Vasile Aftenie

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Vasile Aftenie (born June 14, 1899 in Lodroman , Klein-Kokelburg County , Transylvania ; † May 10, 1950 in Bucharest , Romania ) was Romanian Greek Catholic auxiliary bishop in Făgăraş and Alba Iulia .

Life

Vasile Aftenie attended elementary school in his hometown and high school in Blaj . In 1917 he was drafted into the military and served at the front in Galicia and Italy . After the end of the war in 1918 he began to study law at the Faculty of Law in Bucharest , but then decided to become a priest in 1919 and went to study theology at the Pontifical Greek College of St. Athanasius . On June 1, 1926, he was ordained a celibate priest in Blaj by Vasile Suciu , Archbishop of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia . From 1926 to 1934 he worked as a professor at the Theological Academy in Blaj, in 1934 he became dean in Bucharest, in 1937 cathedral capitular in Blaj and in 1939 rector of the theological academy.

On April 12, 1940 he was appointed by Pope Pius XII. appointed auxiliary bishop in Făgăraş and Alba Iulia and at the same time titular bishop of Ulpiana . It was consecrated on June 5, 1940 in Blaj Cathedral by Archbishop Alexandru Nicolescu . Co- consecrators were Alexandru Rusu , the bishop of Maramureş and Ioan Bălan , the bishop of Lugoj . After the death of Archbishop Nicolescu on June 15, 1941, he became Apostolic Administrator of the Archdiocese of Făgăraş and Alba Iulia.

On October 28, 1948, he was arrested and interned in the Dragoslavele camp. In February 1949, he was given solitary confinement in the Căldăruşani monastery , together with the diocesan bishops of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church, who were also arrested .

Isolated from the other bishops, he was taken to the Ministry of the Interior on May 10, 1949, where he was tortured by the Securitate in the cellars there . Mutilated, crippled, mentally broken but steadfast in his faith, he died on May 10, 1950 in the Văcăreşti prison hospital . It is also reported that he was shot dead by a Securitate officer. The authorities ordered the body to be cremated, this was prevented and the coffin with the remains was interred in the Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest. A simple wooden cross and a tray with the initials AV and the year 1950 marked the tomb. In 1990 a white marble tombstone with a picture of the bishop was erected for him; his grave became a place of pilgrimage and is decorated with candles and flowers, he is called for assistance and help.

Beatification process

For Vasile Aftenie the process of beatification was initiated. In the course of this, on March 19, 2019 , Pope Francis recognized the martyrdom of Aftenies and six other bishops who had died in the communist persecution of the Church as a prerequisite for beatification. The Pope himself beatified him on June 2, 2019 in Blaj.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Annuario Pontificio, Year 1941.
  2. ^ Annuario Pontificio, Year 1951.
  3. ↑ Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 121.
  4. ↑ Le Petit Episcopologe, Issue 155, Additions / Corrections (front)
  5. ^ Revue des Ordinations Épiscopales, Issue 1940, Number 37.
  6. ↑ Silvestru Augustin Prunduş and Clemente Plăianu, Catholicism and Orthodoxy Romanian. Brief history of the Romanian United Church. Christian Life Publishing House, Cluj 1994.
  7. ↑ Silvestru Augustin Prunduş and Clemente Plăianu, the 12 martyrs bishops , publishing "The Christian Life", Cluj 1998th
  8. ^ Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, March 19, 2019, accessed March 19, 2019 (Italian).
  9. ↑ Pope beatifies martyr bishops of the communist era. Vatican News , June 2, 2019, accessed June 2, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Aftenie, Vasile
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Romanian priest, auxiliary bishop in Făgăraş and Alba Iulia
DATE OF BIRTH June 14, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Lodroman
DATE OF DEATH May 10, 1950
Place of death Bucharest