Carl Lampert (9 January 1894 – 13 November 1944) was an Austrian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

who served as the pro-vicar for the

Diocese of Feldkirch The Diocese of Feldkirch () is a Latin Church diocese located in the city of Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, in the ecclesiastical province of Salzburg in Austria. History * until the 19th century: part of the Swabian Dioceses of the Catholic Church: Con ...

in addition to being an outspoken critic of

Nazism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. This led to constant surveillance against him and his eventual arrests on several occasions. This culminated with his final arrest in 1943 and eventual execution by

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

in 1944 alongside another Christian prisoner. He was declared to have been killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) and was beatified on 13 November 2011 in Austria; Cardinal

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

presided over it on the behalf of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, who had approved the cause.

Life

Lampert was born as the last of seven children of Franz Xaver Lampert and Maria Rosina Lampert in Feldkirch in 1894. He attended school in his hometown and would attend a state high school after the completion of his first studies; the death of his father seemed to jeopardize this but an uncle of his provided financial aid to him in an effort to see Lampert through his education. Lampert commenced his studies for the priesthood in 1914 in

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

and received his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

from

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Franz Eggar on 12 May 1918 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He celebrated his first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

on 26 May 1918. Following his ordination he worked as a chaplain in

Dornbirn Dornbirn () is a city in the westernmost Austrian state of Vorarlberg. It is the administrative centre for the district of Dornbirn, which also includes the town of Hohenems, and the market town Lustenau. Dornbirn is the largest city in Vorarlb ...

and was involved in pastoral work with adolescents. In 1930 he moved - with the financial support of Bishop Sigismund Waitz - to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

for studies in

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and moved to new quarters at the Collegio Teutonico di Santa Maria dell'Anima until 1935 as a secretary to the

Roman Rota The Roman Rota, formally the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota (), and anciently the Apostolic Court of Audience, is the highest appellate tribunal of the Catholic Church, with respect to both Latin Church members and the Eastern Catholic m ...

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI (; born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, ; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939) was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 until his death in February 1939. He was also the first sovereign of the Vatican City State u ...

later made him a

monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

in 1935. On 1 October 1935, he was stationed in the Diocese of Innsbruck where Waitz wanted him to perform several administration duties. Around this time he was considered to be the diocese's new bishop but Pius XI did not choose him; instead he was made Pro-Vicar of that diocese on 15 January 1939. In 1940 he attempted in vain to secure the release of Fr

Otto Neururer Otto Neururer (25 March 1882 – 30 May 1940) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and was the first priest to die in a Nazi concentration camp. Neururer did his studies for the priesthood in Brixen before he served as a teacher and pastor in se ...

and, when he was, killed Lampert published an obituary in a church newsletter for him. However, he was arrested for this due to violating

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

confidentiality laws and was deported to

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

on 25 August 1940. He was then sent to Sachsenhausen in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

on 1 September 1940 where he was forced to do labor in a penal colony. A popular saying of his while he was imprisoned was "in the name of Christ for the Church". He was sent back to Dachau on 15 December 1940 and remained there for eight months before being released on 1 August 1941 and sent to

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

. Despite being freed, he was put under intense surveillance and was regarded with much suspicion; his phone calls were tapped and all correspondence was read. He continued to work as a pastor and as a hospital chaplain. Lampert was arrested for the last time on 4 February 1943 and endured intense interrogations and was also tortured. He was found to be guilty of treason and sedition on 30 December 1943 and was sent to

Torgau Torgau () is a town on the banks of the Elbe in northwestern Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district Nordsachsen. Outside Germany, the town is best known as where on 25 April 1945, the United States and Soviet Armies first met near ...

on 14 January 1944, where he spent seven months in solitary confinement. A third trial gave him the death sentence on 8 September 1944. Lampert, alongside a fellow priest,- was executed by

on 13 November 1944 at 4:00pm. His remains were cremated and buried in

Halle an der Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as t ...

and were returned to his hometown in 1948.

Beatification

The beatification process commenced on 5 September 1997 under

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

and granted Lampert the title

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. The diocesan process spanned from 1 October 1998 to 18 November 2003 and had to ascertain the facts about whether or not Lampert died in hatred of his Christian faith. The process was validated on 14 March 2008 and allowed for the drafting of the

Positio A ''positio'' (short for the Latin ''positio super virtutibus'': "position on the virtues") is a document or collection of documents used in the process by which a Catholic person is declared Venerable, the second of four steps on the path to can ...

, documenting his life and reasons for how he died in hatred of the faith, which was submitted to the

Congregation for the Causes of Saints In the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, previously named the Congregation for the Causes of Saints (), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia that oversees the complex process that leads to the canonization of saints, passi ...

in 2009. On 27 June 2011, his beatification was approved as

acknowledged the fact that Lampert had indeed been killed in the camps for his faith. Cardinal

presided over the beatification in Austria on the behalf of the Pope on 13 November 2011. The current

postulator A postulator is the person who guides a cause for beatification or canonization through the judicial processes required by the Catholic Church. The qualifications, role and function of the postulator are spelled out in the ''Norms to be Observed i ...

assigned to the cause is Andrea Ambrosi.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPNCarl Lampert Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lampert, Carl 1894 births 1944 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians 20th-century Austrian people Beatifications by Pope Benedict XVI Executed German Resistance members Austrian beatified people Roman Catholic activists Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era People executed by Nazi Germany by guillotine Austrian torture victims Roman Catholic priests executed by Nazi Germany