Layman who refused to recite Hitler oath beatified

March 20, 2017

An Italian layman refused to recite the Hitler oath was beatified as a martyr at the cathedral in Bolzano on March 18.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, presided at the Mass of beatification of Josef Mayr-Nusser (1910-45).

Mayr-Nusser held leadership positions in Catholic Action and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. He married in 1942, and a son was born the following year.

Drafted into the SS in 1944, Mayr-Nusser refused to pledge loyalty to Hitler. Sentenced to death, he died while being transported to Dachau.

Mayr-Nusser “died a martyr because he refused to adhere to Nazism out of fidelity to the Gospel,” the Pope said following his March 19 Angelus address. “Because of his great moral and spiritual intelligence, he constitutes a model for lay faithful, especially for fathers.”

 

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Further information:

• Josef Mayr-Nusser è beato (Le Voce del Trentino)
• ANGELUS ADDRESS: On the “Living Water” (Zenit)