The extraordinary story of the Ulma family is one of faith, courage, and heroic love of neighbor. Józef and Wiktoria Ulma risked their lives to protect three Jewish families during the Holocaust. On the night of March 24, 1944, German Nazis raided their farmhouse and cruelly shot all of the Jews the Ulmas were hiding…
This week in history — Though the Allies had driven the Germans from France, they bogged down along the fortifications that guarded the German fatherland. By mid-October 1944, the allies had taken Aachen, Metz, and Strasbourg; in November and early December, fierce German resistance halted their advance into the Saar region. For fear of unconditional…
Vatican News/CNA—Two Catholic priests killed by Nazis while ministering to the dying amid the Boves massacre were beatified as martyrs on Sunday in northern Italy. See two very short videos at the end of this article featuring actual footage of these inspiring priests. In the face of grave danger, Father Giuseppe Bernardi and Father Mario…
CNA—All Saints Church in Warsaw is an imposing edifice. Its soaring twin bell towers were inspired by a Renaissance abbey in Italy. In 2017, it became the first building in Poland to be designated a “House of Life.” The title was awarded by the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, named after the Swedish diplomat who saved tens of…
CNA—A new film opening this weekend tells the story of Blessed Franz Jagerstatter, whose refusal to fight for the Nazis in World War II led to his imprisonment and death. Franz was beatified by the Catholic Church in Austria in 2007. His wife, Franziska, was present at the beatification. She died in 2013 at the…
During the 2019 Days of Holocaust Remembrance, Deacon Andrew J. De Silva, a seminarian who completed his fourth-year of theology studies at the Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, reflected on his Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE). The two-week program challenges its participants to reflect on the role of…
Pope Francis announced Monday that the Vatican will open its archives on the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. Confidential files of the pope who led the Church during World War II will be made available next year. “Serious and objective historical research” will be able to evaluate Pius XII’s “hidden but active diplomacy” “in its…
