Alexandru Rusu (22 November 1884 – 9 May 1963) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n bishop of the Greek-Catholic Church. One of twelve children born to a priest in Șăulia Commune,

Mureș County Mureș County (, , ) is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Transylvania, with the administrative centre in Târgu Mureș. The county was established in 1968, after the administrative reor ...

, he was himself ordained a priest in 1910. Rusu was ordained Bishop of Maramureş in 1931. After the church's leadership fell vacant in 1941, he was chosen its new head (Major Archbishop of Fagaraş and Alba Iulia) in 1946, a decision approved by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

but not by the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

-dominated

Petru Groza Petru Groza (7 December 1884 – 7 January 1958) was a Romanian politician, best known as the first Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister of the Romanian Communist Party, Communist Party-dominated government under Soviet Union, Soviet Sovie ...

government. Rusu was arrested in October 1948 by the authorities of the new

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...

which had outlawed the church, and he was held in two monasteries, in Sighet prison, and then in two other monasteries. In 1957, a military tribunal found him guilty of "instigation and high treason". Rusu was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment and he ended up at Gherla prison, where he died of illness. On 19 March 2019, Pope Francis approved the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

of Rusu and six other Greek-Catholic bishops who died while serving as political prisoners under the communist regime in Romania in the mid-20th century. Rusu and the other six Romanian Catholic prelates were

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

personally by Pope Francis at Liberty Field in Blaj, Romania by Pope Francis on 2 June 2019."A joyous celebration in Romania as Pope Francis beatifies seven bishop-martyrs"
''America Magazine''. 2 June 2019.
''RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty''. 2 June 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusu, Alexandru 1884 births 1963 deaths People from Mureș County Primates of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church Romanian anti-communist clergy Romanian beatified people People convicted of treason against Romania Inmates of Sighet prison Inmates of Gherla prison Romanian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Securitate custody 20th-century Eastern Catholic archbishops 20th-century Romanian clergy Beatifications by Pope Francis Eastern Catholic bishops in Romania