Ioan Suciu (December 4, 1907 – June 27, 1953) 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, born into a clerical family in Blaj. Suciu studied in

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, ...

, Italy first at Sant'Atanasio and then at the ''Pontificium Institutum Internationale Angelicum'', the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum'', where after six years of study he received a Doctorate in Sacred Theology on 29 November 1931, and was

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. He was then consecrated Auxiliary Bishop of

Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...

in 1940. Arrested in 1948 under 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 ...

that outlawed the Church, Suciu was taken first to Dragoslavele Monastery, then to Căldărușani Monastery. He was eventually sent to the notorious Sighet Prison, where he died of illness. Streets are named after him in

and

Satu Mare Satu Mare (; ; ; or ) is a city with a population of 102,400 (2011). It is the capital of Satu Mare County, Romania, as well as the centre of the Satu Mare metropolitan area. It lies in the region of Maramureș, broadly part of Transylvania ...

. On June 2, 2019, Suciu and six other Romanian prelates were beatified by

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 ...

at Câmpia Libertății in Blaj.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suciu, Ioan 1907 births 1953 deaths People from Blaj Romanian Greek-Catholic bishops Romanian beatified people Romanian anti-communist clergy Prisoners who died in Securitate custody Inmates of Sighet prison Romanian people who died in prison custody Beatifications by Pope Francis Eastern Catholic bishops in Romania Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni