BL. EDUARD PROFITTLICH, BISHOP AND MARTYR

BL. EDUARD PROFITTLICH, BISHOP AND MARTYR - 22 FEBRUARY

BLESSED EDUARD PROFITTLICH, ARCHBISHOP OF TALLINN AND MARTYR

Eduard Gottlieb Profittlich [pronounced "Pro - fit - leech"] was a German Catholic prelate who served in Estonia and took citizenship of that country in 1935. He was made an archbishop in 1936. The exemplary life of this Jesuit is one that speaks to the heart of what it means to be a pastor who gives himself completely to Christ and to God’s people.

Born on September 11, 1890 in Birresdorf, Germany, Eduard grew up in a Catholic farming family as the eighth of ten children. His parents hoped he would take over the family farm, but God had other plans. Inspired by his older brother, a Jesuit missionary in Brazil who died at the young age of 37, Eduard also joined the Jesuits in 1913.

His Jesuit formation took him across Europe. He studied in the Netherlands and in Poland and learned several languages. He also served at the military hospital in Verviers, Belgium from 1916 to 1917 during World War I. After his ordination in 1922, he spent the next years doing pastoral work in Poland and Germany before being sent to Estonia in 1930 to become the pastor of the Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Tallinn.

A year later, His Holiness Pope Pius XI appointed him as the Apostolic Administrator. At that time, Catholics in Estonia numbered barely a thousand, yet Eduard worked tirelessly to grow the Estonian Church. He preached, built churches, distributed books and religious materials. He cared for families, young people, and catechumens and launched a monthly publication that promoted Christian unity in association with the Protestant and Orthodox churches. In 1935, Eduard was granted Estonian nationality and a year later, he was appointed Archbishop by Pope Pius XI. By the late 1930s the Church in Estonia was growing with new vocations and stronger parish life.

In 1940 when Soviet troops occupied Estonia. The Church’s activity was restricted. Eduard had the option to leave for Germany but he discerned otherwise. In a letter to his family in 1941, he explained:

“Even if the future does not look bright from a human point of view, I have decided to stay. After all, it is only right that the shepherd should be with his flock, sharing their happiness and misfortune... Whatever may happen, I know that God will be with me. So, everything will be all right. And my life and – if it should be so – my death will be a life and a death for Christ. (...) This would be the most beautiful end to my life.”

These words would be a defining point in his witness as a pastor.

On June 27, 1941, Eduard was arrested and deported to Kirov, Russia. He was tortured, accused of espionage and counter-revolutionary activity and sentenced to death. The treatment he endured in prison lead to his death on February 22, 1942, before he could be executed.

According to the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Archbishop Eduard's ten years in Estonia were critical to the survival of the Church during the decades of Soviet rule. His cause for canonization was opened after his death, granting him the title "Servant of God".

On January 30, 2002, the Bishops' Conference of the Russian Federation initiated the beatification process for Eduard Profittlich along with 15 others. After the Congregation for the Causes of Saints granted the nihil obstat on May 30, 2003 an ecclesiastical procedure was opened in Saint Petersburg for his beatification. In March 2019, the beatification documents reached the Congregation in Rome and were validated on June 12, 2020.

In December 2024, His Holiness Pope Francis acknowledged Eduard's martyrdom. His beatification in September 2025 in Vabaduse Square in Tallinn was presided over by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, representing Pope Leo XIV.

Sources:

https://www.jesuits.global/2025/09/03/eduard-profittlich-new-blessed-of-the-society-of-jesus/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Profittlich

https://www.profittlich.eu/en/ondsakskuulutamine

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that we who know how courageously your holy martyr Eduard 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.

ST JOHN BERCHMANS, RELIGIOUS - 13 AUGUST

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