pope acknowledges their heroic virtue. The next stage, known as beatification, requires the recognition of a miracle attributed to the individual’s intercession—unless the person is declared a martyr, in which case the miracle requirement is waived. To reach full sainthood, however, one additional miracle must be verified through the process of canonization.
What You Should Know
Pope Leo XIV’s approval of beatification for these 11 priests marks a profound acknowledgment of faith and sacrifice under two of the most oppressive regimes in modern history.
Their recognition as martyrs highlights the enduring resilience of the Catholic Church and the countless individuals who suffered persecution simply for upholding their beliefs.
