Petro Pavlo Oros (, ; 14 July 1917 – 27 August 1953) was a

Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that was erected by Pope Clement XIV in 1771. The geographic remit of the eparchy includes the south-western parts of Ukraine that are roughly within Zak ...

hierarch after the Church was suppressed by the communist regime. He was an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the

Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve The Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo is an eparchy of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church that was erected by Pope Clement XIV in 1771. The geographic remit of the eparchy includes the south-western parts of Ukraine that are roughly within Zak ...

from 1944 to 1953, when he was murdered by an anti-faith police officer. He is a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. His

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 ...

was approved in August 2022.

Early life

Born in Biri,

Austria-Hungary Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

(present day –

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

) in 1917 in the family of a Greek-Catholic priest. His father died when Petro was 2 years old and his mother died when he was age 9. He studied for the Holy Priesthood in the Theological Seminary of

Uzhhorod Uzhhorod (, ; , ; , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Uzh, Uzh River in western Ukraine, at the border with Slovakia and near the border with Hungary. The city is approximately equidistan ...

from 1937 to 1942 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 ...

a priest on 26 June 1942 for the

. On 19 December 1944 he was clandestinely

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

to the

Episcopate A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

as auxiliary bishop. The principal and single

consecrator A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches ...

was blessed bishop

Theodore Romzha Theodore George Romzha (; ; 14 April 1911 – 31 October 1947) was a Rusyn prelate who served as Bishop of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by the NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II ...

. He was shot by communist police officer in Siltse,

Irshava raion Irshava Raion () was a raion (district) of Zakarpattia Oblast in the westernmost corner of Ukraine. The only city and the administrative center was Irshava. Irshava Raion was situated on the foothills on the Carpathian Mountains. The raion was abo ...

Zakarpattia Oblast Zakarpattia Oblast (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпатська область), also referred to as simply Zakarpattia (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Закарпаття; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Kárpátalja'') or Transcar ...

after celebration of the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

on 27 August 1953.

Beatification

The

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In colloqui ...

of Oros was recognized 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 ...

on August 5, 2022. He was to be beatified on the third of May 2025, but with the death of Pope Francis the beatification was put on hold. His beatification is now set on September 27.

References

External links

Hagiography Circle
1917 births 1953 deaths Ruthenian people 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Bishops of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church 20th-century venerated Christians Ruthenian venerated Catholics {{RuthenianCatholic-bishop-stub