VATICAN CITY: A Polish family comprising a father, mother and seven children who were martyred for the Christian vision of ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself’ are among the blessed. Joseph and Victoria Ulma, who were murdered by the Nazis for sheltering eight Jews on the day of the Holocaust, and their seven children, including an unborn child, are among the blessed. This happy news was revealed by the Archdiocese of Przemyśl in Poland the other day.
The martyrdom of the Joseph-Victoria Ulma couple and their children was approved by Pope Francis last December, paving the way for the declaration of beatification. The archdiocese has now officially released the announcement date. Accordingly, the rites will be held on September 10. Markowa, the village in southeastern Poland where the Ulma family was martyred in 1944, will be the venue for the rites. Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, president of the Vatican Dicastery for Naming, will officiate.
They were killed in Markowa, southeastern Poland, on March 24, 1944, during the Nazi occupation of World War II. Josef and Viktoria Ulma volunteered to protect their Jewish neighbors who had to flee for their lives from the Nazi regime. Although they knew that their lives would be in danger, they were ready for it because of the love of Christ. They provided an opportunity for eight people to live in hiding.
On discovering this, the Nazi army led by Lieutenant Eilert surrounded their house. The Nazis killed the eight people who had been in hiding, then killed Joseph and Victoria, who was seven months pregnant. When the children stood up to see their parents covered in blood, the army killed them too. The ages of the other children were Stanislava (eight), Barbara (seven), Vadislav (six), Franciszek (four), Anthony (three) and Maria (two).