Anton Durcovici
| His Excellency Blessed Anton Durcovici | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Iaşi | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Iași |
| See | Iași |
| Appointed | 30 October 1947 |
| Installed | 5 April 1948 |
| Term ended | 20 December 1951 |
| Predecessor | Mihai Robu |
| Successor | Petru Gherghel |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 24 September 1910 |
| Consecration |
5 April 1948 by Gerald Patrick O'Hara |
| Rank | Bishop |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Anton Durcovici |
| Born |
May 17, 1888 Bad Deutsch-Altenburg Austria |
| Died |
December 20, 1951 (aged 63) Sighet prison, Sighetu Marmației, Romania |
| Nationality | Austro-Hungarian Romanian |
| Previous post | Apostolic Administrator of Bucureşti (1948–1949) |
| Motto | Beatus populus cuius Deus Dominus ("Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord") |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | 20 December |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Title as Saint | Blessed |
| Beatified |
17 May 2014 Iași, Romania by Cardinal Angelo Amato |
| Attributes | Bishop's attire |
| Patronage | Diocese of Iași |
Blessed Anton Durcovici (17 May 1888 –20 December 1951) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Romanian Roman Catholic bishop and a victim of the Communist regime.
On 31 October 2013, Pope Francis declared Anton Durcovici to be a martyr of the faith, therefore paving the way for his beatification in 2014.
Biography
Early life
Born in Bad Deutsch Altenburg, Austria, he left for the Romanian Kingdom together with his mother, a widow, and his brother Franz, and settled in Iaşi (1895). He completed his primary studies and lyceum in Iaşi and in Bucharest, and, in 1906, joined the Roman Catholic seminary.[1] In 1906, he continued his studies in Rome, attending the College of St. Thomas in Rome, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum, and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (earning degrees in Canon Law, Philosophy and Theology, including two doctorates).[1]
Priesthood
Ordained a priest in 1910, Durcovici returned to Romania, and was appointed, successively, schoolteacher at the Bucharest seminary and parish administrator in Tulcea.[1] After Romania entered World War I on the Allied side, he was sent to an internment camp – being an Austrian citizen –, until being freed on the orders of King Ferdinand I.[1]
Episcopate
Durcovici became rector of the Bucharest seminary in 1924, and held the office until April 1948, when he was consecrated Bishop of Iaşi by the Apostolic Nuncio to Romania, Bishop Gerald Patrick Aloysius O'Hara.[2]
As a Catholic clergyman, Durcovici had become an adversary of the post-World War II Communist Party authorities, who initially attempted to have him accept a decrease in Papal authority over Romanian Catholics.[1] Placed under surveillance in 1947, he was arrested by the Securitate on June 26, 1949, while he was visiting the congregation of Popești-Leordeni.[1]
Death
He was held in Jilava, then transferred to Sighet prison together with his fellow clergymen Áron Márton and Alexandru Cisar,[3] being the target of torture and deprivations.[1] Stripped naked and exposed to the winter weather, and denied food and water, Durcovici died as a result of the treatment.[2] He was buried in an unmarked grave.[2] Communist authorities subsequently attempted to erase all evidence of his stay in prison, and most documents were destroyed.[4]
Cause of beatification
A process of beatification was begun in on January 28, 1997, with the dioceasan inquiry running from 25 March 1997 to 11 September 1999. The decree for martyrdom was signed by Pope Francis on 31 October 2013 paving the way for his beatification on 17 May 2014, held by Cardinal Angelo Amato.[4]
Notes
References
- (in Italian) Antonio Borrelli, Servo di Dio Anton Durcovici. Vescovo e martire
- Dennis Deletant, Communist Terror in Romania, C. Hurst & Co., London, 1999 ISBN 1-85065-386-0
- (in Romanian) Procesul Comunismului. Episcopii Romano-Catolici