3 Italian priests killed by Nazis beatified in Bologna

October 01, 2026

Three Italian priests who were slain by Nazi forces in 1944 during the Marzabotto massacre were beatified on September 27.

Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, presided at the beatification Mass, which took place in the Basilica of St. Petronius in Bologna.

The three priests—Blesseds Ubaldo Marchioni, Elia Comini, S.D.B., and Martino Capelli, S.C.J.—“could have fled,” Cardinal Semeraro preached. “Many, moved by sincere affection, urged them to save themselves. It would have been a humanly understandable choice.”

“Father Ubaldo, Father Elia, and Father Martino understood that the voice of the Good Shepherd was not calling them away from danger, but to remain beside their people,” he continued. “The flock was frightened, scattered, and defenseless; yet the true shepherd does not abandon the sheep when the wolves arrive. That is why they stayed.”

During his September 30 general audience, Pope Leo XIV said that the three blesseds were “killed in 1944, in a dramatic phase of the Second World War, because of the contempt of the Nazi troops for their ministry to their parishioners.”

“The supreme sacrifice of these ministers of God shows Christians today the courage to be close to their brothers and sisters, especially in times of trial,” the Pope added.

 

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Further information:

• Three Italian priests killed by Nazis beatified in Bologna (Crux, 9/28/26)
• Udienza Generale (Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 9/30/26)
• Omelia nella beatificazione di don Ubaldo Marchioni, don Elia Comini e padre Martino Capelli (Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi, 9/27/26)