Engelmar Unzeitig (; 1 March 19112 March 1945), born Hubert Unzeitig, was a German

Roman Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' re ...

who died in the

Dachau Concentration Camp 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 ...

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 ...

on the charge of being a priest. He was a professed member of the Missionary Order of Mariannhill and assumed the

religious name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholic Church, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should n ...

Engelmar when he was admitted into the order. He became known as the "Angel of Dachau". In 2016,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

recognized the fact that Unzeitig died ''in odium fidei'' () and Unzeitig was subsequently beatified on 24 September 2016 in a ceremony presided over by 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 ...

acting on the pope's behalf.

Life

Hubert Unzeitig was born on 1 March 1911 and had at least one sister. At the age of 18 he commenced his studies for the priesthood and also entered his novitiate with the Mariannhill Missionaries in Reimlingen; this was in contrast to his earlier intention to become part of the missions. He spent his time as a student of both theological and philosophical studies in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. In May 1938 he made his final profession of vows into the order and was received into it with the name of "Engelmar". He was later

ordained 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 ...

to the priesthood on 6 August 1939 just a month before the outbreak of

and celebrated his first Mass on 15 August 1939 on the Feast of the Assumption; he was soon after assigned as a parish priest in 1940 in Glöckelberg in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(today , Horní Planá,

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

). The

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

arrested Unzeitig on 21 April 1941 for defending Jews in his sermonsFischel, Jack / Ortmann, Susan M. (2004): The Holocaust and Its Religious Impact: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography, p. 101
/ref> and sent him to the

Dachau concentration camp 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 ...

without a trial on 8 June 1941. While there he studied the Russian language in order to tend to the Eastern European prisoners and administered to all prisoners in general in his role as a pastor. In the autumn of 1944 he volunteered to help in catering to victims of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

but he soon contracted the disease himself. From prison he wrote to his sister: "Whatever we do, whatever we want, is surely simply the grace that carries us and guides us. God's almighty grace helps us overcome obstacles ... love doubles our strength, makes us inventive, makes us feel content and inwardly free. If people would only realize what God has in store for those who love Him!" Unzeitig died of the disease on 2 March 1945 and was cremated. His ashes were smuggled in secret to Würzburg and he was hailed as the "Angel of Dachau".

Beatification

The process of beatification was held in Würzburg and was conducted in a usual form since it was conducted in two forms: the case in which miracles would be required and another in which a recognition of "in odium fidei" would be required. The "nihil obstat" (nothing against) for the cause was granted on 5 September 1988 which allowed for 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 ...

to confer upon Unzeitig 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 process for

heroic virtue Heroic virtue is the translation of a phrase coined by Augustine of Hippo to describe the virtue of early Christian martyrs. The phrase is used by the Roman Catholic Church. The Greek pagan term hero described a person with possibly superhuman a ...

was conducted from 26 July 1991 until June 1996; the process was declared valid on 11 January 2002. 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 ...

on his life and virtue was submitted 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 further investigation in 2005 and allowed for

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 ...

to proclaim him to be

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

on 3 July 2009. The next step would have meant the recognition of a miracle for beatification and indeed a process for one such healing was initiated and validated on 2 June 2007; a medical board based in Rome even approved it on 25 March 2010. However a simultaneous process was conducted from 26 July 1991 to 25 May 2012 to investigate if Unzeitig qualified for a decree of martyrdom and the process was validated on 14 December 2012 with another Positio submitted to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints for additional investigation.

approved those findings on 21 January 2016 declaring him to have been a martyr which would allow for his beatification, which was celebrated in Germany on 24 September 2016 with Cardinal

presiding on the pope's behalf.

References

External links

Hagiography CircleSaints SQPN
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unzeitig, Engelmar 1911 births 1945 deaths 20th-century venerated Christians People from Svitavy District Beatifications by Pope Francis German people who died in Dachau concentration camp Catholic saints and blesseds of the Nazi era German beatified people Martyred Roman Catholic priests Venerated Catholics by Pope Benedict XVI 20th-century German Roman Catholic priests Deaths from typhus Sudeten German people

Life

Beatification

See also

References

External links