"Upon my return to Rome, I will start the beatification process of King Baudouin," Francis wrote on X on Sept 29. "May his example as a man of faith illuminate all leaders."

Unusually, however, the prospect of a sainthood cause for the late monarch has drawn doubts from a senior churchman and one who is not even from Belgium.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo has raised a red flag about a "hasty beatification" because there are still questions about Baudouin's role in the assassination of independent Congo's first Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, in 1961.

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The family included a pregnant mother and small children, whom the Nazis executed during World War II for their courageous act of sheltering Jews.

This beatification of the Ulma family took place on Sunday during a solemn Mass held in the village of Markowa in southeastern Poland.

Papal envoy Cardinal Marcello Semeraro led the ceremony, and Pope Francis addressed the crowd from St Peter's Square in the Vatican.

Pope Francis said the Ulmas "represented a ray of light in the darkness" of the war and should be a model for everyone in "doing good and in the service of those in need."

The Ulma family's beatification is unique as it marks the first time the Catholic Church has recognised an entire family as martyrs.

On the fateful night of March 24, 1944 the Ulmas, along with the eight Jews they were hiding, were brutally killed by German Nazi troops and Nazi-controlled local police, allegedly after being betrayed.

Jozef Ulma, a 44-year-old farmer and Catholic activist, along with his 31-year-old pregnant wife Wiktoria and their young children Stanislawa, Barbara, Maria, Wladyslaw, Franciszek and Antoni, paid the ultimate price for their selfless act of hospitality.

The Nazis also murdered 70-year-old Saul Goldman and his sons Baruch, Mechel, Joachim and Mojzesz, along with Golda Grunfeld, her sister Lea Didner and her little daughter Reszla.

Lt Eilert Dieken, the head of the regional Nazi military police, gave the orders for this horrific event. The suspected betrayer was identified as Wlodzimierz Les, a member of the Nazi-controlled local police.

Theological dilemma

The beatification of Wiktoria's unborn child posed a theological dilemma for the Catholic Church, as the baby had not been baptised, a requirement for beatification.

However, the Vatican clarified that the child was born during the horrifying events and received "baptism by blood" from its martyred mother.

This beatification holds significant theological implications for the Catholic Church's understanding of saints and martyrs, especially concerning unborn children.

The Vatican's declaration that the child was "born" at the moment of the mother's execution underscores the killers' intent to target the child due to their faith, a key criterion for martyrdom and beatification.

The Ulma family's journey to canonisation will require a miracle attributed to their intercession following the church's sainthood process.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Poland's chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, all attended the beatification ceremony in Markowa. Thousands of pilgrims from across Poland also gathered to pay their respects.

Internationally, Israel's Yad Vashem Institute recognised the Ulma family as Righteous Among Nations for their heroic efforts to save Jews during the Holocaust.

In Poland, they stand as symbols of the bravery exhibited by thousands who risked their lives to assist Jews during the Nazi occupation.

A Museum of Poles Saving Jews During World War II was established in Markowa in 2016.

Sources

AP News

Venerable Carlo Acutis
The teenager, computer geek and leukemia victim will be beatified. The Medical Council of the Congregation for Saints' Causes has approved a miracle attributed to the Venerable Carlo, who died in 2006.

The miracle involved a Brazilian child who was healed from a rare congenital anatomic anomaly of the pancreas in 2013.

The Italian teen's beatification is expected to take place in Assisi, which is where Acutis is buried.

Acutis, who was 15 when he died, offered his suffering for the pope and for the Church.

Last May, his mother, Antonia Salzano, said "Jesus was the center of his day."

He attended daily Mass, frequently prayed the rosary, and made weekly confessions.

His mother said priests and nuns would say they could tell the Lord had a special plan for her son.

"Carlo really had Jesus in his heart, really the pureness … When you are really pure of heart, you really touch people's hearts," she said.

Acutis's gift for computer technology resulted in a website which catalogued Eucharistic miracles.

This website was the genesis of The Eucharistic Miracles of the World, an international exhibition which highlights such occurrences.

Blessed Lazarus (also called Devasahayam)
A miracle has been attributed to 18th century Indian martyr Blessed Lazarus, who suffered severe persecution after converting from Hinduism to Catholicism.

Blessed Maria Francesca of Jesus
A miracle has also been attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Francesca of Jesus. Francesca, who died in Uruguay in 1904, was the missionary foundress of the Capuchin Tertiary Sisters of Loano.

Both Blessed Lazarus and Blessed Maria Francesca of Jesus can now be canonized as saints. Their canonisation dates have yet to be announced.

Fr Rutilio Grande García and two lay companions
The Vatican has recognized the martyrdom of a Jesuit priest, Fr. Rutilio Grande García, and his two lay companions, who were killed in El Salvador. Grande, a close friend of St. Oscar Romero, was shot by a right-wing death squad while travelling in a car on March 12, 1977.

Servants of God
The heroic virtues of Servant of God Mario Hiriart Pulido, a Chilean engineer and lay member of the Secular Institute for the Schoenstatt Brothers of Mary who died in Wisconsin in 1964, have been recognised.

So have the heroic virtues of three Italian priests: Fr. Emilio Venturini, Fr. Pirro Scavizzi, and Fr. Emilio Recchia.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Patheos