János Brenner (clergyman)

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János Brenner (born December 27, 1931 in Szombathely , † December 15, 1957 in Rábakethely ) was a Hungarian Roman Catholic priest and martyr of the communist church persecution.

Life

János Brenner grew up in a very religious family with two brothers who also became priests. He attended the grammar schools of the Cistercians in Pécs and the Premonstratensians in Szombathely. After the nationalization of schools by the communist regime, he took his final exams in Zirc . As a pupil he had already become an Oblate of the Cistercian Order, which he now joined as a novice with the religious name Anasztáz. After the orders were dissolved in Hungary by the regime, he studied for a year as a lay student at the Catholic Academy in Budapest and then entered as a seminarian of the Diocese of Szombathely in the local seminary one. After this seminar was also closed, he finished his studies in Győr and received the sacrament of ordination for the diocese of Szombathely on June 19, 1955 .

Due to the suppression of the Cistercian order in Hungary, it was not possible for him to take his monastic vows publicly. Therefore, he made his profession secretly, was in constant contact with his superiors and saw himself as an underground Cistercian. He shared this fate with not a few monks whose secret vows were recognized by the Vatican after 1989.

Brenner took up his first position as chaplain in Rábakethely , where he was perceived as a popular and active pastor, but also attracted the attention of the anti-church regime , especially after the popular uprising in 1956 . On the night of December 15, 1957, Brenner was called to a fake mistake in the neighboring village of Zsida . On the way there he was attacked and murdered with 32 stab wounds.

Commemoration

The investigation used the state authorities to intimidate the Catholic population and tried to prevent the faithful from attending the funeral in the crypt of the Salesian Church in Szombathely on December 18, 1957. In the People's Republic of Hungary , János Brenner and his death could not be mentioned until the peaceful revolution in 1989 . Nevertheless, the veneration of the murdered priest as "Hungarian Tarzisius " remained alive until the end of communism. In 1989, the Good Shepherd Chapel was built in his honor at the place of his death .

beatification

The Bishop of Szombathely, István Konkoly , opened the diocesan information process for the beatification of János Brenner on October 3, 1999 . After the conclusion of this procedure on July 31, 2008, the files were transferred to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in Rome, where the validity of the diocesan procedure was confirmed on September 30 of the following year.

On November 8, 2017, Pope Francis confirmed the martyrdom of János Brenners as a prerequisite for the beatification, which took place on May 1, 2018 in Szombathely .

literature

  • Alkuin Schachenmayr : János Brenner (Father Anastasius O.Cist.) Beatified . Cistercienser-Chronik 125 (2018), pp. 305-310.
  • Jozsef Brenner (ed.): The Hungarian Tarsitius - The Life and Martyrdom by Janos Brenner 1931–1957 , self-published 2000.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Servant of God János Brenner. Mindszenty Foundation, accessed November 10, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Erbe und mand , vol. 94 (2018), p. 6.
  3. ^ Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, November 9, 2017, accessed November 10, 2017 (Italian).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Brenner, János
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian clergyman and martyr
DATE OF BIRTH December 27, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Szombathely , Hungary
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1957
Place of death at Rábakethely