SAINT FEAST DAY 20 DECEMBER: BL. ANTON DURCOVICI, BISHOP AND MARTYR

BLESSED ANTON DURCOVICI, BISHOP AND MARTYR

Blessed Anton Durcovici was born on May 17, 1888 in Bad Deutsch Altenburg, Austria. In 1895 Blessed Anton’s family moved to the Romanian Kingdom and he completed his studies in Lasi and in Bucharest.

In 1906 Blessed Anton joined the Catholic Seminary, finishing his priestly studies in Rome. Being ordained a priest in 1910, Blessed Anton returned to Romania where he first worked as a schoolteacher in the Bucharest Seminary and then as the parish administrator in Tulcea.

HE WAS CONSECRATED BISHOP OF LASI

After Romania entered World War I, Blessed Anton was sent to an internment camp, being an Austrian citizen, until freed under the orders of King Ferdinand I. Blessed Anton then became rector of the Bucharest Seminary and held this office until 1948, when he was consecrated as the Bishop of Lasi.

PLACED UNDER SURVEILLANCE

As a Catholic Bishop he became an enemy of the post-World War II Communist Party in Romania, who initially unsuccessfully tried to get him to decrease the authority of the Pope over Romanian Catholics. Blessed Anton was placed under surveillance and on 26 June 1949 was arrested by the secret police.

PRIESTS WERE SUBJECTED TO TERRIBLE TORTURES BECAUSE OF THEIR FAITH

He was held in Jilava and then transferred to Sighet Prison with other priests. Blessed Anton was subjected to terrible tortures because of his Catholic Faith and had to endure severe deprivations, being denied food and water. In the freezing winter weather Blessed Anton was stripped naked and forced to stand in the cold. As a result of this treatment Blessed Anton died.

THE ATTEMPT TO ERASE ALL EVIDENCE OF THE BISHOP'S FATE

He was buried in an unmarked grave and the communist authorities subsequently attempted to erase all evidence of his stay in prison and treatment. Documents were destroyed with any reference to Blessed Anton. A process for his beatification started in 1997. The decree accepting Blessed Anton’s martyrdom was signed by Pope Francis paving the way for this recent Beatification Mass.

STANDING UP FOR TRUTH

The present Bishop of Lasi said of Blessed Anton that he, ‘is a figure of resistance, who gave the example to everyone by standing up for truth, dignity and freedom as well as for devotion to the Christian faith.’ Let each of us also be, like Blessed Anton, an example for those around us of what it means to be a follower of Christ, even in the most difficult situations.

From: Spiritual Thought from Fr Chris

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who know how courageously your holy martyr
Anton confessed the faith, may experience his goodness as he intercedes for us with you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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