NEW BEATIFIED FAMILY

 

Sunday September 10, the ULMA family will be beatified in Markowa, in the southeastern part of Poland. This marks an unprecedented event in the modern canonization process. This is the first time that an entire family has been beatified together, and the first time for an unborn child is to be beatified.  (See Blogs January 2020  & 12/20/22)

This family, made up of Josef and Wiktoria Ulma and their children, included the child Wiktoria was carrying and who was born pre-mature at the massacre.  Having no time for a baptism, the child obtained "blood baptism” of a martyr. This unusual beatification stands as a testament to their sacrifice during World War II, when they sheltered and protected eight Jews from persecution. 

 Both parents were well-educated, had many books and knew foreign languages. Wiktoria understood German, so she understood everything the Nazis said to each other before the execution.

The children were Stanisława, aged 7, Barbara, 6, Władysław, 5, Franciszek, 4, Antoni, 2, and Maria, 1.One wonders what it takes for men to kill small children!  The men remain nameless, while we have the children's names- forever in our list of saints.

 A new book, “Martyred and Blessed Together: The Extraordinary Story of the Ulma Family,” was  published September. 5.

It’s rare for the participants in a beatification ceremony to include a rabbi. But the beatification of “the Good Samaritans of Markowa” will be attended by Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland. His presence shows the great esteem in which the Ulma family is held by the Jewish community worldwide. The family was recognized as Righteous among the Nations by the State of Israel in 1995. The title honors non-Jews who risked their lives to save those of Jews during the Holocaust.

We must also remember this day members of the three Jewish families also killed, who were harbored by the Ulmas: the Goldmans, the Grünfelds, and the Didners.

Pope Francis said: May the example of this heroic family, who sacrificed their lives in order to save the persecuted Jews, help you to understand that holiness and heroic deeds are achieved through fidelity in the small everyday things. I bless you from my heart.

The Ulmas’ liturgical feast day will be celebrated on July 7, the date of the parents’ 1935 wedding.